What is the best thing that I love about my work? The best thing that I love about my work is the fact that I get to venture into another world. My own world where it’s complete silence and isolation away from everything and everybody. It allows me to express my own emotions without words and freedom to create what I want to express. It controls my depression to give myself balance. The transition from dark to light. To feel both at the same time.
What is my idea of perfect happiness? There is no perfect happiness. Nothing in this world can create the perfect happiness in my mind if we can’t love ourself first. Even after that there will be struggle and lots of work to maintain it. I’d be happy with the idea that I am free from being a slave to this world just to live one day at a time. I just want to create and stop worrying about everything.
What is my greatest fear? My greatest fear in life is failing. Not failing for myself, but failing for the ones that I admire and look up to. The ones that believe in me to succeed in this art industry and the ones that gave me a chance to represent their galleries. I do not want to fail them or embarrass them. That is why I try to get better each day to represent dark art and dark surrealism.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? The one thing that I find unacceptable about myself is the fact that I have a hard time concentrating or focusing. I get easily distracted and become very obsessive compulsive about things that pop in my head. It takes away my time to create when I finally have freedom to do so. That is why I feel like it is important to shut off the whole world and lock myself in my art studio without a way to communicate.
Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? I admire a lot of artists in this industry. I can name a few, but the one that stands out the most is Chet Zar. Chet helped me become an artist with his teachings and wisdom. He taught me to be patient and work hard with the fundamentals of art. It wasn’t for one of his paintings titled, “Hammerhead”. I might never stepped foot into a gallery. It was a piece that brought my anxiety to explore on my own.
What is my greatest extravagance? I was a die hard collector of art. I’ve spent more then I can make sometimes. It has gotten me to the point where I had to stop and focus on my own art. In the end I’ve spent a lot of money but don’t regret coughing up a lot of money on “Hammerhead”. The painting that started it all for me. It hangs in my home now.
On what occasion would I lie? The occasion to get out of something that I really don’t want to do. We all have our busy schedule and our own lives to worry about too. It sucks sometimes to lie a bit. I just don’t like to hear a lot of nagging and questions coming at me.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? I can name a lot of things that I dislike about my work. I am my biggest critic and it sucks I have the mentality of a collector to work with. I definitely got to improve on everything. Let’s just leave it at that.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work? I was happiest with my work when I felt a complete calm and peace in my mind while working in my art studio. When that happens, everything starts to click and it becomes exciting and fun. It is very therapeutic and it tends to give a spiritual vibe or meditation to my soul.
If I could, what would I change about myself? I would like to be more confident in myself and my work. I am very insecure about my art and it bothers me. I just want to be confident enough to create. Just not over confident where an ego gets involve. That is something that can and will destroy your career. Always be humble.
What is my greatest achievement in work? My greatest achievement is when I figured out some of the techniques that I wanted to do in my art work. Nothing is more satisfying then figuring out how to get what you want done in your creation. To be able to picture it in your head and being able to physically create it on a blank canvas.
What do the words ‘The Financial Freedom to Create’ mean to me? It means a lot to me. To be able to quit my day job so I can create full time without worrying about paying bills to survive. It is one thing that has held me back in my progress to get better at a more comfortable pace. It can get quite depressing when I have to reboot my head to start on a project. It can take awhile to get into that zone.
Where would I most like to live? I am actually happy where I am at at the moment. I live in Los Angeles and there is no better place then to showcase my art or visit galleries here. I feel very fortunate to live here to get the opportunities to connect and network. But I am even more fortunate that I made a lot of really good friends in the local art community here. I wouldn’t move for anything in this world.
What is my most treasured possession? My most treasured possession got to be my “Hammerhead” painting by Chet Zar. That was the painting that got me interested in art and got me to visit my first gallery. It has helped me with conquering my social anxiety and being able to talk to people. Now I can’t shut up lol. Like I said, I am very grateful to have Chet as my friend and mentor.
What is my most marked characteristic? Patience. I have a lot of patience and tolerance for a lot of things. I can struggle for a long period of time if I truly desire something. I feel the longer the wait the greater the reward. Sometimes I feel I have too much patience, which can hold me back at times.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city? My most inspirational location. It can be anywhere actually. It just has to be at night. I just look up in the nights sky and see the moon. I can feel its energy and it allows me to feel certain things where I can start creating something with a real genuine deep emotion. It’s crazy but I talk to the moon and feel a lot of things all around me. Feeling the energy of the universe creates something deep within that is very inspiring to me.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city? My favorite place to eat is my goto place a few blocks from my home. It is a taco truck and it’s convenient. When I am not sure what to eat. I just go there and they already know what I want to order without me saying anything. I don’t drink. But I do love my coffee at a local mom and pops shop.
What books influenced my life and how? My mom gave me a Buddhist book to look at when I was younger. It is just a standard book with the preachings of the Buddha. It has definitely influenced my life and the way of living. We live by the choices we make and not by the way of how we are supposed to live and act.
Who are my favorite writers? One of my favorite writer is Carl Jung. I really love his quotes and wisdom. I have a few favorite quotes from him that helped me learn to be more aware and get a better understanding of things. Here is one of my favorite quotes from Carl Jung. “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? That’s a hard one, but I’d have to say Hans Zimmer. His music is powerful and his scores definitely gives me the feels. There is no better way to die then to die with an epic soundtrack in the background to my finale.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? I would have to say, Batman. To do right to fix all the wrong is what he does to protect the innocense. I always feel that good people should always be safe and unharmed. That we all need to protect each other from unethical people. the judicial system is way too lenient at times. I feel sometimes we got to bend the rules a bit.
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? I honestly can’t say I have a hero. The biggest hero is from within ourself.
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? I totally would recommend watching, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. We always fantasized about going on an epic adventure in our lifetime. If we can’t allow our imagination to run wild and make our life a living adventure. Then I do not want to wake up each morning. Everyone should have a soundtrack to their daily lives.
What role plays art in my life and work? Art plays everything in my life. Everywhere I go i see shapes and patterns. I see art everywhere I go and get inspired by the littlest of things. Art is imagination and imagination is being innovative. Being innovative is useful in our daily lives and job.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? I don’t like to use the term “fans”. I feel I connect with them and they connect with me. I consider all of them friends and acquaintances. My partner in crime is our entire art community to me. We pick each other up and we motivate each other to do better each time. We take care of each other and that makes the entire community a family, partners.
Whom would I like to work with in 2017? I would absolutely love to work with art communities of all genres. I would love to explore all the different style and types of medium. We are artist and it’s fun sometimes to step out of the comfort zone. It definitely can help with the creative evolution.
Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2017? I would definitely love to meet David Stoupakis and Damien Echols. David is one of my inspirations in art. I did not get a chance to meet him when he was here in Los Angeles for an art show. I would love to chat it up with him one day and Damien Echols.
What project, in 2017, am I looking forward to work on? I am excited to work on a few shows that I am fortunate to be in. The theme of the shows fit what I want to do with my art. It gives me the freedom to create more of what I like to do naturally. To express my dark and light emotions into them. To tell a story within the art.
Where can you see me or my work in 2017? You can see my work at The Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, CA and at The Dark Art Emporium in Long Beach, California. I am hoping to work with more galleries in the future. Especially working galleries in the east coast. I feel there is a difference in style compared to the west coast.
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? It means everything to me. I am a passionate man and I live off of passion when I start working on my art. Without passion there is no fire. We need that fire, that drive to get better each time. That energy and excitement to get going. Passion is everything, It’s being human.
Which creative heroes should Peter invite to tell their story? I would definitely want Peter to invite everyone that has the passion, respect, humbleness, and work ethics to tell their story. I truly believe everyone should atleast get a chance to get some recognition for their art. There are a lot of amazing artists out there that the world still hasn’t heard of yet. We have a lot of young gems out there waiting to explode. It’s exciting times and I cannot wait to hear their story as well.
How can you contact me?
You can contact me on:
Facebook: Patrick Thai
Instagram: patology5
email: patrickthai@hotmail.com
The Hero's Journey 