What is your typical studio routine?

I usually start early morning. I am not a night owl painter at all.  I prefer not to spend long hours painting. Probably six-ish hours usually, but if I am close to a deadline it will be a different story.

How do you describe your practice?

I am a painter. Familiarity and memory are the core elements of my current body of work. They are constructed with the thought of belonging, home, land and the idea of borders. A place or location is suggested, there are recognisable landscape elements in my paintings through their form and composition combined with their ability to echo with our shared memory. These notions stem from my own experience of displacement through living in Western society.

Is a particular process or methodology within your practice important to you?

My paintings can look like they have a limited colour pallet, but I use a lot of different colours that I mix with black and tint with white, so they are less apparent.

My paintings usually consist of a dozen layers of paint. My method of making work is very similar to printmaking. I am more interested in how to bring out the colour from the paint underneath than highlighting the paint that sits on top.

How long have you been working as an artist?

I feel that it has been a long time, but compared with others, I have just started.

Is it difficult being back in the studio after an exhibition?

No, not at all. When I am close to finishing a body of work for a show, a bunch of new ideas would suddenly appear. Due to the deadline, I wouldn’t be able to experiment with those new ideas at the time, So I am usually very excited to get back in and try them out.

What is the best advice you have been given as an artist?

Perseverance!  It’s the best advice and the worst advice.

What jobs have you done, other than being an artist?

Quite a few different jobs, takeaway counter, bartender, waiter, gardener, retailer sales assistant, exhibition technician, co coordinator etc.

Follow Kwok on @kl.tsui