Website: http://www.tessarlo.com/
Despite only popping out of Sheridan with a BAA in Illustration earlier this year, previously blogged Indonesian-Canadian artist/illustrator Tessar Lo has already been making waves in the magazine and gallery circuit. His paintings, combining Asian elements with themes of dreams, nature and human concepts, have an almost mystical aura which surely resonates with his fans. We caught up with him for a quick chat about art, life and working in the dark…
Hi Tessar! How are you today?
I’m doing pretty good, thanks- feeling so lucky to be interviewed!
You recently graduated from Sheridan’s BAA course. How’s the transition been from ‘art student’ to ‘art professional’?
I think I have been very lucky to have been prepared adequately while still in school for the “real world”- or at least adequately warned about what to expect. I had the great opportunity of working with knowledgeable and experienced instructors for all four years of my time at Sheridan.
That being said, preparing to become a “professional” is not the same as actually being a professional. I’ve learned there are some things that must be considered as a professional that one would never have to think about as a student; things like taxes, marketing, and the biggie: initiative. In the real world, I’ve had to set my own deadlines, start projects on my own and be driven enough to want to struggle a bit. That’s not even limited to actually doing the work, it also applies especially to doing research and promoting.
Still, it was also fortunate that as I was finishing school, some people were starting to notice my work online. This has been very helpful in keeping me busy as a professional.
Yeah, ‘initiative’ is one of the harder things to master. It’s one thing to say you are passionate about something; quite another to plug away at it on your own steam. How do you keep up your initiative when there are no pressing deadlines looming?
In the little experience I’ve had with art directors, they have been generally easier on me regarding deadlines than I have been on myself. I just know how easy it is to fall behind and get lazy and that’s why I push for ridiculous deadlines- so that I don’t have time to say, “I can do that tomorrow”.
Also, “initiative” only becomes difficult when you look at what we do as work. There’s something that drives me to draw/paint that goes beyond having a career, I think; without trying to sound pretentious, it’s more of a need to do so.
Tell us a bit about your usual work day.
Because most of the time I am working into the break of day, I have to admit I start my days little later than most people. When I get up, (the time varies from day to day, but I try to keep it no later than late morning) I usually take care of answering emails, making/taking phone calls, organizing papers- receipts, artist agreements, etc… if I have to, this is also the time I go to the post to send things and run general errands.
All this will usually take me into early afternoon, maybe two-four o’clock, depending… At this point I usually have a break; I’ll eat if I haven’t already, maybe go shopping for some supplies- anything, just relax.
At around 7 or 8, I start working and with short breaks here and there to browse or lie down for five, I normally work until around 4 or 5 in the morning. Some nights I just go out though; to be social- to have a life.
You paint at night??!!
Yeah, it’s the best time. During the day, there are so many distractions- phone calls, emails, doorbells..etc. At night, it’s all honest, there are no excuses. It’s just a great time when you have your music playing, (even low) and your work in front of you. It really does become you and the project, you create something that is really a part of you- that, and there’s a stillness in the early morning that magically rids all inhibition.
Most of your work is painted on paper and wood. Why not canvas?
I have always done a lot of process work, ideas and experimenting with mediums, this happens obviously in sketchbooks. I just became so accustomed to working on paper that I figured why not use what I know for final work? It would be silly of me to figure everything out on paper then try to do the same thing on canvas- I’m just not that good, haha. The wood is usually left for mounting the paper on, but if I do work on it, it’s to work a little thicker and larger.
Your work is currently being sold in galleries in California. How did that come about, and how does the gallery circuit work?
As I was graduating, fecalface.com put me on their newsroll. Of course because of the amount of news that goes through Fecal Face, I was soon quite literally, old news. Fortunately for me, John Trippe, (editor and founder of Fecal Face) was gracious enough to put me in their flashing header that linked directly to my site. This got me a lot of exposure.
In a couple of weeks, Beau Basse from project: gallery in LA discovered me through Fecal Face and wanted to see some of my work in person and try to push them to his collectors. I sent him five paintings and he was able to sell four, including one of the pieces from my grad show. At the same time, Fecal Face hooked me up again by asking me to show in their 7.5 year anniversary show at 111 Minna in San Francisco. Juxtapoz.com wrote a little something on me too around that time. You could say that it was just a very fortunate chain of events that involved good people having some faith in me. And now that I have my foot in the door, I am trying my best to make something of the opportunities given to me.
Regarding how the “circuit” works, I am still relatively new to it all. I am still trying to figure it out myself, so come back to me in a few years- haha.
Your paintings have a distinct Asian flavor without trying to look like Asian art. Do you feel that you consciously try to work in Asian elements, or is it a subconscious reflex?
That’s not the first time I’ve heard that [laughs]. I’d like to think my work is about philosophies and influences- I was born in Asia, but raised in North America. My family grew up in Canada being very “Asian”, while trying their best to adopt/adapt to western ways.
With that and my love for general Asian philosophy: quiet beauties, the appreciation of aging and wisdom, so many things- (symbolized by things like goddesses, transformations, spirits and the moon in the stories told to me as a child) I guess the “Asian” is coming through in my work, while the “North American” keeps it from looking like pure Asian art. It’s probably also because I’m a big fan of Batik, Chinese painting and Japanese Ukiyo-e prints.
I think I just like to draw/paint things I like- whether or not it is western or eastern is not a thing that comes to mind. Ultimately, I’d hope my work can communicate and appeal universally.
So, on the flip side, how do you think your North American upbringing has influenced your work?
I think there are just a million things I have seen, here in the western world that I would have not been exposed to had I been raised in Asia- not in that Asia is limited, but in that the perspectives are different. I couldn’t really tell you what is specifically North American in my work, other than the fact that it was done by a North American. Maybe it’s about an attitude? I’m open to suggestions [laughs].
There is an interesting series called ’shikishi’ in your shop. What exactly is ’shikishi’ and what is your series about?
I don’t actually know a lot of history about the shikishi boards, only that it is Japanese in origin and that normally it is used for calligraphy. I actually started the shikishi series as a challenge for myself. It is one of the few times where I do “finals” without preliminary work. I grind my ink and then just go straight into it; whatever comes of the strokes I make is what the image is. Because of this, I guess the series is less about the subject matter than it is about purpose.
If you were an illustration, you would be….
-Beautifully complex, [laughs] kidding. If I were an illustration… I would be tattered, stained, but inviting. Two or three colours on paper [laughs]. I like the idea of mystery, layers, “mistakes” that end up being right. I get the notion that most people see me as a simple person and I think because of that, I sometimes desire the opposite.
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