Meet AOTH | Artist | Abstract Romanticism

We had the good fortune of connecting with AOTH and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi AOTH, what do you attribute your success to?
A strong mindset and a strong support system.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Art is my language. I always have a hard time writing what I’m trying to say and words sometimes just don’t really portray what I mean accurately. That’s why I paint.

My paintings exist to take you away from chaos, from the mess we’ve made in this supposedly beautiful world. My art is here to remind you to take a breather, give yourself a chance to reboot before you dive back into reality. Existing can be exhausting sometimes, romanticizing life can perhaps make life more interesting and make you feel alive again. Hence, abstract romanticism.

I’m able to do what I love for a living now mostly because of the support from the people that matter most to me. Their faith in me pushes me to be better from one milestone to another. It hasn’t been a smooth nor easy journey and it shouldn’t be. The bumps on the road are there to help you learn. Failures are there to help you succeed. I have failed countless times on my way to where I’m at today. It was scary until you learn to get over it, accept, and then move on. One thing that would help anyone bigtime is self-awareness. The ability to realize if your work is strong enough or if more time is needed till it can be shown to the world. As an artist, having the eye to identify what works and what doesn’t, is like a super power. It is easy to be full of it, that’s why many artists we’ve studied happen to be narcissists and it seems like if you’re not one, you’d never be successful. I often wonder if that is true as I haven’t lived that far just yet. All I can say for now is that my family is here to keep me grounded and I’d like to keep it that way, wherever I end up.

All I want to contribute to this world through my work is a piece of beautiful reminder whenever needed. A place to getaway. A memory to relive. Something to keep one’s mental health in check. Breathe and let go.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start of with brunch at Sassafras in Highland. It’s like a restaurant in a cute house with patio seating, relaxing vibe to enjoy a homestyle meal while catching up with friends. Also a cute little town to walk around after. Then I’ll drive them around the neighborhood to do some drive-by house hunting. It’s something we enjoy doing together, judging and wow-ing at the new builds amongst the old beauties. Fantasizing the kind of life we would have according to which house we live in.
We would then visit the Denver Botanical Garden if it’s a blooming season. If not, I’ll always suggest to take them to the MCA, Museum of Contemporary Arts, Clyfford Still Museum, and DAM, Denver Art Museum if we have time.
For afternoon tea/snack, I’d like to take them to Milk Tea People for some Matcha/Hojicha and definitely going for their Mochkie and Wafchi. Also a pretty cool spot to hang out.
After exploring a few different towns/neighborhood, it’s about time for dinner, I’ll take them to my favorite indian restaurant – Spice Room. We’ll probably order too much for the table and just indulge.
With a heavy dinner, it’s probably a good idea to walk it off so I’ll take them to Washington Park. We can then enjoy a sunset walk and chat and maybe some fun people and dog watching too!
That’s what our outing would look like in/around the city!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m incredibly lucky to have such a strong support system from my family. I wouldn’t have come this far without their unconditional support and constant affirmations. Not going to paint the perfect picture, the early days can be filled with all kinds of uncertainties but all I know growing up is to be the odd one, unconventional, and never stop proving to my family that I can dream big, that I not only can reach that dream but live it. Many compensations happened in between, to keep it realistic but it was all part of the process. Once my family and my people get what I’m doing and what I’m trying to achieve, a little recognition here and there, help them understand how things work in my world. “I’ve never doubted you”, they would say. All they have for me now is endless faith. The hardest part has everything to do with family. If I’m able to get them on my side, nothing in this world I can’t face now.

If you happen to be like me, the odd one growing up, you’d relate to this. We had to gain more confidence in order to stick up for ourselves, sometimes, perhaps, arrogance was the only thing that could protect what we are made of, what we are born to do, especially if the ones that matter most were against it due to the lack of knowledge. It can be the hardest thing you need to do for yourself but believe me, once you’ve passed that, the world is your playground.

I tend to get lost in my head, some days are good to be lost, inspirations come to me that way; some days can be really dangerous to be lost in this head of mine, doubts come dancing around laughing at me. That’s when my family comes in, giving me all the validations I need to move along. On my last birthday, they even made me a jar filled with 365 beautiful reminders and motivational words to keep me in check whenever I needed to. My sister and brother must be sick of my breakdowns by now, little do they know, more to come, for as long as I live. Well, we play the same roles for each other vice versa, none of us can live without each other(*wink). I must say, I can’t even imagine what my husband had to go through to keep himself sane from all these. Everything I went through, he dealt with it first hand. He is my rock, my soulmate, sometimes it can be too much to bear for one person, so he’s definitely grateful that I have my siblings to turn to, not only him.

It is true what people say, that it can be lonely doing what we do. Making friends in the same industry can be quite a challenge as it is easier to compare and compete instead of supporting one another. I have made and lost many friends. I’m thankful to be able to keep a pretty cool friend who’s also a talented artist. We both work on very different genres of art hence, there is no competition between us, only motivation. It is important to have someone in the same industry to grow with, to keep each other accountable. Lift each other up when needed. I’m happy to say that I have at least one. I would rather make it up there with a friend who’s as unique and talented than just making it..alone.

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Image Credits
All photograph taken by yours truly.