BoldJourney Interview | Meet Xiao He

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Xiao He. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Xiao, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
That’s a very good question. I think every artist struggles more or less with keeping creativity alive. There are always days that don’t feel right, days when the drawings just look awkward.

I find looking at art books to be a great help. I always have art history books and catalogs around me. Sometimes I just flip through them when I don’t know what to draw. Or open up a good film and draw from it.

Also, I believe it’s crucial to judge the work itself but not to judge myself. It’s okay to evaluate the work itself critically, to consider the concept, composition, color, etc. However, I try to avoid thinking, “Oh, I just did some really bad paintings.” This kind of self-criticism is the least helpful and can kill creativity and the courage to continue. Even though unavoidably I have self-doubts from time to time, I try my best to keep them away when I’m working.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Sure! I’m Xiao, a Chinese visual artist, and my focus is on drawing, painting, and artists’ books. In my works, I try to capture human emotions and psychological states. Lately, I’ve been using ink more often in my drawings. I find the contrast and simplicity of monochrome powerful. I’m trying to bring that same feeling from my drawings into my paintings.

At this moment, I’m working on a series of paintings from the ink and charcoal drawings I did from films and vintage magazines a while ago. I’m interested in the tension and emotion in these images. Even when I’m doing portraiture, my main focus is still on expressing the feelings, spirit, and essence of the figures, rather than achieving an exact likeness.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would say it’s understanding the art history, observing carefully when drawing, and simply doing the work.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I would say it’s been exploring different ways of drawing, especially picking up ink again as a medium. Ink was actually my first art medium when I used to study Chinese ink painting as a kid. However, I set it aside for many years, and picked it up again this year while doing the online development drawing year at the Royal Drawing School. Using ink only, I feel a sense of liberation by eliminating color. I still love color, but it’s this type of constraint that actually brought me greater freedom.