We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zoey Zoric. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zoey below.

Zoey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Before being an oil painter I was a classically trained animator. My foundations were in life drawing and visual storytelling. After more than a decade of working in computer animation, I wanted to work with more tangible tools and have more tactile experiences! I went to the one thing I had dreamed of doing – oil painting. I had initially started with a few evening courses. But it was very slow going. I had unwittingly put a lot of pressure on myself, I should only produce amazing things! Otherwise I was only wasting time AND precious expensive paints! I could have sped up my learning process by removing this pressure. Learning to paint would have been much easier if I had made more space for failures and experimenting. I feel I created many unnecessary obstacles for myself in the early days of learning to paint. One of the ways I got over this was to actually sing to myself to drown out the very relentless critical inner voices. Putting more emphasis on making an expressive painting rather than making a perfect painting was very valuable and made it much easier to continue on painting. Putting more focus on a practise rather than a product was very freeing.

Zoey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in a working-class family and did not know anyone who was an artist. I was thrilled to discover a career path like computer animation. After working for almost 2 decades in the television industry making kid’s cartoons, I had enough of the digital medium and wanted to get myself into something physical, and tactile. I turned to a dream I had long abandoned, oil painting. I worked with some established artists to become comfortable with oil paints and eventually began exhibiting at local art shows and fairs.

My current body of work, oil painting on reclaimed iPhone screens explores the entanglement between technology and human relationships. As our lives increasingly revolve around digital platforms and virtual spaces, our perception of others, the world around us, and even our own identity has shifted to the confines of screens. Amidst this shift, questions arise: Are genuine interactions becoming casualties of the digital age? Is empathy diminishing, leaving a void in our shared humanity? My work strives to bridge this divide. I endeavor to draw the viewer to the authenticity and humanness embedded within the subjects of my paintings. In exploring these visual narratives, my aim is to rekindle the profound connections that underlie our interactions and restore a sense of empathy.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have always been captivated and motivated by the notion that my work can inspire someone, on a personal level. That my work could be a source of inspiration or power in a moment when someone needs that lift to see a choice through to a resolution. That person could be another artist hung up on how to finish a work, or it could be a student deciding on where to go to college. We are all constantly faced with so many choices on a daily basis. Some choices are mundane and others are more profound. These days we all need a little dose of optimism and support for our own agency.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I wish I knew that it was pointless to chase perfection. Early on I was obsessed with perfection. I must start this painting to achieve all the perfect proportions and sizes. Appearances must be perfect! Colours must be perfect. But this was a ridiculously futile exercise and I really wasted so much time on chasing perfection. What I should have been chasing was practice and progress. This is where the real benefits and rewards hide!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zoeyzoric.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeyzoric/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zoeyzoric.art
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoeyzoric/

Image Credits
Zoey Zoric