What does it mean to be a Lao artist? I don’t know, but I did put some of my random Lao themed artwork in this portfolio:
Like I’ve already expressed, growing up Lao in America, you get the best of both cultures. There’s the graceful dances, food, a second language, and the respect you hold for elders, but there’s also a yearning for material things, of wanting that JDM Integra Type R with the wing, of getting distraught over losing a college football game, or your cell phone when just a few years ago you didn’t need never had the use for one. My artwork right now doesn’t deal with water buffaloes and rice paddies, and that’s because I didn’t live that life. Not to belittle anyone’s struggles, but I didn’t experience that level of strife, I experienced asking out one of the prettiest girls in high school she said no and later on she married some famous major league baseball player. That’s life in America.
If anything I find it amazing that I got to grow up in an environment that filled my belly and also filled my head with imagination, letting me think from an early age that I could be whatever I wanted to be, even if at the moment, I’m just some guy that goes places, takes pictures, and does drawings of pretty things. If people think these are just drawings of girls, then that’s a shame. Love and passion are important in any career, sport, or hobby, and I’ve always enjoyed drawing for the sake of drawing.
