Haze is a speed painter at present. She’s successful and has just opened up a gallery. We feel blessed that she took the time to reply to our questions despite the opening and we are excited that we can share the look behind the scene and on her artworks with you.
She’s got her very own style and so much more than “just” talent. She’s got that fever and has seen quite some big changes in her life. There is this glow, the light that shines inside of her and that can be found in her art, too. She seems to be a calm and gentle person but you can tell by that fever that she can make a change – often in under three minutes when lines and scratches suddenly turn into a portrait ! She paints with Acrylic, digital, on canvas, with strings on nails, with brushes on helmets, with violin music adaption of pop songs, upside down, on wall, inside, outside, people, animals, things.
Her Art testifies peace and happiness and is like an invitation to take part in something beautiful. There is a polyvalent personality behind this art, who has not yet reached its final destination and carries away big parts of her audience, because she is just amazing. Learn more about Haze on her website hazelong.com. We recommend to scroll through her IG profile and also visit her speedpainting website: hazelongspeedpainter.com. If you are on Facebook, please have a look at her brand new gallery’s page GoJyu5 — and in case you are around : They have workshops !
Interview with Haze Long, Artist
Is there a word or a colour that could describe your childhood?
Grey, like a hurricane.
What would you say is the most important thing parents can give to their child [besides love and shelter]?
Leadership skills and encourage the child to be proactive.
What kind of child were you? Rather one that plays outside and discovers the nature, has messy hair, dirty knees and big dreams, or more one like the picture perfect girl that stays inside the house and draws, listens to stories or music , daydreaming?
I suffered from depression as I was a victim of child abuse. My mother passed away when I was young and I was isolated in school. I kept to myself most of the time but at the same time, looking for a place to belong. Somewhere safe.
Is there anything you have kept from your early days, like a word, a song, mood, routine, moral, memory, or a dish?
I lost my ability to be playful or be happy when I was young. I definitely want to remember how it feels like to be playful or happy. These feelings are essential when it comes to creating art
She has come a long way: Former beauty blogger and web designer turned out to be an artist, a business woman. She is an influencer and a vlogger. Restless with plenty of ideas. She’s very fast, yet so calm. Blond and dark-haired. Labels? Lust for life! An exiting road lies still ahead. Let’s go for a walk with her.
This is one of her latest works with the title “Air Box ” from the series Box Illusions. Hashtag #vagabond.
Do you (still) have a happy place where you go to recalibrate your system, i.e. your senses or perception, to step back and contemplate?
Yeap! I turn to meditation and yoga to find clarity and happiness. However, my ability to be happy mostly came from developing a self-consciousness. It gives me happiness just being in my own skin.
What is it that really matters in life?
Doing what I love, something that requires no escaping or vacation. If I am already living my dream I wouldn’t need to dream anymore.
If there was something not enough of or missing in the modern world, what would that be?
I think the modern world is too much, instead of not being enough.
You travelled a lot. What was the most impressive place you ever went, and why?
London. I love the art scene there. I feel connected to the souls that have created such magnificent art.
If there was just one word in any language to describe your art and artworks, what word would that be?
Efficiency.
Was there a moment when you literally decided to be(come) an artist or has it just happened? You said you were surprised to find out that you are an artist. We’re glad you did!
Yeah it happened when I was already creating art after half a decade. My direction in life shifted and I find more passion creating art instead of being a corporate painter.
(How) Has Art changed your life?
Art humbles me. I perceive the world differently and it is the only thing that puts a barrier between me and arrogance.
When you see a blank page, what do you see?
White.
Do you have a preferred technique?
As little brush strokes as possible in the simplest and most efficient way of getting things done.
Does the “perfect picture” exist? What makes a picture be perfect?
An imperfect picture is perfect.
Haze, Ha|ze, [heɪz] — noun, english
This term has different meanings, but basically describes something in the air like dust or heat or smoke that makes it less clear and difficult to see through. It complies to the state in which she leaves her audience when the audience tries to follow her moves and want to understand what she does. You look at her, watch her painting but don’t really “get the picture” and lose your feeling for space and time. And then? Stunning! The IPA makes her name look like the German word for heart: “Herz” and that is exactely where she touches us with her fine art. Fine Art, by the way, in an incorrect German translation [where you translate just the sound of a word], would mean NICE WAYS.
How has the loss of your dad changed your perception? You said your “soul’s compass was broken”, which I think is a perfect expression. You also said you lost your “dreams, aspirations and ambitions. All my life, I just wanted to prove him wrong, be praised and be acknowledged by him.” Despite this great loss, can you say, as an artist, that you are in a way free now, in liberty?
In more than one ways and others, the loss of my dad allows me to get back on my own track. I was free again to become who I really am. I’m perfectly happy with who I am today.
Would you say one can learn to see, I mean to look: Is perception something that you can train?
Yes, with a shift of attitude or emotions one sees differently. Someone with anger will only see anger everywhere. Having empathy while being pragmatic allows someone to perceive accurately at a distance.
Sometimes I have the impression that artists “exist” around a big black whole or are held together by it. It must be something like a magnetic field or the top of a volcano. Artists can make great things come out of it, but also happen to fall inside every little now and then. It’s maybe like needing the extremes to keep up the tension that makes them “work” or “float”, always between the good and the bad, the lucky and the sad, sunshine and rain, inspiration or frustration, in a natural flow. And then there is you. You seem to have rather a soul that floats around, like a fairy with a brush. You hop from one volcano to the next and if you get bored, a fish flies you to the galaxy and I am so in love with this idea that I can’t stop looking at it. Even if I don’t look at it anymore it stays in front of my eyes. As an invitation to discover a new world. You tagged the Air Box painting #vagabond. And then, if it’s not that, you go ahead and start a string portrait that leaves the audience speechless. Well, can you please describe the creative field inside of you?
To a non-artist it may be bewildering how we behave but we slip in and out of creativity all the time. Just like solving a maths equation, one struggles to find the answer before he can solve it. Then it’s on to the next question. It’s just the same to me, problem solving as I go along.
When you close your eyes, where do you go?
Multiple train of thoughts.
What inspires you ?
Success stories from unexpected individuals. Everyone of us has got 24 hours in a day. It’s astounding what some of us can achieve with the same amount of time given. Recently I am inspired by old folks who learn new skills or develop a completely new career.
Can you describe what it feels like to see one’s works of Art for the first time in a gallery, see people’s reactions?
Overwhelming. It’s hard to believe people who travel all the way to see my art. They may not be able to afford it and just came because they love the work. That’s the most touching of all.
What were the 2 most impressive moments in your life for you as an artist (and why)?
Producing over 80 murals in 1 month with 20 other artists. I was leading the project and it was life changing. It was the pinnacle of my career as an artist/businesswoman. Another moment would be my recent recognition for my fine art and speed painter. This marks a new beginning for me.
Is there a current or upcoming exposition where one can see your work?
What are your next projects?
Yeap. Right now I am setting up my gallery called GoJyu5 in Kuala Lumpur. It’s in a mall called Publika Shopping Gallery.
I’ll be making more artwork in the same genre for the time being but will be switching to a new direction next year.
What is your favourite artwork/ idea/ painting etc (of others), if any?
Too many. I don’t have a favourite. I am currently obsessed with the artworks by The Group Of Seven.
What else are you passionate about (if anything specific)?
Running a business. It’s another form of art.
(One of) The greatest achievements/inventions mankind has made in modern life so far is….
Robots!!!!!!!
Have you ever been to France? What is your favourite Macaron?
Chocolate mint!!
Image (c) Haze Long
Do you have a favourite colour?
Yellow
What is your favourite song/singer/music?
Too many. I must have soundtrack everyday at every moment. I change music to suit the mood I am in.
What is beauty?
Beauty is when technicality meets concept and creativity.
Love is…
Kept a secret.
Family means…
Nothing and everything.
Friendship means…
Happiness.
Freedom is…
Being with someone you love when there’s wind, sun and water.
How many languages do you speak – is there a favourite, and if so, why?
English is my main, mandarin when being polite and Cantonese when I need to pack a punch.
One true word (or saying) in no matter what language:
Yes.
If you were to speak to the young, aspiring or dreaming, you’d say….
Focus on what you have instead of what you want. If you have nothing, work til you have everything.
If you could freely go back and forth in time, what direction would you take first and why?
Back. To times I want to relive.
If you lived in a castle up on the hills, who would you invite to a 7 course dinner with you sitting on the other end of that long, very long table, and why?
Someone with the ability to learn anything and conquer whatever mountains he seeks to climb. Because the table was never meant to be for two.
PHOTOS: © Haze Long. No images may be duplicated, distributed or shared without notification of the original author.
