“Seollal” (설날)
Acrylic on Canvas – January 2017

This painting was created the first official day of Lunar New Year or Seollal of 2017. I actually spent a significant amount of time looking to see if there were any photos on the internet that I could use as a resource and draw from as inspiration, but I couldn’t find one that really spoke to me. So I created my own.

There are a lot of elements that I love about this painting and feel I could talk about at length. The first is that it somewhat resembles my other New Year painting and yet the colors and feel are much different. This one has a sky and color scheme that remind me much more of other more feminine style pieces I’ve created. However, the colorful sky is actually a night sky which throws a twist that if you actually take it into perspective changes the entire piece. Other elements that I included that I love are the outdoor porch that looks a bit like some buddhist temples, but the roof tile ends are decorated with the Korean version of the yin-yang symbol… but it’s too cold to use an outdoor porch/sitting area. Also, funny enough, with the location of the building and the pond, it could almost be viewed as the same scene as New Year but from a different angle. Lastly, the woman who is standing under the tree has traditional winter hanbok for cold weather is faceless… and she looks a bit like a gisaeng mural I had painted prior to leaving Korea. I feel like there’s a lot of symbols and meanings one could take from this or just see it as a lovely painting.

This artwork is a one of a kind piece hand painted by Stephanie Ishler of Hallyu Back. All artwork is for sale unless otherwise specified. If you are interested in purchasing this original painting, contact us here!

In addition, you can also inquire about artwork by emailing this address: contact@hallyuback.com ^^