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JW-Jeong

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Aristotle once said,
'A corpse is repulsive, but the painting of a corpse can be beautiful.'

And I say,
'A pimple is repulsive, but the painting of a pimple can be beautiful.'

It's the magic that keeps me practicing on hyper-realistic portraits!
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The 'Method'

2 min read
I'm often asked if I use a projector, a printed canvas or grid for my paintings.
To be blunt, the answer is simple 'no'.

I do use several vertical & horizontal lines as the guide to put the object in the right position
only when the canvas is big(over 1m high).

The reason I don't use those technical methods is simple;
I'm an old-fashioned man!
I consider myself more of an old craftsman than an artist in modern-day concept.
For me, practicing and perfecting my craft is as important as creating a good piece of art.

Some people say the process doesn't matter as long as you have a good outcome, but I don't believe that.
I don't feel completely happy with the outcome even though it looks near-perfect if I don't feel that my hard work is involved.

I may work much faster and easier if I use a projector or a printed canvas,
but I'd rather train myself harder and harder to be a more skilled and versatile painter.

After all, you won't need to spend that much money on buying a projector and printing on canvas
if you successfully turn your eyes into a projector and your hands a living printer.

'Master' is a title I want to earn more than the 'Artist'.
Craftsmanship is what I'm after more than any other artist-traits.
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I've been painting since I was quite young.

But still, I am overwhelmed and intimidated once I am facing the vast 'whiteness' of a blank canvas.
Like Goliath to little David, the empty space challenges me and I recoil.

I think being a good painter is nothing other than to overcome this fear of blank canvas.

Just like Van Gogh said,
a good painter never fears the canvas;
The canvas fears him.
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My Gratitude.

2 min read
Dear friends, I must thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your kind remarks and encouragements!

As you may know, a couple of days ago I was wrongfully accused for being a fraud.
I had to defend myself via my previous journal(jw-jeong.deviantart.com/art/Ab…).

To be truthful, I was afraid at first that people might fall for the accusation and join the rank against me.
I know that Internet could turn into a medieval place, where the witch-hunting mob put the innocent at the stake.

But you've all been so generous and considerate that not only you believed me, but also went as far as to defend me and back me up.
I am eternally grateful. Each and every one of you is the main reason why I keep painting, and I mean it.

As for the user AetasSerenus, I accepted his public apology aetasserenus.deviantart.com/ar…
and removed him from my blocked users list.
I know it takes a real courage for one to acknowledge his or her own fault and offer an apology, and for that, I commend him.

I thank you all again, my friends, you have my deepest gratitude.

Do drop by at my workshop once you are in Seoul, South Korea.
I'm not the sort of man that seeks loneliness, rather, I'm always eager for a good company.
A cup of tea shall be my treat! :)
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So I woke up this morning, and found my DA page rather bombarded with accusing comments by a user named AetasSerenus.
Well, I've blocked him and deleted most of his comments since he basically wrote the same thing everywhere he could find in my page(what an annoying business it was to find all of them like tracking down cockroaches in your room). I've always simply ignored such a user, but this time I thought it was necessary to rebut what he said as I am quite offended.

Well, he argues that I'm a fraud,
that I somehow get the photograph from the Internet and tinker it with Photoshop and post it on DA as if I have painted it myself.

The 'evidence' he offers is even less creative.

1) He argues that the exif data(the data that was automatically stored with the image) states that Photoshop CS5 is used
- well, isn't this obvious? I use Photoshop for all my images. Photoshop is used to adjust the size and correct the colours of the image, after I've taken the photo of my work, so that the image may look exactly the same as when one sees the painting in person. I tell you, not even the best camera in the world can make the exact duplication of the actual painting and some adjustments must be done not to make the image look better than it is, but to make it as truthful as possible.

2) Another exif data stuff. He says that the date stated in exif data sometimes doesn't concord with the date when it is actually posted.
- hmm, this may sound more valid than the first one. He offers my 'sculpted soaps' for evidence. I said that the soaps were sculpted in 2010, during my military service, but the exif data states that the picture was taken in 2006. The same thing also happened in my 'Painting Process' pic. The painting was completed during late 2012, but according to the exif data, the picture was taken in 2011!

Well, blame my old camera or the false setting. The exif data is automatically stored according to the SETTING INSIDE THE CAMERA. Those who are familiar with camera would know that such errors are made quite often if you don't pay attention to what your own camera thinks what day it is. In fact, I've never taken note of my camera's date setting from the day I bought it as I didn't know what 'exif data' is until now!

Let me tell you an interesting story. In 2008, one of the major Korean press got the picture of Kim Jong-il, the infamous North Korean dictator, and reported that the picture was taken in October. But in the photo's exif data, the date was stored as August, which caused confusion and suspicion among the authorities. It was later confirmed that it was a mere mistake in the picture's date setting and the picture was indeed taken in October as was reported.
Here's the link to the news article. It's all in Korean, but you can still see the reference picture of its 'exif'.
www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/…

See? It happens everywhere, even in the major press!

3) He argues that if I did have such a good skill for realism, I should already have achieved an international fame. But I'm not a super-famous artist in the world. Why? Because I'm a fraud!
Well, do I even have to argue about this? Instead, I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you, sir!
But do yourself a favour and do more reading or even a bit of Googling at least, and you'll find there are so many skilled painters in the world who paints much, much better than I do.
I'm still a young student trying to find my way to become a good artist.

So, that's about it.
Now that I've written the whole thing, I feel even ridiculous for all this.
Do I need to present the evidence better than the WOP shots and the actual images of my paintings being EXHIBITED, with the REAL MODELS?
Are all those people who came to the exhibition the part of this grand plot?

I have my own workshop inside C 907-2, Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea. I have many visitors as it is open to everybody.
If you are in Korea, or by any chance plan to visit Seoul, feel free to come to my workshop and you can see all of my paintings in person and of course, myself at work.

No entrance fee. Just a nice cup of tea and warm heart.
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Featured

Aristotle once said... by JW-Jeong, journal

The 'Method' by JW-Jeong, journal

Fear of Blank Canvas. by JW-Jeong, journal

My Gratitude. by JW-Jeong, journal

About the Accusation. by JW-Jeong, journal