On The Spot: Joohyung Seo

Tender, cloudy and ethereal, they’re like desires or extensive-misplaced childhood recollections. Joohyung Seo’s illustrations merge visual storytelling with impressionist spontaneity to bring out some of the most atmospheric art you’ll arrive across. 

Searching at her mesmerizing is effective, it’s really hard to visualize that Joohyung has formally started her creative job only past yr. In this week’s On The Spot, the Korean illustrator tells us extra about her route so much – and how it all started off with robots and pyramids.

Wherever do you dwell and what does your studio search like?

I stay in a incredibly hectic port metropolis in South Korea, but fortunately my neighborhood occurs to be in the quieter portion. My studio is also my home, so the boundary in between workspace and other “living spaces” is pretty blurry. It’s a small, humble room with a messy desk, a large amount of publications (fifty percent of them comedian textbooks), and little souvenirs I collected from all the spots I have frequented all-around the globe. 

It’s a best tiny area wherever I can target pretty conveniently, having said that it would be even improved if I could also get a cat as a studio assistant!

How did you turn into an artist?

I formally began out as a freelance illustrator last yr, after graduating from faculty. As a baby, I had a couple of distinctive aspiration work opportunities in brain – one particular of them was a scientist (I wanted to make robots), and an additional one particular was an archeologist, as I have been fascinated with historical Egypt archeology considering that I was youthful.

On the other hand, as the a long time handed, I realized that what I truly favored performing was drawing the robots, and that I was precisely pretty intrigued in the art of historical Egypt. And so I discovered myself paying out a whole lot of time drawing and painting, and thought it would be brilliant to be equipped to do this for the relaxation of my lifetime. But even though I was savoring making artwork, I wasn’t absolutely sure if I would be ready to make this work as a career. It took me a though to decide thanks to economic considerations.

Now, as you can see, the decision has been made. I just went for it and started out functioning as a freelance illustrator. I started off out with non-public commissions, album addresses, brand types, and now I’m also jogging a print store.

Do you paint just about every day? What does your normal day look like?

I try out to paint most days of the 7 days, unless I’m possessing wrist agony. Following having what I would argue is a wholesome and affordable amount of caffeine in the early morning, I abide by the designs I set up the earlier working day. I generally start out the day by executing rapid scientific tests or sketches, and the review topics improve depending on what I assume I require to make improvements to on, whether that be anatomy, colours, and so on. Then I start out doing the job on any ongoing jobs and choose treatment of my print store orders, which involves managing to the publish workplace on delivery times. 

When I have far more free time, I like to commence the day by going on extensive walks really early in the morning, usually for about an hour or an hour and a half. For most of the working day, I attract and paint till the time comes to get prepared for bed and strategy out what to do the next working day. And the cycle carries on!

You have a unique model. How did you produce it?

My design and style is hugely encouraged by the art of Georges Seurat. His drawings have a stunning atmospheric top quality to them and I did a large amount of research of his get the job done as properly as works encouraged by his type. 

I was also heavily impressed by the city where my faculty was found. There had been times in the course of winter season when it would get quite foggy at night time, creating my environment search like fuzzy charcoal drawings. I took a whole lot of photographs for reference and use them until this day. 

And following I graduated from higher education, I received a opportunity to journey to New York Town and used a large amount of time in museums. Everyday I would analyze oil paintings and pastel drawings very closely and specially referenced a great deal of impressionist paintings. I noticed there were lots of refined coloration nuances even in something that appeared like a really tough and basic stroke, and realized there had been hardly ever any flat pure colors in the paintings. There had been at minimum one or two other hues blended in into that a person stroke, making the full painting have a type of gorgeous feathery and energetic seem. When I start off painting I always consider to try to remember this and include it in my possess function. I was also influenced by the glimpse of paints peeling off from previous mural paintings as very well as rust – I attempt to deliver that aged, worn out, and mysterious top quality to my get the job done. 

Who are the people you paint?

The two figures I normally paint, who shall remain unnamed for now, are greatest mates who have been divided owing to circumstances outside of their command. I developed the yellow character to be the embodiment of childhood and the other character who is often painted with a darker colour (commonly purple) represents the transition into adulthood. 

What are your biggest inspirations?

From time to time it is guides and videos I savored, other times it’s the require to illustrate inner thoughts I am owning a really hard time expressing through particular text. A great deal of the time it’s what I observe about me, like the colours of the sky and mild, as perfectly as the environment. 

My most significant inventive inspiration is, again, Seurat and his drawings. Some people may possibly have seen I attract a great deal of figures in profile watch and that will come from me looking at Michelle Ocelot’s Prince et Princesses religiously as a kid. I love the graphic top quality of his flicks and my reminiscences of observing Prince et Princesses possibly creep in subconsciously into my work.

If you could choose one particular place on Earth to are living and paint, where would it be?

I just can’t consider of any precise metropolitan areas or even nations, but I would certainly like to live in a place with a cooler weather. I like heading on extended walks as it can help me obvious my mind and distract myself from anxiety, but performing that all through sizzling and humid Korean summers has been tough for me. As an individual who is not quite very good with warmth, a area with shorter summers would be terrific. The warmth below can sometimes be unbearable and I would love to paint outside additional.

Do you have any other hobbies apart from artwork? 

I adore cooking and baking. I uncover it quite therapeutic and meditative, specifically when I’m preparing the ingredients (for example, reducing vegetables into awesome even slices) and watching their colors transform as they prepare dinner. It allows me loosen up when I’m struggling with my initiatives, furthermore I stop up with some great foodstuff to munch on! Besides that, I also get pleasure from studying and viewing flicks when I have absolutely free time. 

What are your inventive programs for the potential?

In phrases of jobs, some thing I often wanted to do is making much more narrative-centered illustrations like e-book illustrations and comics. I’m at present extremely interested in performing book handles or variant addresses for comics. If not I just want to maintain making far more artwork, further create my design, and experiment with extra major, darker tones.

Instagram: @jseojd_artwork

---