Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Ng.
Jon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I guess my story starts way, way back as a sophomore in college. I saw the work that one of my art professors was making. I knew right then that I wanted to make art. I had some ideas about how I would make that all happen, too. Of course, I had no idea how difficult this would be, but that was probably for the best, as I would have been scared off. But you learn and you grow, and you find a way to make it happen. I think a combination of being headstrong, lucky, and recognizing an opportunity when it comes along, and being prepared to act on it. Also, periodically circumstances would force you to remember what your intention was. Why am I doing, whatever it is I’m doing, if its not leading me to pursue my art? Sometimes you forget, and that can make all the efforts outside of the studio a tedious ‘grind’. So, now I’m able to continue making art in my studio, primarily because that’s where I want to be. I enjoy it!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, I would certainly say that it hasn’t always been a smooth road. In fact, sometimes it’s been an unmarked road that goes round in circles, but nothing ever happens in a straight line. I would say the greatest obstacle for me was the financial crash of 2008. The galleries that I had been showing in had to close up shop, and I lost half my income there. The other half was quickly disappearing, as most people no longer had a budget for a home remodel or renovation. ( I was an independent contractor, doing decorative painting and faux finishes.)
I had to steel myself, be tenacious, and prepare to do whatever I had to do to earn a living. I told myself, ‘ I’m not going to lose my house!’ At the time, I remember hearing a quote attributed to Winston Churchill. Something like, ‘When you are at the end of your rope. Tie a knot and hang on.’ That became my motto. For years I worked week to week, on any type of job I could convince people to let me do. The biggest challenge through all of this, however, was to continue to make art at the end of the day. I was making tremendous efforts just to get by, but if I wasn’t going to be in the studio, what was the point? This realization rekindled my commitment to my vocation as an artist.
Please tell us more about your art.
Typically, when I start a painting it will begin with an image of visual beauty, and inspiration. What I’m interested in is trying to capture an emotional or spiritual essence that is imbued in my subject. Most recently, I’ve been working on a series of landscape paintings created from the Back Bay area in Newport Beach. I am inspired by a sense of stillness and solitude to the area, and how the light at various times of the day, and during the year, would create variations on that theme. My intention is that these paintings would invite the viewer in, and offer an opportunity for quiet, and calm introspection.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
It seems to me that success is more a condition than a goal. Its a state of mind in the present moment, more so than a point in time in the future. I wanted to be an artist. To make art. To achieve that endeavor turned out to be so much more than I could have imagined. Yet, one night while in my studio in front of a canvas, it suddenly occurred to me. ‘WOW, I’m doing what I always dreamed of!’ That made me smile.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JonNg.net
- Instagram: Jon Ng Paintings
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