We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tianshu Zhang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tianshu below.
Tianshu, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
As artists, our inspiration undoubtedly stems from our perception of life. Therefore, in addition to dedicating ourselves to our studios, it’s crucial to enrich other aspects of our lives, to comprehend and appreciate life, and to maintain a curiosity and explorative spirit towards the world. Living in New York offers artists a wonderful opportunity to access various museums, galleries, and art exhibitions. Regularly immersing ourselves in others’ works is one of the most effective ways to ignite our inspiration and sustain our creativity. Furthermore, habits such as reading books, staying updated on current events, capturing moments through photography, and consistently using a sketchbook all contribute to the continuous development of our own artwork。
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a painter who is drawn to work about my own experience of the world. The sense of distance and mystery plays an important role in all my works. My nomadic childhood and family experiences have made me sensitive to emotions and often lament the fleeting beauty of life. I always think about how the environment affects us individually and how each of us responds to the ephemeralness of our surroundings.
I use traditional painting and drawing materials, including oil, acrylics, charcoal, and pastel. The figures in my paintings often take on ambiguous forms and sometimes become incomplete, fusing or fading into the background. The color palettes I use are usually limited to set the tone of the painting and create a specific atmosphere. I work on multiple paintings simultaneously, creating a body of work that has gradually grown over time. With my paintings, I aim to give tangible form to bodily sensations, energy, and things that would otherwise be invisible.
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?
For artists, I believe the first thing you need is the ability to persist, to stick to your ideas, to keep going, and to believe in your abilities and the path you’re taking. Secondly, while maintaining confidence, you also need the ability for self-criticism and reflection, to objectively and deeply evaluate and reflect on your work and creative process. This ability is crucial for artists because it can help them continuously improve their artistic level, identify problems and shortcomings in their work, and actively seek solutions and improvements. At the same time, maintaining curiosity and perceptiveness towards surrounding things is the source of our inspiration and creative materials.
I myself am also a newcomer to the field of artists. I think the most important thing for us is to treat our own works and audiences with firmness and sincerity, create what we really want to create, rationally distinguish and listen to external voices, believe in ourselves, and believe in our work
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Many young artists face the same significant challenge as I did after graduation: how to sustain their artistic practice while also having a stable income to support their artistic career. For most people, having a suitable part-time job is necessary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tianshuzhangart.com
- Instagram: tian_paint
