fh0 - about me

Hello, my name is Hsky ( H is silent and it's a take from my Chinese name) and I am an artist. I draw and paint many styles, but abstract is where I can express my most inner emotions. I also draw realistic and classic paintings which I feel are a requirement to understand abstract. I graduated from Whittier College with a B.A. (Painting) in 1999. I have strong opinions.

Artist Statement
My life is a big chaos so that's why I paint abstract art. The lines, symbols and strokes I use reflects my life. My character is full of uniqueness, surprises and emotions that's why my paintings are so colorful. I'm trying to find happiness, calmness in my life and that's why if you look closely to my painting, you can find that center point of the painting has a feeling of calmness. It's like the eye of the storm, outside full of emotions but in the center of it all, there's a peaceful feeling. It's not easy to share my life with others; not everyone is going to understand me. By doing art, this is my way of writing a diary about my life, my emotions, and my thoughts. I can freely do whatever line stroke, color and form that tells my story in my colors.

Abstract Art - A Note
When it comes to my canvas art, I found myself loving abstract because it is the most misunderstood art form and felt it was an extension of how I felt about myself. Abstract is about the artist. It's not about placing random paint anywhere like many assume. My type of abstract is focused on emotion to flow of color. Pollock knew where to place the paint, though many say he just splashed it. Look at him create and you will see true intention. It is sad that abstract is a form that some non-artist have exploited because of its misunderstanding. For the art lover, it's about substance, intent, connection to color, stroke, feelings and more in order to for the artist like myself to place a copy of what inside on the outside. Other artist have a different views, which is why it's important to know the artist.

The Hard Road
It has been a hard road since 1999. Its been like a movie that would be hard to understand why such a mountain of obstacles have been there. Seriously, imagine every step made, there was a river in my way. Setbacks everywhere from family fights, hackers, deceptions, health, loss of friends etc. So bad, I could barely do art because I became a dumping ground for almost everyone. Ever since I quit my job to do more art, my social status around me went to the floor. Friends, family, etc.. all complain why don't I get a job and they use me for errands, talking about me and predicting my failure. My best friend since high school stopped talking to me because I told her I wanted to do art as my life's work. She felt I needed a job and a 401k...and I disagreed. When I said she could be laid-off and suffer a similar prediction, she ended our friendship. Other friends preferred their facebook online friends that uplift them. Being a real person with real life problems like me is a curse to many...or maybe an artist without a job, gallery or shows is the problem....

It's been years of pain that pushed me to the edges Years ago in early 2000 I took a dozen or so paintings and threw them in the trash when I was living with my mom. We were moving and she said there was no room for them in the new house. I placed them on the curb with heaps of trash. It was a horrible feeling. Some children on bikes saw them and asked me why did throw them away. I told them what my mom said to me and they looked at me with disbelief. I told them they could take what they wanted. They all jumped off their bikes and started picking and taking what they could. They were saying how great they looked and how they were going to hang them in their room. What made me happy was to know that the children saw the beauty and my paintings were being saved by kids. Later on, a truck drove by and a man took all the rest of them. Many of these paintings are in my photo section of this website.

One thing you will learn about me after decades of climbing a thorn covered mountain, I have plenty to express and it can be too honest at times to some. My art has so much say about life and the many faces of human emotion, especially the personal ones that drove me to the edges. I have much to say, but I really want you to look at my art and feel it.

My Thoughts, Likes
My parents named me Hsinying. The "ying" is not my middle name, it is the second word of my first name. Chinese people usually have two words for first name. My Chinese name is pronounced Singying just like singing the song with "ing." A lot of Americans said my Chinese name is very pretty. I like to eat shrimp cocktail, coke, ice cream, chocolate w/ nuts, coconut water, perrier, nachos, Mcdonald fish burger and chicken nuggets, Church's chicken. I like everything with blueberry, grape, mango and orange taste. I love colorful, modern, cute and cool stuff and clothing. I love to paint colorful abstract paintings and to create funky cool accessories and jewelry. I am also interested in classical and funky music, fashion, poetry and cool cars. As a kid, when I first held a pencil, I started to draw.

I love all forms of art. I want to have a free life. I wish all mankind can be free and easy and peaceful. I would like to spread out the freedom message and encourage thinking to others by my paintings. Therefore, I create no limit canvas; it can be weird abstract shape canvas with no traditional squared boundary and rules. Basically, it is paintings to free the mind/depression/lost. In every year that passes, everything is more modern, yet people are suffering from more depression. I myself have suffered from depression since when I was a kid. I suffer more than most other kids; I have different stages that went up and down from wealthy to poor, from pride to lost. It's hard to find myself any more in my own little world. Thus, I had only one way to go, turn to my art world. I like to paint by using my fingers and palms because it is the direct touch from my hand and from my mind. It is faster for me to work and who ever saw the artworks will feel my finger markers. My finger prints are most unique because no one has the same ones, so each paintings would be symbolize my own unique individuality.

Art Education
I studied art under many instructors in both Taiwan and USA. I had personal tutors teaching me oils when I arrived from Taiwan. In high school, I was in the art honor class. It was the highest art class of the whole school. I auditioned and made it into the class. I started experimenting with taking ink and placing drops on the paper then using air from my mouth I blew the ink around and also tilted the paper. I did one at home and was very satisfied with the results. I felt like I discovered a new method for my painting. I decided to try this new technique in the classroom. The teacher was walking around checking all the students work. She stood behind me and watched me perform. I was sure in my mind that she was being impressed with my creative technique. She asked me in a sarcastic way, "what's this?" I told her it was my new abstract form, she paused for a few seconds and in a very stern voice said "do not ever do this again. This is not art!" She walked away and I felt very sad. Her words did not stop me. I continued to do this technique at home away from her uncreative eyes.

I had received two scholarships in high school to attend the Art Center's high school program. It's a program for high school seniors to prepare and get a taste of what it will be like to attend Pasadena Art Center. I applied and got accepted to Otis, Cal-Arts, School of Visual Arts (NY), California College of the Arts (Oakland,CA) , Cal State Long Beach and a few others. I chose Whittier College. Even though it was not an art-only school, I really liked the fact it was close to my home and my Mom liked that too. I really liked the feel of the campus and had a great time. Of course, there are always those strange things that happen anywhere you go.... While in college I was assigned a mentor. This mentor also happen to be the head of the art department at the time. I was in all of her classes all four years. In my freshman year, my first art class is called two-dimensional drawing. There were around 40 students. We were using charcoal and pencil. She asked us to draw whatever we felt. She walked out of the room and told us to put our drawings on the ground when we were done. She came back into the room, she walked around looked at all the drawings and she selected my drawing as the best. Since I didn't know a lot of English at the time, I thought I was being singled out as an example of how not to draw. After the class was over at one of my classmates approached me and congratulated me for being selected as the best drawing. I had little faith in my drawing abilities so I was shocked that teacher has selected mine.

In my third year in a college classroom of 20 people, we were asked to draw the dean of the school and it would be a gift for her. The dean sat for the session and was then asked to leave the room. We placed the paintings on the floor. The dean returned and walked around looking at all the paintings. She selected mine as her favorite. She said she felt the most emotion from it. My teacher asked her twice "Are you sure this is the one you want?" I didn't get a chance to take picture of her and the painting.

One instructor in particular in my printmaking class was the complete opposite. He called me an art whiz. I didn't know what whiz meant. I assumed it was a negative remark because I keep getting those since I was kid. I was sad and went to my dorm to look up the word. I could not find a definition in my English to Chinese dictionary. I came across the word wizard and next to it had wiz for short. When I read the definition I was shocked. Since high school this was literally the very first time an instructor had giving me positive remarks. My instructor Endi Poskovic really believed in my art and encouraged me and pushed me by giving me increasingly more difficult and challenging work. Other students only did around 10 prints, he pushed me to do 15. At the end of my senior year I had an art show in the art building and I asked him to be the speaker at my art show instead of asking my mentor. His speech was very inspiring and spoke around seven minutes. He said something that I will never forget. He said that he challenged me and that I also is challenged him with my toughness always expanding what he requested in my art. He said that it was going to be sad to have me leave the school. My mother videotaped his speech. You can view the video on youtube (click here). I did invite my mentor to come to my Art show reception....... she never arrived. Everyone's mentor was there except mine. Why me? I thought... Many of my other teachers actually came to my show. Mr Poskovic was the first art teacher since childhood to actually say something positive to me longer than one sentence. Many of my art teachers growing up let me know they didn't like me and my art in one way or another.

I graduated with a Bachelor Fine Arts from Whittier College. My art experience at Whittier College was fantastic with all the people I shared those years with. People have said my work has a natural and authentic form; not a fad or gimmick style. My art is here for the long term, not the flavor-of-the-month club.

Feelings
Different paintings represent different moods and phase. It is not predictable because I donšt know when my mood will change, I donšt know if the next minute I will be happy or sad. I can be happy and produce a sunny painting in one day, the next day, I would be totally depressed and produce a miserable/chaos painting. My first series of framestract is done in less than a week, all different paintings is made under different mood. When I am influenced by inspiration, I will work very fast. Others try to write down what they feel on their diary. My painting is my secret diary but Išm showing it to everybody. I want everyone to know how I feel and how I struggle and I hope whoever has the same issue will feel comfort and relief after they saw my painting. When Išm ready to work, I cannot be disturbed or else my mind will flow somewhere else. My mind has to stick on where my mood stays, either happy, sad, depressed, or doubt. Many phrases in my life that I feel that I want to give up and I canšt because I know if I give up at that moment, I will not achieve anything any more in my life ever. Rather spending the time on giving up or depress all day or complain about it, I have to stand up, wipe off my tears and think a best solution to move on. Times like that is very struggle and painful, I have no one to talk to, neither to my friends nor my family because most of the time, they were my problems. They had their own problems too so there is no one who can help me but myself. Ironically when my family and friends needed my help, I did what I could to help. But when I needed their help, they would turn their back on me or they just laugh at me and make fun of my problem. Because I didn't have a job, they saw me as someone that was worth less than their other friends. This would encourage others to treat me with less respect. Typical characteristics of people who are blind to what matters in life; friendship.

Many things in this world are not fair, even though it is a 21st century many things is just keep under secret or unfair. Sometimes on the road, people with nice cars would come push behind me or make me not able to drive because their car is better than mine. Sometimes when I dress colorful style all messy and cool, I went into the mall, and sales would not greet me but to greet others who dress in "generic fashion." I could not do anything about it, because my art clothes are strange and strange people don't have money. I canšt change their mind. I just hope one day when people see my paintings it will stomp the programmed mind and release the creative one. It is best that everyone is treated equal and free, it is all better when people come out from depression and leave the pain behind. I try to achieve that goal and I hope when I do, I would be able to help others.

Art in Authorship, Music and Video
Ever since I was in elementary, I have played classical flute. I reached a level 6 on the Royal British Academy of Music. In 2002, I was encouraged to expand my art into music as well. I started writing and recording what became known as Devil Kiddies feat Hsky. My boyfriend and I collaberated on this "creepy" music project. I wrote the song "Play With Me" as an expression of how I felt. My ex-friends saw me as some kind of Hansel and Gretel witch that was taking away their innocence by me telling them about reality. They could give me advise, but as soon as I gave some back and pointed out how they were wrong, they never returned calls, emails, etc.. One way friendships are not for me. That's how the song was born. We did video for the song. I also started an abstract/toonlike panel cartoon called The Blurbies about office politics. The production is made by me and J-vibe. It uses single frame abstract toons and fx over a performed audio script. They pack information into a minute or so. Some are clear others take a little more thinking to understand.

I did a cartoon book about the people in my life and called it "IcySky." The name means "Cold Hsky" because that's how they saw me. The quotes are things family and friends said. We all have things like this happen to us because we are humans and emotions are similar to all. Many don't want to be made aware of their faults, but love it when you point out the other people's. My whole life, I've been told of my faults and when I open my mouth to show theirs.......they leave. I stay and listen about mine, because that's when I learn the most about them. My next book is a photography book and completing the Icysky series.

I also started doing my own radio show in 2007. We started a radio station Mixer8.com. My boyfriend was doing streaming radio back in 1998. I like talking and playing a variety of music from all styles. I record in our music studio. I love big homes and collect pictures of them. I often drive around areas where big houses are admiring the structures. The big yards and trees in such places are so beautiful to relax and paint away from all the noise.

It's been a long hard road, but I don't stop applying art in everything I do from my clothes, my furniture, room and more. I am art and that's how I live. I hope you like all the forms of my art and accept my application to bring color and creativity into your life.

Thank you! Hsky - 2002, 2010.

Collections Since a child, I have been collection postage stamps. Here are few samples of some from Taiwan and China. Collection number: - click on the collection number to see the stamps

one

two

six

nine

Thanks!

- Hsky