Kehasuk, The Artist Behind the Collages

INTERVIEW WITH KEHASUK

Hey Kris. I’ve always wondered, why do you go by Kehasuk? Is that your last name?
Yup! It’s the first half of my last name (Kehasukjaren) and it’s pronounced Kay-Ha-Sook. Growing up I was kind of embarrassed of it because it would always get butchered anytime someone had to read it out loud but recently it’s started to grow on me and become part of my identity. Being different can feel embarrassing but I think I’ve just learned to own it.

What got you into creating artwork? Were you always into the art scene?
Unfortunately I’m one of those people that just picked up a pencil at age 2-3 and kept doodling haha. I think art has been a part of every stage in my life. I got a lot more serious about art in high school when I was trying to create comics and then even more dedicated when I started showcasing my work. Seeing things visually has always been my way of learning and I’ve been obsessive about visuals for as long as I can remember. All types of art interest me: anime, comics, street art, fine art, illustration, graphic design, music, dance, film, etc. I’ve met a lot of great people through every outlet and it’s a wonderful way to live.

I know a lot of your artwork is involving anime. What are some of your favorite anime series?
A lot of Shonen type anime I think. I actually read manga more than I watch anime but pretty much all the stuff that I’ve drawn so far (DBZ, Naruto, YuYu, Kenshin, etc.) and maybe some other Shonen pieces that I have plans for (Samurai Champloo, FLCL, Bleach etc). Even some older ones like Shaman King were really dope to read growing up. Some manga that I really enjoy are 20th Century Boys, Gantz, and any of Junji Ito’s works. I also really liked Summer Wars- everything about the animation and concept was awesome to me- had a nostalgic feeling while watching it. Akira is always a classic go-to. Paprika is really dope and trippy.

Of all of your pieces, which one is your favorite and why?
My favorite one is almost always my current one haha. Whatever I’m working on or just finished becomes my new favorite until I make the new one. I think it’s just the life cycle of an artist. But the piece I’m overall most proud of is my Dragonball piece. I grew up with that series from age 3-14 so it really had an impact on my life. I really just wanted to make something that represented at least 1% of the effect it had on me growing up. It’s definitely a piece when I look at it months later I think “oh shoot I don’t remember doing this part but that’s pretty dope” haha. I spent a lot of time on this piece so most of it was almost a blur. I’m currently working on a Naruto piece larger than this scale though so currently that’s my new obsession.

If you had to choose an anime character to be stuck on an island with, who would you choose and why?
Probably Luffy or something- he’s so optimistic that I think I would forget that being stuck there is a bad thing. Or if I really just wanted some options maybe Goku so he could just fly me out of there haha.

How was your first time vending at a convention?
So my first time ever selling my art was actually on the street in front of Galamp District during San Diego Comic Con weekend. I didn’t even know anything like it existed but a really kind stranger told me about it and we travelled down to San Diego together to check it out. I decided if I was going to go then I would at least do something to participate so I made some paintings on wood and offered sketches on the street. At that time I couldn’t even afford to rent a hotel room so I slept in my car to save costs that weekend haha. But it honestly worked out really well and people were really encouraging so I just tried to do more research about how this all worked. It’s been a super wild ride and one day I would love to share the full story.

Do you have any favorite artists or artwork out there? Were they part of your inspirations into this?
Some of my favorite artists are Tristan Eaton, Sachin Teng, Akira Toriyama, Ashley Wood, Mary Blair, Jean Jullien, Picasso, Zio Ziegler, Dice Tsutsumi, Rebecca Sugar, Justin Orr, Tim Biskup, and of course all hype ones (KAWS, Murakami, James Jean.) But there is seriously some amaaaaaaaazingggg talent out there. I can probably name thousands upon thousands of artists that inspire me in every field. I can probably talk about art all day but it’ll start sounding insane haha. This project is just a culmination of all the things that I like and void I see in the art scene so I figure I should just make stuff I haven’t seen but want to see.

Have you ever thought of doing any collaborations with another artist or brand? If so, who would you like to work with?
Yea I’ve been thinking a lot about collaboration this year. Definitely want to collaborate more with my friends since I have some really talented friends but also just meet other artists and get a feel for what ideas we can create together. I’m not too interested in working with a brand in particular but more interested in the process of a creative dialogue. Brands normally have agendas but I just want to have conversations with artists, share ideas and processes, and make things we’re passionate about.

What was your very first art piece you’ve ever made? 
Man, I don’t even know how to classify that haha. I’ve been drawing forever so I don’t think I made a piece I consciously thought was art until probably after college. All the stuff I made as a kid felt like sketches or doodles but I made tons of them; easily tens of thousands of drawings. But the first time I made a piece that I meant for someone to have was this get-well card I gave to my friend in the hospital. She had terminal cancer so I wanted to make something to cheer her up and she called to say that she really appreciated the drawing. Up until that point I created art for myself but that interaction gave me a new perspective on how art can be used to directly affect someone. Ever since then I’ve made art not only for myself but also in the hopes that I can create an image that can affect more people in that way.

What tips or advice can you give to the readers that are trying to get into creating artwork?
I think my number one tip would be to appreciate your skills and who you are. There are so many things to learn and so many other artists out there that you feel like you just can’t compare to and it can get pretty overwhelming. For me I was always trying to work on my weaknesses in art so I would write out a list of things I wanted to improve on which seemed like a good approach. My one mistake though was to ignore the things I was already naturally good at because I just felt like I already had that box checked or that it wasn’t as cool as all the other skills I wanted to learn. What ends up happening is that you’re natural skill stays stagnant while you bring up all your weak skills to about average/slightly above average so nothing really sticks out and you’re just a decent artist all around instead of an amazing artist at one thing. So I think the lesson I pulled from that is to appreciate the strengths you were given and really dedicate yourself to it. Learn as much as you can about it and yourself and I think that it’ll not only give you a leg up but will give you fulfillment in your life. Everyone has such unique experiences and abilities- just got to accept and nurture it!!