Amy, 2016

Zeljko Masic  

I myself didn't have anybody to encourage me to do art... I just loved it to death and wanted to do it from deep down inside. Many times, I tried to resist the urge due to suffering money problems or not feeling I was good enough... comparing myself with others and, so on... but then, I found I just couldn't resist and, would always return back to studying doing art, again and again. In the end, I just accepted that 'art is really just a part and parcel of my soul... in other words, there's absolutely no escaping from it.

So, why even bother to try...?! I found what I love on my own, and when I find new techniques, I try them out and see where my skills can improve and what I can do with it. The more I drive myself into the depth of my inside, the more things come up to my vision, visibly or invisibly... I even do not know if I am seeing them with my eye or with my mind. I just need to copy them on my canvases. But this mental process is always overwhelming. I often have hard time to deal with my emotion on this state.

You could call this depression on surface? But actually, so many 're-birth' and 'reform' are going on my thoughts, inspiration, philosophy... etc in the underwater. I believe this struggle make my art real. My art always comes from my emotion. I think whatever the past training, an artist is always learning; always bettering skills, trying something different, and challenging oneself. It's part of the creative drive and seriously fun. I believe that no matter how you start on your journey.