The Extraordinary People I Know: Mear
Some of you might remember the opus I wrote on NFTs about a year ago. Even though the heat on NFTs has cooled a little, I’m still involved in the scene, especially on Twitter which has a very strong and vibrant NFT community. My feed is often filled with gorgeous artworks, posted by artists trying to get their name out there. About ten months ago I was scrolling Twitter and came across an absolutely stunning piece by a Chinese artist called Mear. I commented on it, we chatted for a while and got to know each other a little bit, and I decided to buy the NFT. In fact, I fell in love with the entire series and bought all six pieces. It feels very special to have supported Mear as she was starting out in the NFT world, and over the months we have come to know each other quite well. One of the reasons I love NFTs as much as I do is that as a collector you can discover art that you never would have otherwise been exposed to. And for Mear, as an artist, the converse is also true. Would she have sold the entire collection of her Swaying series to an Australian woman working as an air traffic controller in Dubai if it wasn’t for NFTs? I highly doubt it. I feel very honoured that Mear took time out from her very busy schedule as a full time artist, teacher and prospective PhD student to answer a few questions about her art and about herself. Mear’s English is way better than my Mandarin so we conducted our interview in English, with a little help from Baidu and Google translate. I do hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did.
Thank you so much Mear, for taking the time to talk to me about NFTs and art, and in particular your specialty, Chinese painting. I absolutely treasure the six NFTs in my collection that comprise the Swaying series. Can you tell me the inspiration for the series, what each one of them means and why you chose these individual names: Imagine, Disconnected, Vague, Praise, Flourish and Indigo?
The Swaying series is based on the practice of using heavy colour to create small paintings. I was inspired by some wildflowers on the side of the road. It was a rainy day, and the wildflowers were swaying, east and west, causing the water on the petals to produce a magical refraction effect. I imagined the flowers floating in the buoyant sea, swaying in the water and creating beautiful ripples. So, I began to draw these pictures from my imagination.
The Swaying series is a dynamic description of petals floating in water. The Chinese word for each of the paintings is very simple, but very clear. Imagine is the first painting in the series, and represents the fluctuation of my creative thoughts. When I was a child I remember watching a cartoon called Bug Division, and a scene from that impressed me very deeply. So I used rattan yellow and a little gold to try to recreate the gold and black space from the TV show.
Disconnected describes the camellia at night, a bit like smoky moonlight. Vague uses the purple tone that I like, but purple is very difficult to show, so I added some clam powder to foil to make it stronger. Praise depicts the summer forest, with a variety of different colours of leaves. I added the rock colour, to make it look even more gorgeous and thick.
Indigo depicts a four-leaf clover floating in the lake in winter. The lake is usually blue, and the water is very deep, but clear. And Flourish depicts a variety of colourful flowers blooming in spring. It represents the Chinese people walking in the flower filled street during the Spring Festival. Very rich and beautiful, it indicates strong vitality.
You hand painted each one using ink and brush on paper, and digitally added the Chinese characters in the background. What do the characters say? Do they have a special meaning?
The calligraphy pictures in the background are high-definition pictures I downloaded from an app called China Treasure Museum, which are all very good works by famous masters before the Qing Dynasty.
For example, as the background in Imagine, I chose a short section from Zhu Dao’s Seven Frames of the Interior Classic from the Qing Dynasty, which is a work mainly about the preservation of health. And in Disconnected, I chose a paragraph from the epitaph of Zhang Sizhong of the Liao Dynasty. The epitaph is written for the dead, recording the names, titles and life stories of the deceased. These pieces were chosen as the backgrounds because the calligraphy is really very good, and worthy of our observation and study.
I’d love to go back to the beginning, if that’s OK. Your formative years, your childhood, where you grew up, how you grew up. Were you raised in an artistic family?
People who know me well are aware of my cheerful disposition and how I love to crack jokes. My mother often refers to me as the “happy nut” in our family. However, in public, I tend to come off as introverted and shy, speaking very little. This is for two reasons. Firstly, I’m near-sighted and don’t like wearing glasses, making everything seem blurred. This causes me to overlook many people and things, but it also makes me more focussed on myself, rather than paying attention to external gazes and discussions. Secondly, my dad taught me from a young age that, “The more one talks, the more mistakes one can make”, so I’m always extra careful when I speak or act outside.
I suppose my personality could be classified as a people-pleaser. Much of it has to do with my parents’ subtle influence. My sister and I are twins, and we were born when my father was quite old, so he’s always been particularly protective. Even to this day, he often warns us about dangers (which I understand, considering he grew up in a time of turmoil, poverty and hardship). For instance, he advises us to be cautious about falling when using an elevator, to keep looking behind us when walking in case someone is following, to not accept food from strangers and always to bring him along for job interviews (though I’ve never actually done so).
I was born and grew up in Guangzhou, China. Cantonese and Mandarin are my mother tongues. My English education began with my mother, who served as my father’s translator in the 90s; she isn’t so proficient now due to lack of practice. My father only speaks his dialect and isn’t keen on learning new languages. From an early age, he taught us calligraphy and seal carving, but because I was too playful, I didn’t learn calligraphy well, which I regretted later in university (where I was even more playful, haha!). We visited parks every year for our birthdays, so it’s fair to say we’ve explored all the parks in Guangzhou. I joined a sketching training camp one summer in middle school which meant I woke up at 5am and finished at around 5pm every day. And in the final semester of high school, I attended a painting training camp. My sister and I were admitted to one of China’s top art colleges. Traditional Chinese painting is something that I picked up in university and have been studying since.
I have to admit that my dad is a good teacher. His knowledge is extensive and he is incredibly smart. At my graduation, he was able to discuss poetry and classical texts with my tutor for an entire afternoon. He has indeed taught me a great deal. However, he can be too dominant, overly protective and he limits our actions a lot. By the way, he is a Leo, and I have decided never to marry a Leo man, haha!
I enjoy discussing artistic concepts and creative processes. And I also really enjoy painting and I love the surprises that uncertainty brings to my work. If the surprise is upsetting, I laugh it off, change it and make it beautiful. Its beauty then reaches others who come in contact with it. If the surprise is just right, I am overjoyed and celebrate.
Can you tell us about what you learned at art college? Have you been working as an artist since then?
When I was admitted to college, I chose to major in Chinese painting, which is completely different from sketch and colour. It is the pursuit of two-dimensional performance, such as painting figures in exquisite black, white and grey. The description of the painting “object” must be very accurate and careful in order to create a three-dimensional sense from it. Traditional Chinese painting pays attention to artistic conception. Artistic conception is hazy beauty, or transcendent beauty, from limited to infinite. The concept of “mood” is richly embodied in Chinese painting. The theme, its composition, depiction, emotion, and overall arrangement must all convey this mood, sometimes described as the soul of a painting. Chinese paintings are often called silent poetry. The harmony between an object’s characteristics and the artist’s emotions is what gives a painting its poetic essence, creating art that intrigues and resonates. A painting that deeply conveys emotions and has strong expressiveness captivates its viewers.
Traditional Chinese painting is done with a brush. The front of the brush can be long or short, and the amount of hair will affect its water absorption. Therefore, there are often uncertain factors when using a brush, so strong control ability is needed. When I was an undergraduate, the teacher let us learn landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, and then choose the direction we wanted to further our study. I chose landscape painting. To draw a landscape, we must first practice the basic elements of the painting method, such as: trees, stones, clouds, water flow, etc. And then, we do a lot of copying. We copy the excellent traditional paintings of ancient times, for example Wang Meng’s Seclusion in Qing Bian, Fan Kuan’s Journey to Xishan and Huang Gongwang’s Residence in Fuchun Mountain, etc.
And then, we go back to sketching again. Every year, we follow our teachers all over the country to sketch. Places such as Taihang Mountain in Henan Province, Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang Province and Jinggangshan Mountain in Jiangxi Province. And finally, the creative stage. Creation stage is the hardest; to draw a picture from present life, and to combine the techniques learned to make the performance work. In this process, I often experience long periods of self-doubt because a brush stroke might not meet my expectations. It’s just a very struggling process.
I am a professional artist, but not full-time, I am an art teacher for children because I need a stable job to guarantee my life. My teacher at college told me to “Live first, and then pursue the ideal”. I am an idealist in the bottom of my heart and a very romantic person, but I also know that I must face reality.
How did you first hear about NFTs, and how did your classical art training translate to digital art?
I heard about it from my friend. At first, I didn’t care about it, but later, when more people discussed it, I gradually learned more and then became interested. I draw with pen and paper and then take photographs of the artwork, which I adjust through the computer to form an NFT. I use simple retouching tools like Sketchbook, because I feel that the computer is hard to operate, at least for me.
What advice would you give to artists who know nothing about the NFT space, but are interested in trying it?
At present, I often mention NFTs to my classmates, but because we have to use a VPN to get access, many people are not willing to really understand it. They think it is a new field, or that it is very troublesome, and that it is better to just draw their own paintings. I would like to say to the artists who are interested in NFTs, that you are very welcome to the world of NFT. Although it is a little difficult to cast into it, isn’t it good to share your works and to find people who like them?
I agree totally, and I’m so glad that you did join the NFT community! Finally, Mear, can you please share with us what you are working on at the moment? And what are your wishes and hopes for the future?
At present, I am drawing some large landscape paintings, and plan to participate in more exhibitions held by provinces, or by the state. Of course, it is difficult to get the qualification for these exhibitions, but I will try my best. For the future, I hope to become a successful professional painter, just like the famous painters in history.
If you are interested in checking out (and even better, buying) some of Mear’s work, you can find her art at OpenSea and Foundation marketplaces.
