FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions 

  • Tell me a little bit about your background?
    I was born in 1986 in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, and grew up there until 2007, then lived in Milton Keynes, UK then moved to Penang, Malaysia. My dear husband and me love to explore new places and regularly travel between Myanmar and other countries.
     A born artist, drawing and sketching on any available surface got me into occasion trouble ever since I could a pen. After high school, I dedicated all my energy into traditional art, where I was producing many works of both watercolours and oil paintings. At college, I expanded her activities into applications such as Adobe Photoshop and tools in multimedia production SAE. Having studied Philosophy at university has been helpful in creating art pieces which are highly descriptive with thoughts.
  • Where did you go to college?
    I studied for a Diploma in Multimedia Production at SAE Institute while obtaining a BA degree in Philosophy in Yangon.
  • How did you develop your style of painting?
    My mind is always occupied with extra-normal characters and ideas of scenaries that cannot be seen in our normal world.  What I then do is express such emotions and thoughts through art.   As explained in my artist statement, I have a particular attraction towards a dark style, because I believe all human beings have a dark side inside us, and my art represents that.
  • Can you give a general explanation of the meaning behind your each of your paintings?
    I usually don't like explaining the meanings of the paintings.  Because I want the viewers' minds to wander and wonder the meanings themselves.  Plus different people will come to different conclusions.  If I have provided meaning in advance it will be like limiting the imagination of the viewers.
  • Can you talk briefly about the process of creating one of your paintings?
    I work almost entirely from my heart and head, I initially sketch the desired picture either in my sketch book or do a digital sketch.  Then I transfer the sketch onto the canvas by painting it with oil paints or messing it with mixed media techniques.  Although I used models as references for my paintings, recently I mostly use Anime style girls as my subjects of study.  Moreover, I also put extra emphasis on the eyes of the characters.  I believe that eyes are the doors to the soul.
  • How long does it take to paint a typical oil painting?
    It depends on size and the necessity for detail.  Usually I’ll be working on a piece size 24 x 36 inches for 3 – 4 weeks to finish due to the time it takes to wait for the oil to dry.
  • What are your inspirations?
    I see paintings as the expression of emotions.  My work has been impacted by our cultures, music, human, environment and other sources that we interact on a day to day basis.  Moreover, being dark and very illustrative, the artworks also convey narratives of each story behind each work sometimes featuring the artist (myself) within the artworks.   That means the figures of my artworks become mirrored reflections of some of my feelings, experiences and messages from elsewhere. And music has been a large influence on my paintings as well. Music inspires me a lot because it brings out our hidden feelings. I’m also influenced and inspired by Ray Ceasar, Bjork, Sopor Aeternus, Dolls, Alice in Wonderland, Kukula, Anne Julie and Glitter Sniffer.
  • What colours do you use for skin tones?  The characters in your paintings usually have skin colours that are smooth like dolls have.  How do you create such a skin tone?
     I don't use the same skin tone for my characters.  The skin tone changes with the painting's background colour theme and surroundings.  Usually, a good proportion of the following colours are used to create a colour tone I wish to use:  Cadmium Red, Deep Hue, Cadmium Yellow, Pale Hue, Yellow Ochre and Titanium White.  If I want to highlight the depth of lighting, I use 'Lamp Black'.  Some viewers and friends say, 'Your little girls look like porcelain dolls, the skin appears so smooth just like China'.  May be the use of very tender and smooth brushes might be the explanation to the 'smoothness' issue.
  • What mediums do you use for paintings?
    I use oil on canvases, digitally create with Adobe Photoshop and I do mixed media projects as well.
  • Would you like to work in other mediums like sculpture for example?
    I really wish I can do some 'doll sculptures'.  Having said that, I have already made a number of craft like paper dolls (MDFs Moving Doll in the Frame).
  • How many hours a week do you spend in the studio?
    At least 5 hours a day, you can do the math to figure it out for the week.
  • Do you do commission?
    Yes I do provided artistic freedom is guaranteed.  This is important because if any artist has been given instructions on 'how to' create their artwork, the soul and the spirit of the art are lost.
  • Do you sell prints of your work?
    Yes, I sell beautiful prints of my paintings. They are available for purchase through my website here. Just click on the “Gallery & Store” section on the top navigation bar.

© 2012   Shwe Thiri Khit. All rights reserved. All photos, images and text are copyright protected. Not to be used without permission.

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