An interview with Ismya of Ismya Arts
I usually post about food and food-related things on She Eats Foood, but this week, I will post about another interest: Art 🎨
Ismya is one of my favorite artists in the Pacific Northwest. Her skillful use of color draws viewers into a world of natural horizons and panoramas, playful creatures and fantastic landscapes. She regularly challenges herself by producing art in different techniques and subjects. I find myself checking out her posts often, wondering what she’ll come up with next.
Recently, I got the chance to ask Ismya more about her craft. Here are her answers.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a half-Vietnamese born in the Midwest but raised here in Washington state. My mother is from Vietnam and my father was mostly of Irish, German, and Norwegian ancestry. We moved here when I was two, so the Pacific Northwest is all I've ever really known.
I was a musician when I was younger but became interested in science when I went away to college. I have a degree in biology and a love for nutrition, gardening, and cooking.
What got you started in making art? What inspired you?
I have always enjoyed art but never had a chance to get involved in it growing up. During the pandemic, like everyone else, I found myself at home a lot more than I ever had before. I had just moved into a new house. Looking around at my bare walls, I decided to finally give art a try. The funny thing is that my walls are still mostly bare despite all my efforts.
What kind of art do you make?
I try to make art that is approachable but still has a little sense of mystery. I often paint misty forests and serene landscapes. Plants of some sort are almost always center stage in my works. I very rarely include any human figures. Usually, I want the viewer to feel like they’re miles away from civilization when they step into my painting. The viewer themself is the human element in my work.
Peace, tranquility, and joy are often the emotions I try to tap into when I’m creating. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with creating art that makes a statement, or demands complexity of emotion or thought from the viewer. For myself though, I just want people to feel happiness when they look at my work. The world is so complex. There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of simplicity. A moment of calm. That’s what I try to capture.
Was there a learning curve for watercolors? If so, how did you overcome it?
There was definitely a learning curve but, I don’t think I will ever stop learning from this medium. Watercolor has a mind of its own. Sometimes it feels like more of a collaboration than anything else. I often start out with pre-wetted paper and then begin dropping in color here and there. I’ll let the paint move a bit on its own, and then I’ll give it a little push or pull with my brush. I think one of the most beautiful things about this medium is how it swishes, swirls, and runs across the paper.
As far as overcoming it — I don’t think I ever will completely. Maybe overcoming the learning curve will only happen once I have enough skills that I can accommodate anything it throws at me. From where I am now ... that’s a long way off, but I’m enjoying the journey so I have no complaints.
What is your favorite medium to work with and why?
Right now, watercolor is definitely my favorite medium, but it can be troublesome. For example, once you place a color down onto the paper, it can be hard to remove it. Watercolor doesn’t allow for adding light on top of dark the way some other mediums do. For that reason, I’ve started getting into acrylic and gouache for studies. I often do studies when I’m trying to learn how to paint new things and, because these mediums are opaque, I can paint over my mistakes or add back highlights or lighter colors. Not to mention that these types of paints stay where you put them.
But I think gouache and acrylics also have a tendency to look a bit more rigid, at least in my hands. While I have seen some amazing pieces from artists working in acrylics and gouache, I haven’t learned the knack for getting them to look more expressive yet. Watercolor is extremely expressive. It does the hard part for me. I think that’s why I love it the most.
How do people find out about your art?
So far it has all been word of mouth. I’ve been blessed in that I happened across people that enjoy what I paint. I think it doesn’t hurt that I live in the Pacific Northwest and I like painting misty forests. I’m surrounded by hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers.
I do have a small (and I mean small) following on Instagram but it is mostly other artists. We cheer each other on and watch each other grow. I am hoping to eventually have a website where it will be easier for people to see my work all in one place. It will also make it easier to have a section of ”available art.” So far, my sales have been by people contacting me after finding something they like on either my Facebook page or on Instagram. Not the most efficient way to do things, but I never thought my art would be anything more than a hobby when I started.
Have you participated in any art shows or events? Do you have plans to in the future?
I haven’t been featured in any shows or events. I’m still very new to the art world, but maybe someday I’ll be brave enough to give it a shot.
I have been offered to be featured in a few restaurants in the Seattle area but I want to make sure I’m ready for it. Right now, I worry that my art is still changing a little too fast and that I still experiment a lot with what I want to create. I think I know what I want my art to be, but I’m still building up the skills to get there.
When you aren’t making art, what are some of your other hobbies and interests?
As I mentioned earlier: nutrition, cooking, and gardening. I also enjoy doing a little fiber arts (knitting, spinning, weaving). Biology and other sciences are obviously huge interests too, as that is my academic background. My two idols as a young child were Albert Einstein and Carl Sagan. And of course I love being outdoors and hiking. I used to snowboard and climb, but I’ve had a few knee injuries and more recently some shoulder injuries so those two are more on the backburner.
What advice do you have for someone struggling with their art?
Put those miles on your brush/pen/pencil. I’m not always the best at being consistent but when I am, I make my best progress as an artist. I know most people don’t want to hear this one, but it is true. Making a lot of art, even bad art, is better than only creating a few times a year.
Another thing is to learn your strengths and weaknesses as an artist. Learn to assess what you like and don’t like about your work and then come up with a way to work on it. Does your art look flat and boring? Value studies may help. Don’t be afraid to take a look at artists you admire. They can be old masters or someone contemporary. Don’t be afraid to do some studies of their works to figure out what they’re doing that you wish your art also contains. Copying is OK and can be a great way of learning. Obviously, just don’t try to pass the work off as your own original piece.
Go back and forth between working your skills and doing art that you enjoy. You don’t want to sit too far into your comfort zone, but don’t make yourself miserable either by only practicing what you’re not good at. Find a balance. The back and forth is often what leads to the best growth.
The 90/10 Approach
Another learning trick is what I like to call the 90/10 approach. Design a piece where 90% of the element will be easy for you, but try out one or two little things that are more challenging in that same piece. It doesn’t have to be 90/10, you can do 80/20 or whatever you’re feeling like that day, but just try to give yourself a majority of elements which set you up for success and some that will challenge you.
Please provide an image of your favorite piece so far that you have worked on. Why is it your favorite?
I think I often like the kind of things I’ve been working on in the recent past. So if you’d asked me this a year ago, my answer would have been different. If you ask me six months from now, the answer will probably be different again. That said, I can maybe narrow it down to two at the moment.
The second piece is an un-named study. It is a little more clunky partially because it is quite small in person; it only takes up half a page in a tiny sketchbook of mine. ... I never intended it to be a finished piece so my brush strokes were more sloppy but perhaps a bit more expressive. I worked in gouache, which gives it a completely different look from my watercolor paintings. Besides needing practice in perspective and urban landscapes, I really wanted to play with the lighting.
One of my favorite parts of this piece is actually a happy accident. In the upper right corner of the building is an imprint of the side of my hand when I placed it into paint that was still wet. Rather than fixing it, I decided to smudge up the rest of the buildings and give them a grungier look than they originally had. I love the playful messiness of it all.
You can find more of Ismya’s art on Instagram @princess.ismya or Facebook
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