Hi, welcome to Ethan Li’s art world, where I display my own artworks. I wrote each line of code for this website using Java scripts language to showcase my own artworks. I love creating new video games with programming languages, so it makes sense for me to make this web home to virtually exhibiting the artworks I created. This project is the first time I made a website from scratch, writing codes and all that, instead of using ready-made templates provided by a web host. Art helps me develop a love for other outlets of my creativity and sensibilities: computer programming, digital cartoon, lapidary & minerals identification, photographing and print making included.
I am currently a freshman at the University of Washington, and I am planning to go into a Computer Science major. I have an interest in art, reading, video games and playing with my dog. Since I was a little kid, I have always had a passion for drawing. When I was 6, four of my drawings were chosen as the cover page for a newsletter by Amrita Seattle, a local non-profit organization. This was a great encouragement for me to pursue learning art. I have been taking art classes and pushing myself to learn more since 3rd grade. I am indebted to my teachers Mr. Gao, Ms. Fong, and Ms. Wang for teaching me over the years. I also appreciate my family for going above and beyond to support me in my art learning journey.
I started learning art since I was 7. I enjoyed exploring different medium like pencils, color pencils, oil, acrylic, markers, watercolor, ink wash as well as digital drawing and digital cartooning. I draw many hours each week in my own room. Whenever I do that, the whole world quiet down and time flies swiftly before I realize. I am constantly learning how to make better art and it is satisfying to see my progress over the years. Learning art has blessed me with many cherished positive experiences. For example, I learned ink wash painting from my grandpa who lives in China. I will never forget the time I first went to China nine years ago. The two months I spent there were beautiful: the sights, foods, and people. On top of that, I learned traditional Chinese style ink wash painting from grandpa. The new medium was something fascinating. With ink, brush and rice paper, bright colors pop out so much more and seem so elegant. It is a totally new way of observing the world and representing it with the creator’s own expressions. It was here that my love for art truly started to kindle, as I found the ability to capture a place in time in my own style and manner; it certainly feels amazing. As I continue learning art with grandpa, I discovered the importance of language and communication. Being a native English speaker arriving in China for the first time, I remember how I refused to let the language barrier prevent me from experiencing all that China had to offer. I started fiercely learning Mandarin and local dialect until I could communicate with people around me on a much deeper level, especially my family that I hadn’t met before then. Many quiet mornings and evenings that I spent with grandpa learning art, we chatted about random thoughts and ideas rising on our mind; we tried to convey our thoughts on paper using only ink, water and few tubes of paint; we appreciated and commented on each other’s brush application, color choice etc. like colleagues. In retrospect, I have learned more than just painting skills or Chinese language skills, I also formed connection with my elderly, connection with Chinese intellectuals’ ways of observing & depicting the world, connection with my inner self who realized the value of stepping outside of comfort zone, enjoying new places and learning new things. Besides helping me appreciate the people in my life and the support that they go above and beyond to provide, another reason that motivates me to learn art is that, really there are no rules. You can go hyper realistic and focus on meticulous details; or go absolutely abstract like that of your wondering mind. Personally, the latter is what I enjoy more because when it comes down to it, if you want to make an exact snapshot, well, the camera is always there. Art has taught me to be creative, to observe and appreciate things in life. Art also helps me develop a love for other outlets of my creativity and sensibilities. For example, I now love computer programming to make digital art and games. Art taught me how to make decisions in real life as well. When I paint, I must carefully plan where everything is placed, colors, values etc. Similarly, I learn to be more rational and make better decisions in real life. No painting is immune to errors, and even the most famous artists make mistakes. Sometimes I make mistakes, and that’s okay. It happens to everybody. To this day, no matter what I am doing, I always apply what I learned from making art.
My artworks have been selected for exhibitions at different shows and venues: 2022 Best of the Northwest Spring Show, 2020 Lynwood Youth Artist Exhibition (highly competitive, 7 winners yearly), Ida Culver Broadview Art Show (2021), Mukilteo Art Show (2019), Kenmore Art Show (2018), NOAA marine awareness Art Contest (1st prize winner, 2017). My art publications: My oil paintings “Girl with her Family” and “One World” are awarded as winner with high merit of Celebrating Art Contest (2021, 2022). Both artworks are published on the Celebrating Art anthology (2021, 2022).
I was selected to serve as one of the fifteen Youth Advisory Board members for Seattle’s youth art organization Coyote Central since 2022. Coyote is an influential community-based organization dedicated to youth art and science education, especially among underprivileged communities. I have actively participated in fundraising, art creation and course consultation for Coyote. I also volunteered to teach craft to little kids for “art in the garden night” series in the Seattle neighborhood community garden where there are many new immigrants and refugees’ families. I am a member of Pacific Artists’ Alliance (PCC) and we as a students’ non-profit organization provide free monthly crafting classes of various themes to the kids living in homeless shelter St. Mary’s Place. Over the years, I felt extremely blessed to be able to use my bilingual skill and my art talent for my community. Through the pursuit of art, I have learned many valuable skills that greatly helped me in academics and for my life in general. I learned stick to my goal all the way through the end, no matter how hard it may be; I learned how to follow my passion to purse skills on my own and seek helps along the way; I learned how to better express and explain myself, allowing me to communicate with people on a deep level and to engage in an academic setting easily. I learned and am still learning critical thinking, perseverance, compassion, and communication. I enjoyed every moment of my art-making journey. It has shaped my character and motivated me to always dare to observe, listen, feel, express, learn, act, and create.
Top Row: "Gangnam Style", "Chaos Incarnate"
Second Row: "Toyota-corpion", "Alien Dog"
Third Row: "Musical Farm", "Space Exploration Vehicle"
Bottom Row: "Google Doodle"
Want to contact me? Send me an email at ethanliyisheng@gmail.com or yethanli@uw.edu (both are fine)