I have way too many photos on my phone and need to take more professional photos to update my website. I also stopped SNS because it was stealing time out of my life, and pretty much everything else that I have to do outside of my private work space equally stresses me out. Occasionally I do hang my works on my studio wall as if I were a guest walking into my studio to view my works. When I see them on the wall, I hear a little feeling—it’s more than a voice—inside me that whispers, “I am proud of you, Yoon, good job.” My little world, my afternoon wall, my safe place.
Got this photo text from brilliant Makeda, who is curating the group show “Talking Across an Expanse” at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (at the T-South gates entrance). It runs for a year, September 2025-September 2026, so if you get a chance to fly out of or in to ATL, maybe you can take a look. The other artists featured in the show are some of my favorites. Super excited to be in the show. And have my work hanging in the airport. Staring back at you, going places. (Photo by Makeda Lewis)
I already have a studio photo of this one posted in another page. This painting is one of the first ones I painted with oil. Somehow every photo of this painting catches different blue. Anyway—I have been teaching myself how to paint with oil. It’s been…roughly a year or so. It’s actually not even teaching myself; I watched some videos, then became quickly impatient and bored (I can only watch Bob Ross without falling asleep). I have always loved and painted with ink, watercolor, and pencil, so oil was the medium I thought I’d never get used to. The medium itself is forgiving, but it’s not forgetful at all once applied—I often hear people say the opposite, but to me oil hangs onto the past applications, strokes, humidity and temperature, etc., way more conservatively than ink or watercolor. Still, it’s a new medium to me, and I feel like I pushed through and came out of my own artist bog by picking up oil. Above all, I love how I am learning through mistakes and still end up making paintings! Oh, yes, I always wish I knew certain things before I painted. But there are no bad works, only misplaced intentions. So far I am having fun with oil, but I know it will kick my butt once I become better at it. Like what my mom who says to me: “I am so proud of you, but you are a pain in the ass.” As the title of the painting says (We ate steamed sweet potatoes and roasted chestnuts for lunch), my mom and I ate way too much steamed (and baked) sweet potatoes and roasted chestnuts last winter. We got sick of them by early spring. Out of season, out of mind. We moved onto strawberries, then soon, peaches.
Another photo from Makeda, the curator of the group show “Talking Across an Expanse” at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (at the T-South gates entrance). The show runs for a year, September 2025-September 2026. This painting is called “Weather Land” (oil on canvas, 36x48 inches) If they are not talking about the weather with you, they might see no future with you. (SMILY FACE) (Photo by Makeda Lewis)
More oil practices.
Detail view of Weather Land, oil on canvas, 2024 (photo by Jamie Hopper). Now showing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (at the T-South gates entrance), in a group show “Talking Across an Expanse,” runs thru September 2025-September 2026.
I’ve never found a cat that is just cute. And “just” is impregnable there.