New Korea experience and another Aura Painting (지수)

Every time I go to Korea it feels almost impossible to properly put down in words all the countless experiences and emotions I have with me upon returning home. After spending almost a month there, I came home this time, once again, with such an overload of good memories shared among people I met along the way, it feels almost overwarming to even think to write a blog entry about it. Out of all the people, more than ever before, this time I have to express my deepest gratitude to the Korean Symphonic Death Metal band Midian, who not only have named me their official European promoter but whose members have repeatedly make me feel welcome in their pack as a family member during my staying.

  

In return for all the kindness and good moments spent together (some of which definitely the highlights of my staying) I wanted to create a matching painting for 지수, Sin (Midian's talented vocalist and frontman)'s wife, as a long overdue wedding present for the couple. 지수 has been always an awesome friend from the very beginning, and language barriers never represented a problem thanks to her kind nature and predisposition to communicate in any possible way. In my painting I tried to give justice to her nice and bubbly personality as well as her great energy. I think the latter is so strong that everyone can feel it in her proximity. The painting is primarily in shades of red and pink and I tried with the energy patters to recall the vision I had of red Sakura (Japanese red cherry tree) flowers. I have added a photo below to give the idea of what came to my mind as an inspiration for the aura painting.

Colours and shapes in 지수's painting are also particular relevant in correlation to Sin's ones, (his painting was done previously as part of the Midian series) whose dominant colours are blue, black and silver. Not only Sin and 지수 seems to match perfectly in real life (in truth, if there was a couple that could well represent what love is all about that should be this one!) but also their two paintings seem to match really well together. I have uploaded here both, 지수 and Sin respectively, so everyone can see that at times, opposites can really be the best match.

지수 (The red cherry blossom)

 Sin (The wall of thorns)

~ 미디안 멤버들에게 항상 감사하고 싶었어요 ~

New Aura Painting Series - CRUX (Sebastian)

At times in my work I stumble on very complicate energy patterns which are not always easy to capture on canvas. The portrait that I have done for Sebastian W. Suh, singer of the Korean band Crux, is undoubtedly one of these cases and, I can easily say, one of the most complex aura-inspired portraits I have created so far. Since the first time I had the opportunity to watch Sebastian performing on stage, what captured my attention was not the show itself by the complexity of the front-man's strong stage persona and energy. It is definitely him who makes watching Crux live a somehow futuristic experience (in additions to it his talent with languages allows him to easily interact with foreign fans so that everyone can follow what's happening on stage)

Photo by Simaris SJ

The vision that I had from Sebastian's unique energy is that of a time traveller who has lived a number of lives, witnessed past and present but comes from the dark atmospheres of a Blade Runner-esque metropolis of the future. I tried to find a photo from the film to illustrated the same vibes that I had and which I attempted to convey in my work. There is something dark and evil lingering in the shadow as well as some feeling of redemption.

For this reason, I created a lot of lines and circular shapes in the painting aiming to give the feeling of the inner working of mechanical clocks in continuous movement (like the time that never stops). The surface has been coated with a glossy paint so to give the idea of lights sparkling in the darkness. Unfortunately this effect does not come out on the photo below but has to be seen on the original work.

CRUX (Sebastian)
~ The time traveller from the future ~

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New Aura Painting Series - CRUX (신영)

For someone who has many gigs under her belt such as myself, meeting a band that is acting friendly and nice to fans is always an awesome experience. During one of my last weekends in Korea I was invited by CRUX's drummer, 신영, to go and see the band playing live at a small local metal club. Not only their live performance was a pleasure to watch, in particular because if felt really intimate (not many people were there but the band give it all anyway), but it was the friendliness of the band after the show ended that made the show really memorable.

Photo by Simaris SJ (시마)

In return for the kind invitation and, most important, for making me feel rather welcome on the night, I wanted to express my thanks through my painting (since they seem to like what I do...I find always overwhelming when people I do not know seem to like my work).
The first aura portrait is of CRUX's drummer, 신영, the person who kindly sent me the invitation and really made me discover the band.

Photo by Simaris SJ (시마)

From the very first moment I met 신영 in person is kind nature and protective energy reminded me so much of that of a mighty fire that keeps people safe and warm in the middle of the night. However, as the fire can burn you if you get too near, so this powerful aura gives the powerful vibes of protection and threatening at the same time. It was not easy for me to find in internet an image similar to the vision that I had (which was more of a fire in the midst of the forest) but I think that these still might well represent the same feeling of comfort and peacefulness, as well as destructive power, I had in mind when painting.

For this piece I primarily used a lot of bright gold and red tones but I also added a glittering coat to mimic the reflection of the flames. I truly hope this painting conveys the warmth as well as the power of CRUX's drummer, that of a fire in a cold winter night.

CRUX (신영)
~ The mighty fire in the winter night ~

New aura painting and Korean adventures

Finally I am back blogging after such a long silence, busy with my teaching, travelling UK-South Korea back and forth and planning future art projects. No matter how often I go, it is always a pleasure to spend time in Seoul and surroundings, catching up with old friends, meeting new acquaintances, visit amazing art places...all that whilst eating a copious amount of delicious food (as only Koreans can do) and going to metal gigs or dance shows on a daily basis.

During my staying I had the pleasure to visit once again Jankura Art Space and his owner Mike Stewart during some of the art academy drawing sessions. Next time I am going back to the Korean capital, I will definitely try to organise once again another Aura Painting Workshop or an Italian Art Lecture there! Mike, wait for me!!!

And usually, I left Korea with a lot of art commissions as well as a bag full of promises to curious friends to create their bespoke aura portraits. The first one I did upon my return to the UK was a portrait of one of my dearest Korean friends, Rina 'Mighty Myo'. Fore the last year Rina not only has always been there for me but has also introduced me to many Korean metal bands, tattoo artists, and also very friendly concert-goers, which made my Korean staying more pleasurable. Her personality as well as her aura is definitely a burst of energy and I truly hope my painting did justice to her vitality. 

Rina ' Mighty Myo' - The wind at dawn

~ 재미 있는시간을 같이 보내줘서 고마워요 ~

The second portrait is of another old friend of mine, Jung Eil Huh, perhaps one of the first metal friends I met at a gig in Korea and definitely one of those people who really lives and breathe what Heavy Metal is all about. His aura somehow really matches his passion for metal with its purple and dark colours, like a moonless night (a little prince of darkness!)

Jung Eil Huh - The Moonless Night
~ 메탈 아자아자 화이팅~

Painting Emotions and Spiritual Energy Workshop in Seoul

Long overdue blog updates on the workshop I taught back in August 2014 at Jankura Art Space, Seoul.
It is always a pleasure to teach at Jankura and every time I go back to Seoul I am always looking forward to this opportunity. My previous Aura-focused workshop at Jankura back in April was well attended and positively received, so this time I wanted to do something similar yet different. As a result, I thought to explore further the theme of  'Perception of emotions' more than focusing on reading spiritual energy.

Because of this much broader approach, all of the attendees appeared to be even more engaged this time, (even though the workshop was taught in English and not everyone was fluent in it), mostly because everyone felt somehow familiar with the topic of feeling and expressing emotions. Through bespoke tutor-led exercises, during the workshop all the students were able to enhance their perception of emotions and use these to produce something artistic. 

The workshop concluded with students describing their paintings to the rest of the class, in an art critic-esque way, and why the emotions were painted as such. With my surprise even those less artistically gifted were able to create remarkable artworks and in the end left the workshop rather satisfied with their little masterpieces!!

Once again I would like to express my thanks to Mike Stewart, owner of Jankura, for inviting me at his art academy and, most important, for giving me this wonderful opportunity. 

~ See you all again soon! ~

New and last painting of the Midian series: MIDIAN (정아)

Finally the last painting part of the series dedicated to the Korean band Midian  is now completed!!! The latest portrait belong to the only female member in the band, second guitar, 신정아. In a still primarily male-dominated environment such as the Heavy Metal scene (this particularly in Korea where, from my experience, women into Heavy Metal and Rock seem to be almost as rare as diamonds...) being the only female member of a band means working much harder then the rest and always having to prove yourself.

신정아's energy is definitely a really strong and somehow a dark one yet it retains the sensitivity and kindness of femininity. Inspiration for the piece comes from a field of wild flowers basking in the moonlight. The picture in my mind was actually that of dark red or purple flowers but as I know nothing about flowers it was really difficult to find a suitable image in internet. I hope the one I found still gives the same feeling, as it is really similar to the vision I had in my mind before starting to paint. This piece is actually extra sparkling and the purple is really vivid: I did try to represent on canvas the effect of the moonlight reflecting on the delicate flower petals.

Midian (정아)
Wild flowers basking in the moonlight

New Painting: MIDIAN (보현)

Here it comes the penultimate aura painting for the Korean band MIDIAN, the portrait of their lead guitarists, 김보현.

Inspiration for the piece comes from the image of the somehow fairytale picturesque landscape such as that of a waterfall or a stream with ivy and musk growing along its banks (a bit on the line of those Arthurian landscapes visible in Lord of the Ring's Elven cities). I tried to convey in the painting the purity and strength of both running water and nature combined and give the feeling of something in continuous movement, which reminds me exactly of 김보현's energy.

MIDIAN (보현)

The powerful waterfall