Check Out Paolo Sayo’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paolo Sayo

Hi Paolo , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up under an Asian immigrant family throughout Southern California, garage and couch surfing around the homes of relatives who were kind enough to lend us a roof. My mother stayed home with my baby sister and myself, while my father would job hop from gig to gig to feed us for a few years until we finally settled into a small, rundown Koretown apartment in 2004. In between odd jobs, I would watch my dad paint religious figures that I had not yet understood. The process of starting from a blank white canvas to sketching and finishing with oils in broad strokes and colors has always fascinated me.

My schooldays bored me to literal sleep much of the time, despite making decent enough grades and passing most of my AP exams; but I would always sketch characters or people I knew when I had the time. Art was not something I could think of as a career because my family and I had to find whatever consistent work we can to make ends meet. If my schooling could lead me to office work where I could make a roof over my head, then I was golden. However, I had always been introspective and would reflect on the working class immigrant community around me. Its vulnerabilities and strengths, as well as my education led me to philosophize on our individual human capabilities.

Once I started my office career after graduating from university in 2017, I needed a strong outlet for my wandering thoughts from the end of each shift. I worked with the elderly and dying, and listened to quite a bit of punk, goth, metal, and shoegaze. I knew I had to put all of myself into something that would bring me focus and peace to my mind. I had always wanted to paint like my father, so I did what I can to learn and experiment with the oils I would buy myself. Either with friends or alone, I would check out galleries all around Los Angeles. Those like Giant Robot, Corey Helford, and Thinkspace were transformative in exposing me to many Asian American talents who taught me so much just through observance of their works.

I would also simultaneously look back at the female role models in my life, from teachers, to family and friends, and thought about how they shaped me as I am.
The characters in my works are reflective of what I heard in their struggles and achievements. I also think much about the vulnerabilities of humanity, so I highlight those concepts in my work that serve as the symbols my audience could hopefully resonate with. The recent emergence of Al art has me reflecting on what impact I could convey differently, so I have been on a break with all the news. But once I return to my work, I hope to include my introspective principles along with musical compositions that I am currently learning to create, and add another dimension to what may be seen as an obsolete discipline.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Many of the struggles come from a reliance on social media to promote our work. Acceptance of the almighty algorithm is key for driving engagement and attention to the posts we publish as artists. Rather than look for commercial acceptability, I had always looked to personal connection and aim for as unique and authentic approach as I can to deliver my most honest self to the audience viewing my pieces. However, if a work seems too personal, I may hesitate to publish it for years. There can be quite a bit of overthinking in the process from sketch composition to final delivery of my art.

Oil painting itself is a very forgiving, but time consuming discipline if you choose to flesh it out as far as you might like. Sometimes, driving attention and maintaining interest depends on constant publishing to gain more engagement in an increasingly saturated world of consumable content. Finding galleries that offer the space for a longer viewing than images on social media can also be difficult if an internet presence is relatively smaller than for artists who have the time available to dedicate themselves to their work. A lot of my challenges would be between balancing my day job with my art and expanding interests.

However, I try to remain content with the fact that I also hold many skills and abilities that would limit my reliance on an singular discipline, like art as a sole source to make a living.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an oil painter that derives inspiration from the vulnerabilities and experiences we may face as humans. I try to convey my philosophies through characters that I hope my viewers can empathize with because I believe empathy is an aspect that much of the world can be lacking in at the moment. I tend to stay away from abstract art because it may allow for too much interpretation, and even misinterpretation. By sticking to more figurative work with identifiable characters, I believe viewers can still resonate with my philosophies that do not have to be overt, while still offering much room for interpretation. If an idea for a work, or even a finished work might seem too specific in what I am trying to say, I would usually decline to publish and show it.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was always someone who had a darker worldview in the near-poverty I came up in, but also saw much of the humor in what I would witness. I had many friends I could laugh with, but then have darker and more emotional conversations while chatting on Xbox live at 3am over some Call of Duty. With the constant wars after 9/11 and 2008 financial crisis, my family and I had always been insecure about surviving through our own means but also knew that without some optimism, we would have given up our efforts a long time ago.

I think that is why darker music in the death metal, punk, and some goth subgenres resonated with me so well, as they conveyed much of the same emotions I would feel while growing up as a teen. I grew out of some of the heavier aspects and appreciate much more mellow sounds through dreampop and shoegaze these days, which also inspires me to produce some similar music today with my guitar, laptop, and musical background.

Painters/illustrators like Esao Andrews, Yoshitaka Amano, Audrey Kawasaki, and James Jean among others also convey a similar vibe that drives my creativity, even when I first learned about them as a student. I try to find hope in the people I surround myself with, whether it be my family, friends, mentors, or significant other.

Commonly, many of the acts and talents I admire, as well as the connections I built also have strong connections to the city of Los Angeles, so I am infinitely grateful for being exposed to these inspirations while being here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paolosayo.com
• Instagram: psayoart
• Other: https://cara.app/psayoart

Image Credits
Kevin Vu Kim – one photo of me with blue background
Paolo Sayo – all others