Gazing upon one of the paintings of artist Tahni Österman envelopes you in an embrace of bright colors and serene vistas that evoke feelings of joy and peace. She brings the eye candy that feeds the soul Here’s what she has to say.
For folks not familiar with your work how would you describe your various artistic endeavors?
I am an oil painter who paints vibrant landscape paintings. I use color and brush stroke to convey the feelings or mood of a certain place and/or time.
What’s your art background? How did you get into art?
I have always been artistically inclined. There have been many artists in my family so it was encouraged from a young age. I went on to major in illustration and things took off for me in the painting realm when I went of a study abroad landscape painting trip to Tuscany my last semester of university.
Tell me about your craft and creative process from concept to execution.
For places that I paint in Korea, I like to go there to sketch and take in the feel of the place first hand. After sketching and collecting reference photos, I’ll go in to the studio and decide which parts of the place I’d like to portray in a larger piece. I decide on the canvas size, flesh the sketch out to the proportions of the canvas, decide on a color palette, pre-mix the colors and then start the painting 🙂
What are your biggest motivations?
Well, not to sound hippy-dippy, but I suppose the beauty and awe found in nature is one of my biggest motivations. That and the sense of purpose and peace I feel while creating.
Has living in South Korea affected your creative process? What are the highs and lows of working in a foreign land as an artist?
It has deeply aided me in my craft. I feel so inspired by the things I see here. There is something waiting to be painted around every corner. As far as lows go, there are some technical things that are a pain to work out, such as international shipping, taxes, online shop, etc. Those aren’t necessarily things that are difficult strictly due to being abroad, but are perhaps a little more tricky because of it.
I know you are involved with the upcoming Kyunglidan Community Market. Can you explain what the market aims to accomplish?
With every market there is an opportunity for small businesses and artisans to connect more with the people in the community and that will be my aim at this one as well.
How do you price your work?
I price my originals according to the time, materials, size, and years of training and education that went into them, but I keep the price of my prints quite low so that they can be consumed and enjoyed on a wider scale.
How do you market yourself and your work?
I mainly use instagram @otahnistudio to promote and market my art but I am starting to dabble in long form content over in the world of YouTube @tahniostermanart
Why did you choose to be an artist?
I resisted it in the beginning, but eventually I think I needed to paint.
What’s your favorite artwork, and why?
My favorite artwork is always the one that is on my easel at the moment. Right now I am working on a fantasy landscape series and the piece on my easel is a multi-tier waterfall with a hanok gate at the bottom. It is going to be released later in the year as a collection.
How can people discover your past work and what projects are you working on currently?
People can visit my website www.tahniosterman.com to see past works and originals I have for sale. They can follow my artistic journey on Instagram and Facebook @otahnistudio and they can enjoy my long-form content on YouTube @tahniostermanart
There you have it folks! Thank you Tahni! * On Sunday August 27th at KYLDN Social Club’s rooftop the spotlight will be on several local artists at the first ever Kyunglidan Community Market.
Address: 2F, 238 Noksapyeong-daero, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Website: KYLDN
Instagram: KYLDN
Such beautiful water color paintings. Does she take requests?
Yes, she does! Contact her through her website.