By Selina Mao

Emily Hou, a talented and pragmatic artist, emanates the aura of an introverted intellect when observed. Unlike the stereotypical concept of overly-emotionally-driven-visual-poets that many creative persons reinforce, Emily holds a very practical and refreshingly straightforward view of artistic pursuit. 

When inquired about her opinion on her level of artistic skill, she responded with a forthright, and positively invigorating, “I don’t want to brag. But, pretty good.” Indeed, this was an honest and bold response that is growing increasingly rare in contemporary times in the face of pressuring social expectations of modesty. Her first response gave way to a string of short, candid opinions. 

Born and raised in China, Emily was introduced to art by the Mickey Mouse comics to which her family subscribed monthly. “I freaking loved those comics,” she revealed, adding that her initial interest in art originated from copying and mimicking the art on the universally loved comics. She additionally disclosed, with emphasis, that the bland art instruction she received at school in her primary years are definitely NOT what inspired her to start drawing. Emily also admitted that she has been interested in art since as long as she can remember, although that interest did not, in any way, begin in her art classes in China where the extent of exercising the skill was “don’t color outside the line.” 

“Five years old” she answered, when prompted about when she had first started art. Emily’s current artistic focus is mostly in the mediums of digital and pencil. She has also developed a newly acquired hobby of programming in the past year, but her long-term recreational priority has always been art. The influence of comic art holds a special place in her heart, as portrayed when she responded that her favorite artistic style was “comic—but not the western, superman kind”. 

Fortifying her solidifying frank disposition, Emily recognizes that her interest and long term dedication to art are simply because “It’s fun and I like doing it… Not like some emotional artsy…[deeper meaning]”. Her advice to fellow artists is to practise and know what to practise: “You need to practise, but you have to know what to practise; you can’t just draw without aiming to be better.  Every time you draw, you have to know what you need to get better at”. She emphasizes the importance of being able to pinpoint personal weaknesses and places that need improvement: “In this drawing, I’m going to try to get better at coloring; in this drawing I’m going to focus on anatomy. . . Every drawing makes you a better artist, so, every drawing makes you improve”.  These are wise words that can apply to any skill set. 

Emily divulges that her favorite artist is the modern artist, Hsinyaotseng, a Taiwanese oil painter. The interview concluded with her motto towards art: “I draw in my own time”.  No unnecessary “sacrifice[s]” were needed to be made towards pursuing art. “Not the rest of my life. I have other things to do, it’s always— it’s something I do for fun,” she adds. She also throws in a casual, intriguing reference to Albert Einstein: “You know how he played the violin? His thing wasn’t violin, it was physics.”