[Un]Discovers: Martin Hsu

7 Waves of Illusion has finally come to an end and today this artist is from United States. His name is Martin Hsu and I have been following his flickr link for quite some time now. I really love his paintings and today and I am just happy that he is willing to be one of my featured artists. Let's read what kind of questions I have for him.

Hey Martin, thanks so much for being the last guest of this special feature week! First, I really want to know, how did you become a painter?
Interestingly, I didn't start painting until much later in my life. Studying animation back in school was always more about pencil on paper than paint on canvas. I guess what prompted me to start painting was a lot of my friends around me started painting and showing in galleries. It seemed really fun and interesting so I thought I'd try it out. I'm still very much an amateur and have much to learn about painting in general. All very exciting stuff though.

I think your works are very nice and I enjoy every piece you showcase on the web. So, who or what kind of things have influenced your works?
My biggest influence comes from my family and its history. It's what feels the most real and true. Though, cute and retarded looking monsters also interest me.

I can see a lot of cute monsters in your works and one day you should draw one for me. When I look at your paintings, they tend to have an asian flavor to them. Is your cultural background a big factor that spices up your drawings?
That's because I mix my paints with soy sauce. Just kidding. Yes, most definitely, five thousand years of Chinese history has a tremendous influence on me when I develop ideas for my paintings. It's an infinite resource of inspiration.

If you had ended your answer with soy sauce, I would have asked you to send a piece for me and see if I could smell the soy sauce scent. I know you have done some exhibit shows and I am just wondering, which one is your most memorable and why?
I did a series of eight paintings titled "The Legend of Naii" last year. It was part of a small group show at Gallery 1988 San Francisco. Nai means grandmother on the dad's side in Chinese. My grandmother had passed away a couple of months before the show. She was the center of our family so I wanted to dedicate this series to her as someone who showed tremendous perseverance and determination. Not to mention unconditional love for her family. She is depicted as a guardian who protects a giant lily forest against demon pests while riding on auspicious animals. There were 8 paintings because she had 8 kids. These paintings meant and still mean a lot to me. It was a challenging process, but I think a certain level of closure was ultimately gained for me. It's something I'll never forget.

I am sure your grandmother will be so proud of you in the heave right now. On the other hand, if you could work with any brand you want, which brand do you want to do a collaboration with and what kind of products you want to make?
Well, it would have to be Alexander McQueen or Comme des Garçons. Despite the recent tragedy, I hope the vision will go on.

I would love to be involved with developing the look for a new line. It would include character development and the back story for each garment. It would also be amazing to work on a print for the line.

If that becomes reality, that will be a very cool collaboration! Last but not least, if you were not a painter, what do you think you would be doing right now? Do you think it will be related to the arts scene?
I would love to get into fashion. It fascinates me. I love clean lines and structure. I also love the idea of attaching personality and story to the show. Making fantasy into reality.

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Now it's time for some more random questions that let you know him on a more personal level.

Lion or Tiger?
South China Tiger

Hamburger or Hotdog?
Yakionigiri.

Pikachu or Hello Kitty?
Rilakuma.

Yahoo or Google?
Google.

Coffee or Tea?
Love both.

Superman or Captain America?
Nausicaa.

Coldplay or Green Day?
Cornelius.

Yellow or Green?
Neither.

Japan or United States?
China, but secretly Japan.

Hot or Cold?
Hot.

This is the end of our 7 Waves of illusion and once again thank you so much to Martin for willing to be one of the featured artists for this special week! If you want to see more of his works, you can head over to his official website. All paintings in this post are courtesy of Martin Hsu.