Meet Huê Thi Hoffmaster | Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Huê Thi Hoffmaster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Huê Thi, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
Wow. I think, as a parent, there is this constant awareness that everything I’m doing is going to have an impact on my child and some form of this question is an ongoing internal dialogue I’ve never got clear on. Nina and I homeschool our child and I would have to say providing comfort, being there for him around the clock, allowing him to be comfortable and confident in what he chooses to do or chooses not to do has to be up there on great impacts. Also, creating my own career doing what I love will hopefully make an impression.. what’s interesting is that he knows no other way so, in theory, he only knows that you should do what you love to do. Lovely.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a painter. I think, as a painter, it’s important to simply make whatever you want:rules, rights and wrongs, goods and bads, whatever styles that come from you. All of it. And that’s what I do. I don’’t paint for a certain client or to impress anyone, rather, it’s an activity of exploration, playfulness, poetry and being intensely involved in whatever game I’m playing at the moment inside of the rectangle. I show up everyday and paint. I have different ways of painting depending on how I show up which allows me to always have something to create and I’m never stuck searching for some outside inspiration. The inspiration always comes as I’m working. There’s so much amazing artwork created in the world and I’m just one creator among millions and it was crucial for me to really connect with that notion to get comfortable doing whatever I’m doing and allow myself to go in whatever direction I choose at the moment. I will forever explore and try new ways of making images and it’s when I get too comfortable with a style that I force myself to start playing at something else.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man! I haven’t done that in a long time! I think my jam at the moment is to chill and get into each other’s heads. I’ve spent 2 decades entertaining myself and friends, traveling, taking in the scenes and landscapes. Right now I’m really enjoying discovering an internal landscape which is just as thrilling and exciting. I have a home and studio tucked away in the woods with a pool, many beautiful places to sit and chill, miles of trails in the woods, 15 min to the beach. I love to eat out and prefer to cook. I’ll stir up some cocktails. Let’s just hang and get comfortable right here.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely. My incredible wife, Nina Endrst. Nina has always seen me and never let’s me slip. When we met in 2016, we were both living in Tulum, she was incredibly focused on her blossoming entrepreneurship. I was escaping NYC life, painting a bit, attempting to open up another business that sunk leading to me going back to bartending and just getting by. When we moved back to the States I was scraping by and had no big vision for myself or my family: my vision was just so clouded by my struggle and I couldn’t see past that. It was her who said “ you need to just paint. Just do what you’re meant to do.” At that time I was painting in an abandoned wood shop that was infested with squirrels and had black top flooring like the street. I rigged up a wood stove in there and started painting full time for the first time in a decade. She never asked any questions or doubted me and when I doubted myself she always got me back in the groove. A few years later we’ve bought our dream house and a studio. She saw I what I never even knew existed. I love her for this and so much more.

Website: Huethistudio.com

Instagram: @huethihoffmaster

Image Credits
David McIntyre Matthew Moment Jeff Elstone