In a culture of endless striving and cutthroat competition, self-compassion might feel like a luxury we can’t afford.Self compassion, acceptance and loving yourself is an art by itself. The sense of independence you feel by doing something that you love is a really important part of your wellbeing. We are so grateful to learn this art through our artist Julie Lai. Julie is based in Hong Kong, says “Art has always been a passion of mine that gave me a lot of space to explore my imagination and creativity.”
She also specified that her art teacher was the one who motivated her in High school which led her to take art as a career. Her inspirations are as simple as from music, movies , books or anything which is around her which makes her art even more special because of her creative perspective to normal ordinary things.
What inspired us the most was the messages which she generally tries to communicate through her art style. She beautifully explains how she does this in her own words :
"Whether it be client or personal work, I often try to add an emotional layer into my work. That could be through the colours, marks and forms. In regards to my personal work, I usually don’t approach it with a clear message in mind as I love to hear different interpretations. I like the idea that my work may express some element of the human experience that others could possibly relate to."
This shows pure self love journey and acceptance and having the compassion to express herself through her work and talent. We are so glad that we were able to find her, who believes like us , that art has the power to act as a gateway to experiences that you perhaps have not had personally. Artists can communicate and express so many nuances and layers when it comes to experiences and mental health. That means that it can resonate and connect with others, consequently creating a space for dialogue and community.
It is very motivating to see Julie Lai disciplined towards her passion for art as she explained the balance between creating art for yourself and creating art for clients.
“Creating art for clients can sometimes bring its own restrictions, but I try to bring my own personality and point of view to my client work as much as possible. When doing personal work, I don’t try and pressure myself to constantly create but instead let my own enthusiasm and curiosity lead the way.”
This shows her true Self Compassion, acceptance and self love which unfortunately many people try to seek this acknowledgement from others instead of first finding it themselves.
Her artistic style has been evolving throughout the years and she sees it as an amalgamation of various influences combined with her quirks, which makes it absolutely stunning. . The fluid lines and marks in her work are influenced by her mother’s Chinese calligraphy and paintings.She also excels and is open to experiment various forms of art , naming from digital to traditional. She also mentioned that her work is mainly digital but she finds a lot of joy painting with gouache. Everyone in the room was in seventh heaven when she explained the soothing and therapeutic way to apply paint and mixing colours.
For sure Julie made us believe that art can be therapeutic and can help us in the journey of self love and wellbeing. To get inspired and motivated like us from her checkout her instagram @julieoolie_ and support her in www.laijulie.com
- Ramyaa (@vibrantvein)