He Duoling

Artist

 

Compared to the distracting environment for artistic creation a few years ago, the current situation is significantly improved. A growing number of young artists are being nurtured and given the chance to focus on painting with their whole hearts. Thanks to programs such as "Art Nova 100", young artists nowadays have more access to platforms on which they are able to attract wide attention. In this benign environment, there are more and more young artists - for example, in Chengdu, the city in Southwest China where I'm based - who can earn their living by painting, even though some of them only manage to maintain a low living standard.

 

My suggestion to young artists is to try to concentrate on painting, refraining from all external disturbances, as there are no shortcuts to success in painting according to my experience. Young artists should advance step - by - step in terms of their own artistic creation, their complicated relations with galleries, and their own understanding of the art market. They should not set the prices of their work too high at the early stage of their career. Although the works of some senior artists might be high on the current market, the prices for the initial works of young artists should be set lower, then gradually raised as time and reputation accumulate. Young artists should also try to attend as many exhibitions as possible, in order to make themselves known by collectors and the media. Above all else, what matters most is improving artistic attainment in painting.

 

A talented young artist would not go unnoticed in our current society, where all kinds of media and self-media are widespread. For example, galleries will contact some young artists immediately after I post their paintings in my Friend's Circle on We-chat, a twitter-like social media popular in China. This is totally different from the way things were when I was young. Young artists should therefore care less about catering to market demand, focusing instead on how to independently follow an artistic path with their own unique style while increasing their own knowledge and painting skill.