Art of the West digital magazine
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in that city when their paths crossed. As the two old friends caught up, Kwan learned that Situ was doing quite well selling his paintings. After meeting with his friend, Kwan wondered, “If Mian was having such great success, what about me?” he says. “I came home and thought, ‘What if tomorrow I die; what would I have missed?’ That was the turning point for me. I began to study seriously.” Despite his fundamental art background garnered from the schools in China, Kwan knew that he had a lot to learn. Undaunted, he threw himself into acquir- ing the skills he needed to be a good fine artist. Most of Kwan’s study was through the Corresponding Masters course in the Canadian School of Art, which allowed him to study drawing and painting while still working to support his family. For more than two years, each day after work, Kwan would spend one to three hours on the course work. He also took classes in pho- tography. “I found the classes very helpful in learning about composition and how to look around me to see a picture,” Kwan says. “[Photography] helped to give me the foundation to paint. With this new knowledge, my skills have become much stronger.” Kwan’s studies began to shape his ability, and an interest in painting the human figure led him to fre- quent local studios for weekly life drawings, a habit he has continued for more than a decade. Kwan believes the study of live models has done a great deal to improve his figurative paintings. “I must make the shape of the human figure right,” he says. “If the shape is right, the figure has the right energy.” Children are intriguing subjects for Kwan’s stud- ies. Often, if he happens upon a child or a group of children engaged in an interesting activity, he’ll pho- tograph them and use the pictures later for reference. “Children are very interesting,” he says. “They are the future, and people relate to that.” As his skills improved, so did Kwan’s confidence. He began to experiment with different media—water- color, acrylics, and oil—painting landscapes and por- traits. Through that experimentation, a style emerged: impressionism combined with realism. “Realism is a literal rendering of something with lots of details,” he says. “Impressionism is more of a feeling from color or a shape. When realism and impression are com- bined, you get a more accurate feeling. That’s what I like about this style. People like [my style] because it looks like artwork, not just a photograph.” Performing artists, musicians, and actors, appear frequently in Kwan’s paintings, but dancers figure most prominently. “I live on Vancouver Island, and in my area there are a lot of festivals in the summer,” he says. “People are so cheerful, dancing or playing music, so watching people at the festivals, I found that I wanted to paint the dancing.” Color plays an important part in Kwan’s paintings, helping to bring his subjects to life. “I don’t think that much about color, but I do use a lot of color, like red,” he says. “Red has a lot of energy, and as it relates to dancing, it has a flow and movement. I also like to use May/June 2011 • ART of the WEST 51