We recently connected with Joo Park-Kwon and have shared our conversation below.

Joo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

During my stay in Korea in the 2010s, I was very fascinated with my old culture, I thought about my purpose of life seriously away from just making money for living. I craved for learning about Korean culture especially in art. My interest in Korean fine art and culture led me to reenter the School of Art, and I completed the Master’s degree in Korean Fine Art. I found myself spending endless time in creating without tiredness, and that was the time I realized painting is the pursuit of my life. I did not set a goal to be a professional artist at first. But when you have a passion to produce the work with perfection, it led you to the professionalism because you are always open for learning to improve yourself as an artist.

Joo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

From early childhood, as long as I remember, drawing and painting were my favorite things to do. These activities, however, were not thought as something to build a career off of, in my family’s perspective. I instead pursued a career in Nursing with my mother’s encouragement. My nursing career not only gave me financial security, but also allowed me to meet people of various cultural and social backgrounds, which broadened my views and understanding of people. After devoting over 20 years of nursing career in America, I moved back to my old country, Korea. I found myself fascinated with my old culture, especially in traditional Korean fine art. It was then, I decided to pursue my old dream, and completed a Master’s degree in Korean Fine Art. My passion for art brought me back to become an artist. My art work is rooted in East Asian philosophy and thoughts; Taoism, Buddhism, and Yin and Yang energy flow. The world is built on mutually interconnected relations of humans, nature, environment, and universe. Life, from birth to death, is manipulated by continuous interactions. The world maintains its balance and harmony through continuous Yin and Yang energy flows. When the flow is interrupted or blocked, harmony is disrupted and the world manifests in negative ways; physical and psychological illness in humans, or environmental disaster in nature, further destruction of the world. Taking these philosophies, my work expresses harmony or disruption in the interconnected world.
I use traditional East Asian pigmenting methods, which differ from other conventional methods. I use Charcoal ink stick, synthetic and natural pigments from mineral rocks and plants, gold and silver leaf/dust to paint on silk or mulberry paper (Hangi). The processes are complicated from making pigment bonding agent to canvas prep. Pigmenting layers of colors is similar with oil painting, but my technique differs from other techniques by allowing underneath colors to show subtly, which results in unique tones of colors.
Presently I paint landscapes, and love to show the Eastern oriented art and thought interpreted on the Western nature. Vast landscapes touch my soul with the beauty of nature, projecting a balanced harmonious world. The landscape reveals the earth’s continuous interactions of soils, weather, and other environmental elements from the formation of earth to the present, and the process continues on-going. With alarming signs of global warming and weather changes, I wonder the outcome of earth’s landscape in future, whether it will show harmonious or disruptive world in different ways.
I love to share my stories of artwork with others, hoping my work influences harmony and peace in this world. I see the world as an interconnected web, and we can shine each other’s lives through these connections. As jewels of vertexes on the Indra’s web can only shine through other jewel’s reflections, I believe the world we live can be more harmonious and balanced when we cherish each other as people, society, and nations even with our differences.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the opportunity to make connections with people. The different interpretations and experiences they share with me of my artwork is rewarding. A person has told me that one of my pieces made her think about the relationship with her family. Another person was reminded of his deceased friend. These thoughts and personal experiences shared by strangers, are the best rewards to me. I love to hear how my work influences them, and I get to share my story in return. I am very grateful to have the artistic ability to express my views and thoughts through my paintings. I believe everyone has the ability to express themselves, but in different ways. The other reward I have obtained from being an artist, is the freedom I feel. Perfection and precision are two characteristics embodied in me as a medical professional. I have always been meticulous not to make a mistake in the fear of harming someone else’s life. This fear did not allow me to stray off from the chosen path, and I felt safe in return to follow proven facts inside this path. These personal characteristics overwhelmed my work earlier in my art career. As I have continued to create my art, I realized there is no imperfection in the world of art. Everything can be accepted and pleasing as it is. With this realization, I feel freedom when I paint. I wake up every morning with expectations of uncertainty and spontaneity what I am going to create on the canvas, and that’s the freedom as an artist.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I have received a lot of offers for my artwork sale through NFTs. But I have heard many disappointments of NFTs from other artists in its credibility, and I am reluctant to invest my artwork in it at present. Also I am personally uncomfortable with digital currency of the finance world because of my lack of knowledge. I’d rather spend my time to create than figuring out NFTs investment on my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jooartist.net
• Instagram: www.instagrm/joo_k_artist
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/JooPark-Kwon
• Youtube: Joo’s K-Art Gallery
• Other: TAG(The Artist Gallery) Archive