Meet Theresia Zhang

We recently connected with Theresia Zhang and have shared our conversation below.

Theresia , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

This is the common questions I got from people. I would say I keep my creativity alive by immersing myself in narratives! Since all my paintings carry a story, I read extensively—mostly literature, but also comics and graphic novels—and jot down any ideas that come to mind. While brainstorming, I love listening to songs with narrative-driven lyrics and melodies, as they help spark ideas. Meditation helps me focus and lets my thoughts flow freely, especially when I’m alone. Other than this, I also visit museums and galleries quite often to recharge and find inspiration in other artists’ works and histories.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My work explores intimate and narrative-driven themes, blending nostalgic fashion, mythology, and cross-cultural identities into visual stories. I use both traditional and digital mediums, but I particularly love oil paint and pastel for their tactile qualities and depth.

What makes my art special is the way it blends narration with still pictures. I have a deep love for sequential art, and I’m particularly skilled at depicting a noisy scene in a quiet setting, or a quiet scene in a noisy environment. Each painting carries a narrative, often inspired by literature, comics, music, and my own reflections. My themes often touch on romance, knights, and the delicate balance of androgyny, with nods to my Chinese heritage and modern femininity.

I’m quite an international identity—I’m Chinese and have lived in Europe and the US for several years. These cross-cultural experiences have shaped my aesthetic standards and my deep interest in exploring different cultures in both the real and fictional worlds. I started reading at a very young age, around 3 years old, partly because I don’t have any siblings (although I do have a lot of friends). This gave me plenty of time with myself at home. While living in Vienna, Austria, I was not only the only Chinese girl but also the first Asian kid in a school with over 150 years of history. My family was concerned about my Chinese fluency, especially since I lived with my grandmother, who didn’t speak German or English. She homeschooled me and provided many books to read. Vienna’s rich artistic culture introduced me to great gardens, museums, and masterpieces, and I believe my early experiences there greatly shaped my artistic preferences. I especially love Vienna Secession art, as it blends figurative art, decorative art, and applied art.

Currently, I’m in the final year of my master’s degree at the New York Academy of Art, which has been a transformative journey for my practice. My art is ever-evolving, and I aim to create pieces that resonate emotionally while sparking dialogue about identity and narrative. I’m preparing a new Greek mythology-inspired art book and also developing comics and stories about my original characters, which I share on my social media, resazart. This blend of classical inspiration and personal storytelling is a cornerstone of my creative process.

For updates, you can follow me on social media at resazart and visit my website, www.theresiazhang.com, where you’ll find my recent paintings! I’d love to connect with fellow art lovers, collectors, and creatives. Stay tuned for gallery exhibitions, new works, and narrative-driven projects that continue to explore the depth of human emotion and identity.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would love to answer this. I would say drawing every day, staying curious about humanity, and being open-minded to other cultures have been the most impactful aspects of my artistic journey.

Creating a story involves a lot of different skills, depending on what tool you’re using. If it’s painting, you need your painting skills. If it’s writing, you need to know how to put together your words. But no matter what, the most important thing is to stay curious about people. If you’re just starting out in visual art, I’d say always have a pencil and a piece of paper on you. You never know when inspiration will strike!

I’d recommend learning the basics of painting. Even though I went to art school for my undergrad, I didn’t have an art background before that. I just took some art classes after school because it seemed fun and never really thought I could major in it. I didn’t have much formal training at first, so my sketches were rough, my characters looked a little off, and my colors were all muddy. I struggled a lot, especially in the first few years. But the one thing I always knew was that I loved drawing. It made me happy.

When I moved to New York for college, it was a bit overwhelming at first, but I got used to the fast pace. It felt a little like home since it reminded me of Beijing. What I loved most was having access to so much human activity. I’d sit in a coffee shop or park and sketch people walking by. They didn’t know I was watching, so their poses were natural and spontaneous. I had to draw quickly, though. Later, I learned that’s called gestural drawing.

Then Covid hits. I moved back to MD, and transferred to another school. Since I spent 99% of the time at home, I have more time in doodling. I doodle and doodle and doodle for about a year and half, and went back to school in person. Art school will teach you a lot, but not necessarily the technical part, because there’s only so much they can “teach”, and the real learning comes from practice, practice, and more practice—just like learning a new language. It’s all about putting in the time and effort to develop your skills. I remember my first class at MICA was a drawing class, our first assignment was 300 figure sketches in 2 weeks. That is a lot of work to do! I still feel tears in my eyes even talking about this right now, but it accelerates my art skill in just about 2 weeks, what a great deal it is!

Now, I still draw every single day. I treat it like people taking photos whenever they go—instead I always have a pencil and paper with me. Whether it’s something I see or something I feel, I draw it down. Over the years, I’ve filled an entire bookshelf with sketchbooks, and I never throw any of them out. It’s really satisfying to look back and see all the progress I’ve made.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes, I’m actively looking for gallery collaboration and publishers for my upcoming Greek mythology-inspired art book. For the past 10 years, I’ve been writing and developing an original character story, and my work is very visual and narrative-driven. While I primarily paint using traditional mediums, I also create digital art from time to time. I consider my creative process quite director-like, as I love overseeing the visual and narrative aspects of the story. I’m also open to the possibility of working in film, as I find the process of visual storytelling fascinating across various mediums.

I’m also excited about the possibility of collaborating with musicians bring stories to life through music videos! I’m also currently working with friends on indie game, where I’m responsible for the CG art. If you’re a musician or creative professional who shares an interest in narrative-driven art or story-based projects, I’d love to connect and explore how we can collaborate. You can reach me through ig@resazart or my website www.theresiazhang.com — There’s not too much Theresia Zhang who paints!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theresiazhang.com
• Instagram: http://www.theresiazhang.com/resazart
• Twitter: @resazart
• Other: Weibo: @左宗棠兔头
  RED：@左宗棠兔头

Image Credits

Dean Mabalot
ig:@dean.mabalot.art