Artist Profile: The Luxury Of Art

by Sam Dizon

Being rich is often seen as a symbol of success, so if you have a lot of money you can live well. Living life like royalty makes me think of tiaras, parties, bling, a heck of a lot of money and celebrities. This month's Bystander theme is based on Lorde's song, "Royals" which criticizes the luxurious lives of musicians. The lavish, carefree lifestyles they seem to live have been generally accepted as a norm. If you have money, then you can spend it however you wish and make even more by writing songs about what you do with your riches. Lorde's lyrics include, "but every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room" and they are pretty on point if you think about how celebrity culture is portrayed. 

Can money really buy happiness? That is one of the questions I asked gyllenmaya, a visual artist who uses his art to illustrate stories and express his state of mind. He creates characters and environments that are filled with wonder and are emotion-inducing. His accompanying descriptions add an additional dimension to his creations and I find that I often pause after reading them and look at the image again with a different perspective. We talked about art, Lorde's song and how money affects lifestyles. 

Describe the kind of art you create

I'm not sure how to define the kind of art I make. I predominantly design characters, draw comics and I draw landscapes at times. Whatever it is, almost every piece of work I make, tells a story and usually reflects my state of mind on that day.

What is the most memorable piece of art you have created?

"We're Fireflies." I am truly proud of it.

Is there something you have created that turned out very different than you intended?

More than a few. This normally happens when I'm sketching a character design. Sometimes the draft starts as a human figure but when I start to flesh it out, it might end up a monster design that is far from human instead.

What is your favorite medium of art to work with?

It's hands down digital! I love this medium due to its versatility and that in itself, allows the artist to experiment with a variety of techniques without fear of screwing up. There's been a lot of argument about digital art not being art which I find rather baseless. Art is art - whichever medium we choose doesn't matter. If I'm nowhere near my PC or am attempting more intricate designs, I usually sketch on paper with my trustee ol' mechanical pencil. That being said, I'm actually fascinated by oil painting and who knows in the future, I might go oil throughout.

Is there a type of art you would like to learn?

Fine art, especially abstract expressionism. You can tell so much but at the same time, not say everything that could leave you being judged by others.

What kind of music do you predominantly listen to?

It's hard to point out since I enjoy all sorts of music, but game music typically clicks especially the soundtracks from the Nier series. Game music helps create the color palette and ambiance for me when I do my art - something that is hard to find in any other genre of music. 

This month's theme is inspired by Lorde's song, "Royals." What is your impression of the song?

Carefree, inspiring and has a somewhat feel good vibe to it. (The song) feels especially true, because the media has such a strong influence over what is considered as societal "norms" these days. Pop culture has such an impact on people's lives that we're growing more and more materialistic over time. We forget what happiness could bring in mere simplicity.

The song talks about living certain lifestyles. What kind appeals to you?

I don't know if it's considered a simple one but I'd like a life where I make an earnest living, enough to let me enjoy good food and coffee, have a shelter over my head and get cuddled by my partner (when I find one that is - I am a hopeless romantic after all!).

Do you think money can buy happiness?

Yes and no. I've gone through a bad financial crisis and remember how terrible it actually felt when we were struggling to make ends meet all the time. We couldn't afford food, constantly worried about losing our home and what not, but managed to find solace and happiness throughout the hardship. It was a life experience no money could buy and it made me appreciate that time even more. So, yeah, it's a yes and no answer for me.

What do you think are some disadvantages of being rich?

Insecurity is one of the most obvious according to my observation. I have relatives who are rich and boy, are they suspicious of everyone! I recall being told once that we pretended to be all warm and fuzzy because we wanted a bite of their wealth. There you have it, one of the disadvantages of being rich - insecurity.

If you had an unlimited amount of money to buy equipment to make art, what would you want to purchase? 

Without a doubt, a 22HD Wacom Cintiq and a Cintiq Pro 13" (for mobility). I love the idea of drawing directly on the screen like how one would do on a piece of paper. Definitely saves a lot of time when it comes to inking and helps in production speed as well.

Who would you want to collaborate with in the future?

Kusama Yayoi. I've only recently fallen in love with her work and though the quality of my work is nowhere close to her, I really do hope to collaborate with her one day. There's just so much depth in her work. Though to be honest, this is based on whatever I've viewed thus far in pictures available from the internet. Visiting one of her exhibitions is on my bucket list.

What projects do you have coming up?

Nothing solid at the moment. I've been coming up with a story draft for a 'manga' that I hope to draw and complete. How long will that take? I have no idea, but I'm quite into materializing it.

Follow gyllenmaya's work here:

Facebook: Darren Kheng

Instagram: darren_kyd87

hitRECord: gyllenmaya

Lorde's "Royals" really made an impression on her audiences, with her hip-hop inspired song and lyrics that focused on the over-the-top lives of celebrities. It is quite interesting that what she describes seems so crazy and yet, the artist themselves and the music videos they produce depict exactly that. It's also a pride thing. I have money, here's my proof. Does money equal happiness though? Not necessarily, but it helps. gyllenmaya points out that life has become so much more materialistic, that we often forget about happiness in simplicity. I definitely agree with that point. Money is a necessity and the temptation of living like royalty would certainly be hard to pass up. Being rich means not having to worry about debt and being able to afford the things you want. On the other hand, gyllenmaya mentioned that money also comes with insecurity - something that could eat someone up over time leaving them without anyone to trust. There are pros and cons.

His choice of lifestyle is an earnest living with enough to eat good food and enjoy simple pleasures. His art reflects his outlook on life, including this. It explores light and dark, fantasy and reality and other themes. His work is thought provoking and emotional. I particularly gravitate to the light he uses to penetrate the dark in some of his illustrations as it makes me think of hope and the power it has. It is in darkness that hope shines the brightest. It motivates us to not give up even in the hardest situations.  

Living "the good life" might feel like a stretch for most of us, but we can still strive towards it. So while we wait and work hard for a chance to be rich ourselves, we can always hope. We can drive Cadillacs in our dreams.