Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimlien Le.
Kimlien, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a kid, I always re-drew scenes from movies after watching them, and took pictures with every point and shoot film camera from Costco that trickled down from my parents. Looking back, I see that I wanted to create and remember as many moments as possible. The funny, the happy, the dreamy and the mysterious. They all got taped to the walls and then shuffled into album after album throughout the years. I never took my first actual art class until senior year of high school – photography, but that was high school, so let’s face it – it was the best-known excuse to be outside during class taking photos with your friends that didn’t consist of running laps… also because, I already played competitive volleyball year-round, and while I saw art as just a hobby, it turned out to be a small escape from a very structured physical exercise routine. A small escape back to the magazine clippings, picture taking, doodle drawing moments where I could let go and make something, anything.
I was committed to playing at the University of the Pacific, and I didn’t pull the trigger on pursuing an art education until I had a gut feeling that sports just wasn’t my passion anymore; I decided to begin a new chapter, and quit playing competitively. I got accepted to California State University Long Beach and changed my major from International Business to Studio Art one week before the first semester began.
I couldn’t be more frustrated.
The first semester consisted of a few dramatic tears and many long nights in the studio – and that was just for a drawing class. I was not used to this type of discipline and something as simple as remembering to draw one thing every free moment I had – was challenging… being told to draw “a waterbottle”, and not “a picture of a waterbottle” made me feel like I wasn’t cut out for making anything worth calling art if I couldn’t do this. Later onto oil painting, metalsmithing, textile printing, and typography – it felt like muscle memory. 11 years later, I’m grateful for the professors and colleagues I’ve had that believed in me, and didn’t settle for less and always pushed for more.
To be more patient. To make the effort to learn more. To be open to every outcome.
I became a Graphic Designer, a freelance photographer, and an amateur writer. I backpacked across Europe for three months alone, got inspired and began juggling multiple art mediums. Throughout the years, I paused my career, traveled through Southeast Asia, and drove across the U.S. living out of a van. I became a silversmith, while freelancing… and experienced the same amount of, if not more, failures and successes.
If it weren’t for taking risks and accepting the downs, I wouldn’t know what I know now, and not be where I am today. As much as I wish I could go back in time sometimes, deep down, I know it just wouldn’t be the same. Now, I know how to appreciate what I’m capable of, and be grateful for where I go next.
Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road haha… on top of feeling like I knew nothing about art and was way behind everyone else, there was the usual concern that artists can’t make a living. A person can only hear that so many times and the key is not to listen to it.
I had a professor and mentor, who used our class to make us simply present out loud with no art, no type of visual – just present verbally, our dream job. Dream day, everything and anything you can think of. And surprisingly, there were a lot of people who after 4 years of college, found it hard to express that to their own classmates… because they didn’t know what they wanted after getting the education they got.
My biggest advice would be: It’s okay to not know what you want to do, but it’s important not to confuse that with being afraid of what you think you can’t do. You never know who you might meet, and in-between those moments and people who could change your life, I believe in pushing yourself to take notes on the things you enjoy in life – whether it’s in a sketchbook, a notepad, or a thousand stickie-notes… from that collection of what you enjoy, you can find or create the best job occupation or project; no matter the size, that feels more fulfilling than an average day. And the next person who asks you what you want to do next, you’ll have a more interesting answer for them and yourself.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Three Moons Away – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I do a handful of things… I’m not sure if I could consider myself a specialist, but we are all our own worst critics right? Firstly, I specialize in overanalyzing – half a joke, half-truth. Oil painting is a passion, and film photography is my first love. Styling fashion photography is a hobby, and watercolor was the accident that attracted the most attention to my work. I strived for picture-perfect paintings, and when my brush slipped – there was no blending like with oil or dodging with photography. I had to accept it and stop overanalyzing and let things be. Alongside that was poetry that was the opposite of everything I found appealing when I was younger – poetry that brought depression, drug abuse, heartbreak and self-loathing insecurities to the surface for everyone else to see, next to imperfect minimalism-styled illustrations and photography. Bit by bit, it wasn’t something being carried around and more like something being released and detoxed – which I guess is what I hope for myself and anyone else who related.
I believe the watercolor, and film photography set me apart from others in its content. Inspired by stark landscapes, the human body, and the inner thoughts that surround us every day. Reflecting nothing to hide, and not being afraid to talk about the things that everyone else overlooks.
Which women have inspired you in your life? Why?
My mother – she came to this country with nothing and created a life for me. And she always, always, always had pens for me to draw on restaurant napkins when I was a kid.
Ann Enkoji – who woke me up to not be afraid to talk about what I want to do through all of my life’s changes.
Wendy Emery – taught me not to take things personally, and create as many versions of a project, to widen my creativity and challenge myself.
Sheva Kafai – one of the most hard-working and talented artists I have had the privilege of becoming friends with and learning from every time I see her.
Therese Davis – my first mentor with my first job out of college, doing Graphic Design in the surf industry, and still a mentor to me today.
This list can truly go on and on…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.threemoonsaway.com
- Email: hello@threemoonsaway.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threemoonsaway/
Image Credit:
David Troyer
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