Jillian Cheong
Jillian Cheong
What media of art do you work in? Painting, ceramics, etc?
I work with acrylic paint on canvas and recently have been adding fabric collage to my work
How would you describe your genre of painting?
I mostly paint impressionistically, emphasizing or adding colors and textures in my work. I also explore spiritual ideas from my Christian faith in more abstracted works.
Can you describe your creative process? When you begin a painting, do you have an idea of what the end result is? Do you prepare sketches first? Do you know the colors you are going to use?
I usually begin with an idea of what I want to paint, the meaning I want to convey or the subject matter that I want to present. I will sketch out a few possible layouts to plan my composition before I decide on the size and shape of my canvas. I usually know what the main colors are going to be, but there is always room to respond intuitively to the artwork to modify my color choices along the way.
What is the message you want people to take away from your artwork?
I want my artwork to celebrate beauty and speak hope, to remind people of all that is good.
100 years from now, how do you want people to remember you as an artist?
I would like to have a legacy of art that speaks of hope and beauty in the mundane.
What is your favorite praise you have received from a client or about your work?
That the message in the artwork really resonated with them and was just what they were looking for.
What are your hobbies outside of Art?
I love rock climbing, baking and crochet.
What is an interesting piece of trivia about you that people don’t know?
I live in a 4-gen household, with my children, my parents and my grandmother.
Give me one or two sentences about your family?
I have 3 young children in primary school and a supportive husband who has encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
What has been your strongest influence in your art career thus far?
I draw my inspiration from the things I see around me and my life experiences. My art is often inspired by nature, animals and my children. My Christian faith gives me a perspective of hope that I want to communicate in all my paintings.
What is your vision for yourself as an artist 5 years from now?
I would like to mature as an artist, painting art with more depth and skill. I intend to take some courses and get some art training, to see myself grow in my voice as an artist. I would like to have a proper solo exhibition, and to be showing at art fairs locally and internationally.
Which one is your favorite artwork you have ever done and tell us why? I love this painting “Precious” because of the message it conveys. It communicates so clearly a mother’s love for her child and the desire for her child to not be down trodden, but to always lift their head high, knowing that they are one of a kind, beautiful, unique and special.
Which is one of your most recent works and tell me how you would describe the artwork to a potential buyer.
This peacock painting is one of my more recent works, I like how I applied the fabric collage in this one, with some very obvious batik flowers at the bottom and many more subtle hidden fabric strips in the feathers and tree branch.