We recently sat down with our newest workshop instructor, the incredibly talented artist Calvin Lai. Calvin shared insights into his artistic endeavors, teaching philosophy, and the upcoming spring painting workshop in the beautiful hills of Tuscany. It was fun getting to know him and his perspective on making art.
How did you start teaching?
I started teaching privately at my studio in San Francisco. Many of my private students found me on Instagram, and I would help them with whatever they were interested in. As my Instagram presence grew I began gaining more online teaching opportunities which eventually led to getting hired as a professor at the California College of the Arts. Currently, I am teaching both in person, as well as online.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I feel that intention is the most important part of making art. Everyone’s style and skill level is different, so I always feel that it is not my place to judge whether one’s art is “good” or “bad”. I look for what the artist intends in their piece. What is the focal point? Are they aware how their composition is affecting one’s experience of the art? To make people aware how one’s art affects people rather than how it looks is the most important thing when I teach.
What do you love about teaching?
I love sharing the experience of the artistic process with others. Being able to break down how I see or approach a subject to another person is very rewarding. There are multiple levels of communication happening when you are teaching art, refining the way we talk to each other, as well as the way we communicate visually with the world around us. To me that is exciting and rewarding.
Why are you excited about working with Il Chiostro?
I am really looking forward to being surrounded by an inspiring environment. Any place new has the potential of unlocking our creative minds, this is especially true when you go to a place that has beautiful landscapes, a rich culture, and interesting people. This is the deepest well that any artist can ask for.
What do you hope students get out of the class?
There are several things that I hope for. The main foundation for each lesson will be how to see the world differently, how to see it as a painter would in shapes, colors, and values. Everything can be seen this way as it is essential for a painter’s approach to their work. The other important takeaway from this experience is to heighten one’s internal radar for finding what inspires us to create. This trip will be unique in the sense that everyday we will be seeking out inspiration, and like any skill we’ll be refining our abilities to find it.
What are you looking forward to most during the trip to Italy?
I am most looking forward to being part of a community of like minded individuals who love to discover new places, immerse themselves in new experiences, and being on an adventure in order to spark our shared love for creating art.
Anything else you’d like me to highlight?
I am open to any amount of questions from anyone interested about what my lessons will entail or anything related to how to make their trip artistically fulfilling. I also play clarinet and will probably find remote places to practice, so you might hear that in the distance at some point during the trip.
We are excited to have Calvin join the Il Chiostro family as a new workshop instructor. He will host a new oil painting workshop in Tuscany on May 25-June 1, 2024. To learn more visit, Develop Your Painting Style, Find Your Inspiration in Oils
Calvin Lai’s art has evolved a lot over the years. His painting process has matured into a mixture of seeing, distorting, and reinterpreting with the threads of realism weaving the backdrop of where his artistic style is today. As a child, drawing was something Calvin loved, and to make a picture appear lifelike became his goal. Through constantly working, Calvin’s art began to breathe, and his fascination with value and perspective blossomed. Eventually, he moved from where he grew up in Los Angeles to San Francisco. There he studied drawing and printmaking at San Francisco State University. In 2008, he enrolled in the Academy of Art for illustration, but began painting instead. He found that he preferred the arts over commercial illustration, and now works as a full time oil painter.
Since then he has continued to develop and refine his oil painting skills. Lai’s work has been shown nationally in galleries, group exhibitions and juried shows. He has executed a large number of commissioned portraits over the past several years, and his paintings have appeared in national and international publications. His recent work has returned to a serious study of portraits and the gure, which has always been the anchor for his creative drive. His goal has gone beyond mere technical interpretation to a deeper sense of what the energy of the person feels like. But the borders for what he chooses to paint encompasses a variety of subjects, including landscapes, cityscapes, and still lifes, and ultimately he is driven to capture everything around him through his paints, brushes, and determination.