Concept

The art concept of the artist changes through the phases in his life and also fluctuates according to his emotions and current mood. It is seen that the artist doesn’t stick with such a specific style, but signifies his work through the techniques and skill that he uses in painting. “I want my followers to not recognise me through concept, but through my skill; I find this to be more telling of a professional artist,” Thongmai simplifies. During his studies, he produced an art piece on chickens using acrylic paint on canvas; although the silhouette wasn’t precise or accurate in terms of detail, the still image of the movements are what captures the attention of the eyes. At this time during his career, his creative ideas were quite dark and different from what it is now, but it changed gradually once the influences from other artists had worn off.

“My collection after university was a good experience and actually made good results! I was very happy with the outcome and appreciated the success as an artist — it was a piece that led to my victory in many big competitions, which completely skyrocketed my career. I continued to develop these pieces during my masters as well,” The artist describes ecstatically. The artwork comprises a concept that reflects the state of society that has become a big disagreement within many Thai communities. As a common topic that is well agreed and discussed amongst Thais, his work resonated with many and shined light on a topic that was a taboo within the political environment.

The next collection of Thepram followed a surrealism concept, where a nude painting of a woman is drawn with the hybrid of an animal. This piece couldn’t be displayed at any galleries because it sold out so fast and many people favored this style of work. This was another achievement for the artist because of how fast it was sold to the art market despite the change of concept.

Currently, as an art professor, his works are more technical than ever. His self awareness through this career has changed his mindset to produce pieces that are original and don’t have the same elements as his previous ones. “My development is consistent — I am always finding ways to improve my techniques so that my work has dynamic,” He describes. The concept he wants to focus on right now is the current topics that are being widely discussed, including the present-day corona virus and how that has affected our function as a society. His current collection has been sent in to my competitions including Asia Plus, PTT and UOB, which had all given him great feedback as he was awarded a prize for every stage he entered. The most recent award being 2022’s UOB art competition for an artwork that he displayed at Chiang Mai Art museum. His other artwork was also auctioned off at RCB. All are categorized under modern art and had cartoon-like figures filled in with vivid hues. The inspiration came from his childhood playtime; whether it’d be his toys or the animated movies he would watch, these creative sources he viewed as a child became a sharp memory for him as he was about to have his first child. Having children allowed him to look back at these memories and have enough recollection to produce a collection inspired from this – the piece was entered in the 11th UOB art competition and amazingly came in first place.

Technique

“If you ask me, I can honestly say that I like drawing the most,” Thepram admits. Looking at his style, art form and content, we can see the difference through the varying phases but looking at it generally, one may not be able to tell that the work belongs to him. This is because he is always changing his art direction based on the pathways of his life. With the normal fluctuations of life, inspirations, point of view and ideas are bound to change, but what doesn’t is the notion of drawing. “Drawing is always the last step to every piece. No matter the color or size of artwork, I will always draw to polish and finish up my work. This adds depth and dimension to the piece and enables more detail and support to the overall visual form,” Thongmai explains his signature technique.

“My aim in producing artwork is to inspire and direct the perspective of society to a viewpoint that elevates their life, whether that would be in politics, ethics/morals or duties within a society,” Thongmai elaborates. “Our environment and mindset is very representational of one’s position in society and determines our value in life. I want people to look at my artwork and pick up even just a little bit of faith in humanity. Maybe push them to love life and love being human a little bit more than we do,” He continues. The charm in art for the artist is to look at it as high level science — he sees art as a wondrous creation of human civilization, made from wisdom and an intelligent take on aesthetics. To explain a complex train of thought and reflect deep and raw emotions through nothing but visuals is a wonderful step forward for humans.

“An artist’s creative work is like a short documentary of the artist. Some artists work their whole life without finding the attraction of their own art,” Thongmai suggests.

ARTWORKS