In our seminar class, I was grouped with Farida. We interviewed each other in the class, and from that interview I found that Farida and I actually had a lot of things in common – we both like photography, we have somewhat similar black-and-white drawing style, we are both interested in music and so on. One difference between us that I found was that Farida seemed to be more mature and strong human being than I am. She said she had went through a lot of things that made her stronger, and I wanted to show that in my composite portrait.
In my seminar writing, I wanted my character to be culturally based in South Korea, but to be self confident, strong, full of dreams and creative(which were Farida’s characteristics). Because I thought that the part of human body that can show their personality the best was the face, I wanted to leave the face of my character identical to Farida’s. By making the overall style of the painting oriental and making the character’s clothing and hair in Korean traditional way, I wanted to show my character’s cultural background. I also sketched the Golden Gate Bridge on the background in order to add more elements of Farida into the painting, but soon decided not to.
What took me the longest time and concentration was definitely the hair.
I started drawing each lines of the hair 
using pen.
During this process, I thought of drawing a tree in the background that is from San Francisco instead of drawing the Golden Gate Bridge. This was because I wanted to give more sense of unity to the overall painting, and I thought that having such a subtle detail that cannot be noticed right away will make the painting more interesting.
I used watercolor on the clothing, the overall tone of the character’s face, and the tree behind her.
This is what it looked after using watercolor
After this I thought I should make the painting look more traditional, old and oriental so that my character’s western facial features can pop out more. I made the paper look brown by using shading powders and makeups (I actually used make-up products on my character’s face too).
I also cropped the paper and decorated the edges with gold paper, and added the red stamp so that it looks more oriental and authentic. This is my finished portrait.
A
fter finishing this I thought that it would have been better if I made the background more smoother, but in the critic my classmates told me that the roughness of the background is what helps the painting look more antique.
This is my final Bridge 2 writing from the seminar class
—————————————————————-
Farin Lee, a teenage artist from South Korea, had a huge success in her first solo art exhibition held in 2014 in Seoul, Korea. Her show embraced almost every medium used in general art works – watercolor, Korean ink, wire, video, photography, oil, acrylic, ceramics, even the sandpaper from her skateboard. Although her techniques seemed somewhat clumsy as if they were showing her lack of profession, the essence of her works was never ruined. What made her and her show famous wasn’t that Farin tried to use different materials, but was rather the content that struck the viewers – Farin gave the colors and shapes to those that cannot be seen, and sounds to those that cannot be heard. “I have a neurological condition called synesthesia”, said Farin, “I see the sound, and hear the sight.”1 Through the vivid colors and the free, relentless use of brushstrokes, figures appearing in Farin’s paintings are distorted from their original appearance. By such way she showed the world she perceives from her unique point of view.
In her artworks, Farin did not merely show the visual world that she was viewing. She even expressed her reaction to the political, religious and social issues through them. The Priest, a painting done with oil paint by Farin on 2014, was one of the most well-known and controversial artwork she had created. Although she was born and raised in a devout Christian family, the face of the priest in her painting was seriously distorted and even seemed as if his flesh was flayed from his bones. “I wanted the answers to the kind of questions that I had toward the religion and the society”, she said. “And everyone tried to shut down those questions. That’s why I studied alone and expressed their flaws in my own way.”2
Farin decided to dedicate her life into the expression of herself through art not so long ago. “She was an anomaly of our class”, said Wayne Chung, her art teacher from high school. “The bizarre images from her artwork let her stand out from any other artists. It was when she was in her sophomore year when she realized that she was viewing the world in a different way. Then started to create her own works and even call herself as an artist.”3
One thing that the experts are looking forward to in her future is that based on her personality, Farin has an infinite potential to develop. “I love learning new things”, Farin said, “and that’s why I love traveling to other countries and that’s why I went to KMLA high school where so many talented students were studying at. Although I was the only student who insisted to study art, I learned a lot there. I believe learning and thinking deeply about any topic can add the depth of my artwork and even broaden my background knowledge.”4 As Farin is eager to learn and convey more in her artwork, critics are saying that the works shown in her first exhibition may only be the introduction to her further works which would be even more innovative.
Farin’s portfolio and her works from her first solo exhibition led her to an art school in New York City where she is currently enrolled in. There she can watch and listen to new things, and develop her works in both contents and techniques. Having so much possibility to improve, Farin is now a rising art star of the next generation.
- Farin Lee(artist) in interview with the author, Sep 12, 2016
- Lee, interview, September 2016
- Wayne Chung(teacher) in interview with the author, Sep 25, 2016
- Farin Lee(artist) in interview with the author, Sep 12, 2016