Zimou Tan was once asked by his student, “what is the difference between photography and painting?” His answer: photography is meant to capture a moment, and painting is meant to create a moment. They are different, but yet have the same purpose.
The desire to create a moment drives the most passionate of artists. There are many types of artwork, each allowing different ranges and flexibility to truly create. Zimou Tan decided to specialize in portraiture not because it is the most popular or the most lucrative of artistic fields, but because it is the most difficult, yet it is the most interesting, because each new portrait represents its own unique set of challenges, which can only be met by the most masterful and patient of artists.
Among these challenges, the most difficult aspect of portraiture is capturing the soul of the subject. If a photograph captures the superficial appearance of the subject in a given state, the portrait must go much deeper and reveal something that a mere photograph cannot. In the way that a building must rise in stages, from foundation, to frame, to finishing, a portrait arises in the same way. The artist must ideally meet the subject, speak to the subject, and if the artist has a relationship and an understanding of the subject’s personality, then this can be felt through the portrait.
There are many factors that must be considered for the successful portrayal of the subject. The artist must consider the subject’s gestures, the expressions, the personalities, the moods, and all of this must be effectively distilled by the artist onto a canvas that may be no larger than a hardback book.
Zimou has committed tens of thousands of hours to perfect his skills, yet, he continues to seek refinements to his technique that will improve his ability to communicate the personality and soul of his subjects through portraiture.
Zimou has been recognized extensively for his abilities in art. Zimou was featured on the front page of the Marin Independent Journal in 2013. He was chosen as one of 50 artists who impacted China in 2009. Zimou was also featured in “Strokes of Genius 4 – The Best of Drawing”, a book by Rachel Rubin Wolf, in 2012.
Zimou graduated from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco in 2001 with degrees in both Fine Arts and Traditional Illustration. He served there as a professor of Fine Arts upon his graduation until the beginning of 2014, when he left to focus on his portraiture commissions.
Zimou’s paintings have been exhibited in the New York Portrait Society Gallery in New York City, at the American Artists Professional League in New York City, at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, at the Asia Society of Arts of America in San Francisco, at the Pasadena Fine Art museum in Pasadena, and at many others.
© 2016 Zimoutan
