ARTIST: KENNETH TSUI
About the art
“Bottle Orange Avocado”. This is my first completed work and was the result of a virtual paint series taught by my friend, a high school art teacher. I learned so much about the entire painting process; I was surprised how much time I spent planning, sketching, and mixing rather than putting paint to canvas. I cherished the post mortem critique; my confidence increased as other students praised my coloring, but more importantly, I noticed others had added their own flair to their work. This is, after all, why I paint; I want to have more creative experiences and more perspectives. It is during painting where my right brain begins whispering to my financially minded left brain that wanted to paint exactly what it saw.
“Italian Landscape”. My second composition was also the progeny of the virtual paint series; this time my sister (in the same room) and Uncle (via zoom) joined too! I couldn’t wait to try a landscape; the bright twilight sky with various shadows excited me too. This time, unfettered by the thought of painting exactly what I saw, I was more confident that the strokes hitting the cardboard would not have to look “right.” The process was much less frustrating, and I learned to appreciate the mixing and color creation and remembered to paint the sky before I added the trees. I wanted to mimic the trees on avenues in Pissarro (I think) works and happily blotted thick paint on to give the clumps of leaves a three-dimensional look. I am pleased that the yellow sky shines through the leaves. I finally slid in the trunks and branches at the end. Those small details were the most satisfying part of the entire work. In the post mortem critique, I heard, “This piece looks like it was painted joyfully,” and “You definitely do not overpaint - you get in and get out quickly.” I am taking those two comments to heart for my future works. I want joy or any emotion I’m pursuing to jump out and hug the viewer.
“Self Portrait”. My third piece. I had planned to paint the scene outside my window, but it seemed tedious, and I couldn’t overcome my feeling of impatience due to the numerous colors. I thought I’d have to spend 1 sitting painting the sky and the lake’s reflection of it before I sat again to paint the foliage. Instead, I thought of Soutine portraits; I wanted to create something less realistic than a Rembrandt, something more impressionistic or abstract. I completed this in two sessions - one for the background and the shirt, the second for the head. I carefully planned the order - eyes, face, mouth, ears, then hair. I took time to space out the parts of the face that would fall on the page, but as I was painting I remembered it didn’t have to be exact, so I left the accuracy to the whim of my imagination. I ended up loving 2 things about the painting: the hair reflection color of grey with a tinge of light blue - it doesn’t seem very awkward in retrospect, and when I stepped back to review the completed piece, I was surprised that without realizing it I had painted a realistic shadow of the hair falling over the left side of the face! I can’t wait to paint my next subject!
About the artist
Kenneth Tsui 崔愷寧 is a fledgling artist, American born Chinese, public speaker, active CPA, and board member for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore. Ken is also a Baltimore APAC advisory board member focusing on organizational strategy and enhancing development and financial practices. Ken was a finance and accounting professional for 15 years and was fortunate to lead a company’s first Asian employee resource group from inception growing it to 3 locations across the US. Leveraging that experience, he has spoken at various global events virtually and in-person educating attendees on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Ken has an MBA from the University of Hartford and dual degrees from The College of New Jersey in Accountancy and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In his spare time you can find Ken at Boys & Girls Clubs reading and hanging out with the kids. Ken looks forward to restrictions lifting so he can hop on an airplane, visit art museums, and dine out with friends.
