Calvin Lai

Calvin Lai would be the first to admit that the evolution of his art has taken many machinations. His painting process has matured into a mixture of seeing, distorting, and reinterpreting with the threads of realism weaving the backdrop of where his artistic style is today. As a child, drawing was something Calvin loved, and to make a picture appear lifelike became his goal. Through constantly working, Calvin’s art began to breath, and his fascination with value and perspective blossomed. Eventually, he moved from where he grew up in Los Angeles to San Francisco. There he studied drawing and printmaking at San Francisco State University. In 2008, he enrolled in the Academy of Art for illustration, but began painting instead. He found that he preferred the fine arts over commercial illustration, and now works as a full time oil painter. Since then he has continued to develop and refine his oil painting skills. Lai’s work has been shown nationally in galleries, group exhibitions, and juried shows. He has executed a large number of commissioned portraits over the past several years, and his paintings have appeared in national and international publications. His recent work has returned to a serious study of the figure, which has always been the anchor for his creative drive. His goal has gone beyond mere technical interpretations to a deeper sense of what the energy of the figure feels like. This goal has also carried over into his recent still lifes. In his ongoing series, “In the Land of Giants,” Calvin seeks to make a viewer feel as if they are immersed within the still life witnessing a world that is both fantastical and humorous. But the borders for what he chooses to paint has expanded to a variety of subjects, including cityscapes, and ultimately he is driven to capture everything around him through his paints, brushes, and determination. Education 2008 – 12 MA, Academy of Art, San Francisco, CA 1991 – 97 BA, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA Publications 2021 How Artists See Themselves, December 2021, Fine Art Connoisseur An Interview with Calvin Lai, September 2021, The Flying Fruit Bowl

TFFB #18 CALVIN LAI

Local Stories, September 2021, Shoutout LA, https://shoutoutla.com/meet-calvin-lai-fine-art-oil-painter/ Feature, May 2021, The Curator’s Salon Magazine Raves & Resistance: Counterculture Stories, The London Reader 2020 Issue 37, September 2020, The Guide Artists Magazine 2018 The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition, The Artist’s Magazine 2016 The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition, Southwest Art Vogue’s Gallery, British Vogue March Edition 2013 Back cover, Harmonica Happenings The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition, Southwest Art Awards 2021 1st place, Bold Brush Painting Competition January 2021. FASO Fine Art Studio Online 2020 Top 25 Finalists. 2020 Artist & Selfie Painting Competition. Fine Art Connoisseur 2018 Honorabel Mention. The Artist’s Magazine’s Annual Art Competition. The Artist’s Magazine Honorable Mention – Painting Category. Cityscapes Art Exhibition. Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery 2017 First Place/ The Bold Brush Award. Bold Brush Painting Competition December 2017. FASO Fine Art Studio Online Finalist. Bold Brush Painting Competition October 2017, FASO Fine Art Studio Online Fellowship. Clark Hulings Fund Busniess Accelerator Program, https://clarkhulingsfund.org 2016 Finalist. 12th International ARC Salon, Art Renewal Center, Port Reading, NJ Merit Award. Best of America, National Oil & Acrylic Painter’s Society, Bella Vista, AR Finalist. The Artist’s Magazine’s Annual Art Competition, The Artist’s Magazine, Ash, OH 2015 Finalist. The Artist’s Magazine’s Annual Art Competition, The Artist’s Magazine, Ash, OH 3rd place Painting Category. Figurative 2015 Art Exhibition, Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery 6th place Overall Category. Figurative 2015 Art Exhibition, Light, Space and Time Online Art Gallery Finalist. Bold Brush Painting Competition, FASO Fine Art Studio Online 2012 Finalist. The Artist’s Magazine’s Annual Art Competition, The Artist’s Magazine, Ash, OH Professional Experience 2016 Bold Brush Painting Competition. Guest judge for April 2016. Sponsored by FASO Portrait artist for Wavy Gravy 2011 – Present Commissioned portrait artist