Interview
Winston Young
Winston Young, a multidisciplinary artist from Northern New Jersey, explores a diverse range of themes through his work, blending traditional and contemporary styles with surreal elements. His art is known for its rich symbolism, inviting viewers into a world where imagination intersects with timeless narratives.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“When I was around 5 years old in the Philippines, I watched an older boy draw a water buffalo, and I said to myself, ‘Wow.’ It blew my mind that someone could create something so beautiful and elegant. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be an artist. The journey continued through grade and high school; during my senior year at high school, I entered a nationwide competition for the arts. I was selected from 5000 young artists in the United States to represent New Jersey in the visual arts. It was an intense art evaluation and contest in Miami, Florida, with 30 contestants in visual arts. The final awards and results came in the form of an art school scholarship. I attended art school in Columbus, Ohio, and majored in illustration, but after college, I pivoted my career into advertising. After more than 20 years of hiatus on drawing and painting, I rekindled my love for illustration and drawing when my young son wanted me to draw him a picture, This started my journey back to creating a large body of work in the Northern Renaissance pen and ink style. After that initial period of pen and ink work, I started to revisit oil painting after a three-decade layoff. I saw a giant painting at the Musée d'Orsay during a visit to France. I was so heavily inspired by the painting that I went back to my studio, and fired up the old tubes of paint from the 1980s that were still fresh. It has been five years now and I see a vast improvement in my technique and style, my subject matter and themes have also evolved to what I wanted to project. It is an exciting evolution of numerous influences rolled up into each work of art in this art journey.”
What inspires you?
“As a person who has enjoyed art my whole life, my first major influences came from comics and comic book art. I love reading and drawing characters from comics during the Silver Age era. Fantasy art during the 1980s also played a large part in my influences. I also enjoyed visiting museums and being exposed to all the traditional artists worldwide before the internet of social media. Nowadays, I still am an avid museum visitor. I have visited many art museums worldwide, wherever I travel to a new place or location. Last year, I was in Eastern Europe and saw so many of my bucket list museums As of my last count, I have visited over 70 art museums. I draw major inspiration from art history in themes, technique, and style. But what is the bigger picture and scope, are that so many things inspire me these days, due to the overload of sensory information and visual language.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My themes are very diverse, my art in the early stages was mostly based on fantasy, mythical, and biblical subjects. Many have fantasy realm undertones, and I always like to tell a story within each image. Sometimes, my work will intrigue the viewer due to the subject and how they interact with each other. I prefer to create narratives within my art, even though I also create literal artwork and what you see is what it is. Nowadays, the underlying messages in my art are to explore colors and eye-catching imagery to provoke emotions.”
How would you describe your work?
“My art is an eclectic blend of many cultures and styles, and again, the legacy of art history influences is not relegated to one subject, style, or technique, but to many different and diverse combinations. My art aims to remind the viewers of this generation about the continuing relevance of the timeless themes, qualities, and virtues that the classical tradition offers in this fast-changing digital world. But most of all, I want the artwork to speak for itself.”
Which artists influence you most?
“The artist that influenced me the most was Albert Durer, for whom I was inspired by his meticulous, etching, woodcuts, and biblical subject matter. I was influenced by all the major periods of European art, especially the Renaissance. If I were to name all the artists, it would be hundreds, each with their amazing qualities. I also enjoy many artists in this modern world of social media. I would have to say, that countless artists have influenced me, but I try to draw inspiration from and learn from all these influences.”
“My themes are very diverse, my art in the early stages was mostly based on fantasy, mythical, and biblical subjects.”
What is your creative process like?
“I usually draw inspiration from many sources and formulate the narrative storytelling within each picture. I want to invite the viewer to delve and wonder what the image is trying to say. My goal for my images is to create compelling subject matter and stray away from a mundane or plain delivery. I usually do a couple of super simple sketches and create an exploratory color palette. Then, it usually would be the traditional, rough painting and blocking-in process. I slowly, build up layers to a finished painting. What applies to my paintings also works for my pen and ink artwork. I usually go straight into a pencil sketch and apply cross-hatching and layers of shading in ink.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I meet so many artists in different venues, realizing we all share the same vision of community and using art as a vehicle for dialogue. I sense that artists want to extend what they see and create to others with their medium. It is similar to sharing a part of you and your inner thoughts with people. Some might appreciate and gravitate to the same perspective and others might not. Anywhere art is utilized, there is always something magical and engaging. As one who has worked in advertising for many years, I can attest to its influence and how it affects any visual cue in our surroundings.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I had a show at the Les Malamut Art Gallery a month before the Pandemic came to the US and closed everything down. I was glad to show a large body of work, ranging from many styles and mediums. There was original pen and ink work, with many other colored pieces. I also have an upcoming show in October that showcases my new pieces, mostly a large body of oil paintings I have completed over the past four years.”
