This painting of the character Hiah (히아), meaning glad, is inspired by the actress Seo Ye-ji (서예지) who caught my attention in the Korean TV Series “It’s OK to Not Be OKAY” where she played the character Moon-young.

“Your body is honest. When you’re in physical pain, you cry. But the heart is a liar. It stays quiet even when it’s hurting. Then, when you’re asleep, you finally weep and whimper like a dog.”

– It’s OK to Not Be OKAY

Painting style

This painting is a mixed media composite with an acrylic background that gives a nice contrast to the smoother airbrushed face and watercolour mid-details. Strong use of pencil hatching on the hair gives it life and a sense of movement, making it look more realistic. Air brushing and texture shading on the face allows for more detail, as well as letting pencil sketch elements bleed through to give added depth and definition.

Original Dimensions : 30" x 44", 76.2cm x 111.76cm (9000px x 13200px at 300px/Inch)