My Hero

Huy Lam is a Toronto based artist who creates detailed portraits with a recurring phrase or word. I chose the word spectacular here because they look absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. And thought-provoking because the relation between the subject of his portrait and the word or phrase he uses to make that portrait is quite meaningful and sensible.

I have an example that makes it very clear. He has drawn Barack Obama's portrait using the word 'Hoped' as it "expresses the disappointment felt by many Americans". Whereas Huy has used the phrase 'Hope Not' for drawing Sarah Palin's portrait explaining it as "Because I used "Hoped" for President Obama, I had to come up with something witty and funny for Sarah Palin. So if Sarah Palin has a chance of becoming President, my reaction is "Hope Not"." Isn't that amazing?

Well, in my point of view, it is really impressive. How cleverly he chooses the words and then using the 4pt. type size, he places thousands of them in just the right spots to create detailed portraits.

Catch his interview below with some of his bestest projects:


Huy, let's start with a brief introduction of yours.

I am 40 years old, was born in Vietnam and currently live in Toronto Canada.

Hoped






































What influences the artist within you?

Everything influences me. I am a bit of a news junkie. I read everything from geo-politics to economics to arts. But of course I am influenced by the traditional medias of films, books, music, paintings etc.

Calories 320




































Enlighten us with your wonderful artwork.

I am fascinated by the concept of perception and how each of us sees the world. I just finished a great book where in one chapter it explains the origins of belief, belief vs. the truth and how our perception of truth in not necessarily someone else's truth. I have to admit using words to create images is not my original idea, I've seen it done before but often with larger text. However, for my artwork, I'd like the viewer to take a closer look because what they see and what they read may produce a different reaction. From a normal viewing distance, my images look like colored pencil drawings (so I am told) but as the viewer tries to figure it out the medium, they start to see letters and parts of words emerge. The word(s) are sometimes related to the image in my personal way but not always.

Not Staged





























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Would you like to describe the creative work process behind creating your artwork?

The artwork is created through Photoshop where I basically create custom brushes and stamp the type layers upon layers. The detail work is done one word or phrase at a time by rotating each word. The real difficulty is creating circular or round details with a straight line because the type is straight, this is where the layering gets tricky. The Marilyn Monroe piece for example took 65 hours, the other large pieces (20"x24" & 24"x24") usually take 35-45 hours. Sometimes I find the most challenging part in the process is coming up with the right word or phrase, something witty or significant to the image.

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I know it's difficult to pick but we would love to know your favorite portrait created by you.

My favorite piece so far is Van Gogh's portrait Genius. I wanted to do something colorful.

Genius





































Which moment has been the most fulfilling for you as an artist?

There's nothing more satisfying than having an idea and seeing it through to completion but of course getting positive comments and feedback gives my ego an extra boost.

Dynamite





































Share the best compliment you've ever received for your work.


I can't really remember one that stands out.


What are the other things that interests you? What do you do in your free time?

I am professional photographer but I am always doing things. I paint & draw sometimes but I also really enjoy building things, mostly out of wood. When I moved into my current apartment few years ago, it had an amazing rooftop so I built custom planters and now have a vegetable garden. I never really thought I'd enjoy gardening but I love it now.


What message do you have for our readers?

My message to readers, which is worth about 2 cents, is I try and question my beliefs. I try to listen to what others have to say, especially the people I disagree with.


Huy, thank you for sparing time to talk to us. It has been a wonderful experience knowing about your artwork and you, as an individual too. We wish you all the success!


To see all of his projects, check out HuyLamArt.blogspot.com.

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