We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hanna Jaeun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hanna, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I wish I had started my creative career sooner. Life is too short. I wish I had taken formal painting classes or studied under an artist. It would have saved me a lot of painstaking time figuring things out on my own. My biggest regret is not switching majors in college. I knew I was definitely in the wrong major but did not have the courage to go for it. I often wonder where I would be now if I had. Would I be painting now?
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Hanna and I am a painter and an artist. Like most creative people, I have been doodling, drawing, painting, sculpting, sewing from a young age. I received a BFA in Apparel Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. I landed my first job at Anna Sui as an assistant designer. I felt trapped working a full time job in an office. After some soul-searching, I made the decision to work as a freelancer, hand drawing technical specs while painting on the side. It took a lot of trial, error, lack of sleep and tears to finally learn the ins and out of the painting process. But somehow I started showing at galleries. Selling my first painting through a gallery was one of the most rewarding experiences. My work often is categorized as dark art or lowbrow art. I mainly work with acrylic paint on wood panel. I love the smoothness of wood which allows for greater detail. Most of my inspiration comes from the macabre, childhood memories, and my love of animals while exploring themes of alienation, vulnerability, and the yearning to belong.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Go to art shows, take the time to drop a comment on their social media. Trust me, a nice comment goes a long way! It always makes my day. And if you can afford it, buy art from artists and creatives, whether it is an original painting, print or a t-shirt. It is the biggest support one can give.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I was first starting out, I decided to live alone, buckle down and get serious about painting. I was starting to make some progress and was just barely picking up some steam. I was brand new and clueless and everything took so much longer than it should have. But I stuck with it. Then there was a fire that started downstairs and my apartment was in shambles and all my work was badly beaten up or destroyed. I thought maybe it was a sign to stop painting, but I continued. Then shortly after, I had another fire. This time it was the landlord’s fault. Again, I lost most of my things and my paintings got a beating once again. I should have taken it as a sign to quit. But here I am still painting.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hannajaeun.com
- Instagram: @hannajaeun
- Facebook: hannajaeunart