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The very first time I met Song Seung-Ho, it felt like travelling via a time machine from the ancient time to the modern days. He struck me as an enlightened practitioner with his broad firm torso, his long hair twirled into a bun and a constant at-ease smile. He started drawing in the playground, the yard or on the walls with a crayon rock or a stick when he was a kid. Up until now, it hasn’t crossed his mind, not even once, to do something else other than art creating. He stated, “No particular encountering, stimulating or encouraging externally has contributed to my fondness of drawing. I just love it.”

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“I take trips to sketch quite often. One time, when visiting somewhere near Bukhansan, I was profoundly drawn to the pine trees there. The way I felt so connected to them was almost like fate. Moreover, it was only recently that my mom told me how my father inherited neither land nor houses but hundreds of pine trees. The moment I heard this, I contemplated if the pine trees and I share the same blood ties. In a nutshell, I enjoy painting pine trees. It felt like speaking with the pine trees during the creation process. The experience is too fascinating to put down in words. And maybe because of this, the pine trees painted when I was down reflected my sorrow while those created when I was in a good mood look animating with life. What’s even more fascinating is that even the audience can tell my emotions from the paintings.”

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“ The center of my works is nature with a broad approach. For example, the tree on my painting can be viewed as a modern portrait. It seems stolid with glamour from the outside but in fact it was woven with pure sorrow inside. It’s just like pungent poignant liquor, the liquid of life that allows human beings to continue in their positions. Via the trees, the true colors of human race surface, the feelings are exchanged and our minds are purified. Although I’m not sure what kind of effects a painting can summon, I’ve heard a brush is certainly more powerful than a knife. Thus, I’ll keep going like the pine trees with the unwavering determination as strong as the granite underneath the seemingly soft layer.”

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“Before I picked up painting pine trees, my focus was on the portraits. I frequented the subway stations, the streets, the bars and cultural venues to seek inspiration. These places are my “studios”. About ten years ago, I saw the back of a girl dragging an umbrella after the rain stopped. I found it intriguing so I followed and sketched behind her. People thought I was some kind of pervert. I figure I’d be in a lot of trouble if that incident takes place now.” Mr. Song is a prolific artist with more than ten thousand paintings a year. He joined seven art exhibition events and was awarded five times. The award granted by the Korean Art Exhibition, regarded the highest honor in Korea, is especially unforgettable for him.  

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“If western painting emphasizes on filling up the space of a painting, then oriental practice is all about simplification and reduction. It perhaps has to do with the oriental philosophy, returning to the origin as the ultimate goal, the theory of regression. The process has nothing to do with one’s conscience but following its natural course. The most essential point is that I have to like it, which motivates me to learn willingly with sincerity and eventually to reach self-realization.”

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                            By Song Seung-Ho