Lio Lo - artist plastic / Nova Scotia
Artist Statement:
Although I am best known as a seascape watercolour painter, my paintings are basically the results of things I see around me. The decision to come to Canada 13 years ago has made the career as a painter possible for me The tranquility of rural Nova Scotia life suits my personality. The love of this unspoiled spacious land has reflected on my paintings as well. I have painted watercolor for as long as I can remember but still find this medium full of excitement and challenges.
Motto:
'Beauty is all around us'
A sensitive artist of great refinement and precision in drawing, shading
and registering the details of the natural scenery of Nova Scotia.
Lio's art comes from inside, especially from her love for rural nature
and spaces, also a special magic power of converting each natural element
through her mind and personality.
I would consider Lio the type of artist who can humanize the wilderness
through her artfulness and who brightens up the world with a touch of
brush and pencil.
Her landscapes express tranquility, a type of ancestral peace and serenity
descending directly from Nova Scotia wilderness and life style.
The artist proves to be a fine observer of each proposed theme ,trying to
register and magnify each detail or texture of the object till the
minuscule grains of rocks or the most intricate veins of
leaves ,flowers' petals, ocean waves, etc. are shown.
Painting flowers gives her the feeling of how life processes are
moving, that feeling sliding down from her mind to hands with a precise
touch drawing the blooms, shades and contrasts.
The three dimensional effect is coming through the force of contrastive
colors and tones, also through our own sensorial perceptive.
In terms of perceptions, to some viewer, the dominant element might be
the colors of her paintings, to others the strong auditory effect
coexisting with the olfactory.
Lio considers walking as being 'a part of her landscapes a step toward
her art process. She chooses whatever appeals to her immediately.
When she goes for a walk, she always looks for art inspiration. In her
studio, the classical music, piano tunes or just a glance outside her
window would stimulate her art ideas.
Lio wants her work to convey the sense of dynamic, to represent the 'life
force' using energetic lines.
She enjoys staging the mental image and then shooting photographs to
work from. Her paintings engage the viewer at the first glance.
The sense of balance and unity comes from integrating every part, so the
lines, colors, contrasts work together and invite us to explore every
inch, then to return to our center of interest.
Her art seems to be of realistic
type, very precise and close to the Nova Scotia's heart and life
style. It's also the expression of her fidelity to universal nature. She
prefers peaceful harbors, ocean landscapes, typical flowers and plants, all
of these belonging to the moral and spiritual heritage of the local
people.
In this way, Lio tries to step with recognition and confidence in the new
land she chose to live in.
Entering her studio in Jordan Falls, you’d feel a kind of soft and gentle whisper coming
from her delicate pot flowers as well as from her paintings. This might be
also a trial of synchronizing two worlds, Lio's native land and Nova Scotia.
In order to approach to her art and philosophy, I had the privilege of an
interview with Lio and with her permission I would add to this
presentation, hoping in this way 'the words' would come with some 'extra
colors' beyond the real ones of her pictures and
help the viewer understand better Lio's artistic profile.
'How would you explain your motivation for choosing local scenery to
represent your art?'
L:' My paintings are the results of the things I see around me which
also include a lot of traveling in Nova Scotia.
'What are your favorite types of mediums and according to these ,your
favorite work techniques?
L:' Although I use other mediums such as oil, pen and ink, colored
pencils, water color remains my favorite because of the challenges this
medium has to offer .My favorite technique in water colors is 'wet into
wet' which is to apply colors on a wetted paper. There is no other medium
that can reach the fluid effect of this technique.
'What are your favorite colors in art and every day life? Do you think
there is any correspondence between them?'
L: 'I love to paint white objects because it requires a complex of
combination of colors .Contrary to what people think ,painting white object isn't
just leaving a blank space. It requires layers of transparent light
colors to suggest the glow of the sun light and a combination of cool
and warm colors for the shadows it casts.
I love earth colors for every day life because they blend in easily with
the surroundings and they provide a camouflage for me to remain an
observer.
I know it sounds silly but I often feel an intrusion to the natural
surrounding if I wear a colorful outfit.'
'Do you consider there is a connection between your artistic belief and the
rural environment where you live?
L:' I don't think it's a connection but the rural environment sure
provides in instant gateway when I need to pull myself out from the
paintings.'
'What would be your art message?'
L:' Beauty is all around us.'
'What type of public do you appeal to?'
L:'I paint in a realistic style, so I guess generally these paintings
appeal to more people. I basically paint what I like and people seem to
appreciate.'
'How do you represent your art from the native perspective?
Is there any oriental influence on your paintings?'
L:' Coming from Taiwan, where I was trained and have painted many years with western mediums,
I love Chinese art deeply. Chinese brush paintings and
watercolor paintings though both water mediums are very different in
techniques and subject matters. They are like two different
languages. Each has its own set of grammar and rules. I've learnt Chinese
brush paintings after I did a few years of western art training. I
guess you can say Chinese brush painting is my second language in art'.
Lio Lo’s solo show “ Waterline” will be held at “ At the Sign of the Whale Gallery “ in Yarmouth from May 26 to June 17.
Lio Lo
4673 Highway 103 Jordan Falls,
N.S. B0T 1J0 CANADA
Phone: (902) 875-4328 E.mail: liolo@eastlink.ca
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Laura Mason 6/6/2006 |
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