Interview: Dinan / @abusedmember

Even though she draws inspiration from the vibrant world of K-Pop, Dinan's works seem to exude more softness and quiet calm. The lightness in her paintings highlights the gentleness of emotions, often leaving us wanting to take a longer look at her paintings, simply because they're so soothing to look at.

Read on as we find out more about Dinan and her inspirations.

What /who/ where do you draw inspiration from the most? Do you have a muse of sorts?

To be honest, I draw inspiration from a lot of people/things. Aside from K-pop, I am mostly inspired by other artists. I find artists who have similar views as myself in terms of making art and I try to study their methods.

I can't really pinpoint one artist though, because I like all of them. When it comes to muses... that title would definitely be given to the boys that I usually draw.

What mediums do you prefer to use?

I definitely prefer working with watercolours.

What's the best and most challenging part about working with them?

The best thing about it is that it's somewhat effortless. Because watercolour is transparent, you're able to build up the layers of colours and look at all of them stacked up on the surface of the paper. It's really interesting to me.

The most challenging part about watercolours is definitely mastering the control. You need to be able to feel and know the amount of water you should use for a certain effect of wash. It takes a lot of practice to achieve a certain level of control!

How would you describe the Mossery Sketchbook to others?

It's definitely the perfect sketchbook for active people out there. I've mentioned this before, but I'm really, and I mean REALLY, in love with the fact that there are lots of pockets in the sketchbook. So you can make beautiful works on the go, and also keep things organised in one book!

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardest, what is the difficulty level of trying to promote your own art to the world?

Now that's tricky... If you have the patience, I guess it's around 7 or 8? Considering how social media has prospered and flourished in the past few years, I think it's become easier to promote yourself to the world. But at the same time, there should be patience and determination on your part to share your works with the world.

Do you believe in talent?

I'm not sure, hahaha. I feel like for someone to be skillful at something, you need to at least go through a certain amount of training and practise. But I do acknowledge there are those who are fast learners, and perhaps they are the ones who are dubbed as talented.

People say art is subjective. How do you put a specific price on your art and justify it?

I usually consider the basic necessity for creating a particular work, such as the tools and materials involved, as well as the amount of effort that I put into the work, such as research and reference searching.

But aside from that, I also consider to whom I'm selling the work, and what kind of work it is. Depending on what work I'm selling, I might also have to consider my education as well, on top of the rest of the factors I just mentioned.

What are some of the toughest challenges you've encountered?

In my opinion, the toughest challenge that I've encountered (and probably will still be enduring for a long time) is probably trying to improve and be satisfied with my own work.

What’s one of the best advice you’ve ever received in life?

I don't know what the exact words were, but a friend of mine once said along the lines of "don't set too high of an expectation. If you don't meet that expectation, you'll experience one heck of a fall. Just try your best and enjoy the process".

In return, what advice would you tell your younger self?

Don't be too hard on yourself, it's okay to make mistakes.

Tell us a secret.

It wouldn't be a secret anymore if I tell you ;P But a little fun fact about me, I have a hard time standing still. I don't know why, but it just drains me to stand still, so I usually shake my legs when I stand (I usually do it subconsciously).

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You can find Dinan's beautiful watercolour works on her Instagram.