Meet NightBrew Bar | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with NightBrew Bar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi NightBrew Bar, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk has taken on many different forms in my life as an artist. I would wonder: what if I was not able to make a good living with art? What might I miss out on if I pursued art? I did not think about it too much when I was in school. Nor did I worry about it in my early years of working as a professional. All I knew back then was how to run towards an exciting future. However, as time progressed, I started to realize how short life was. We only have so many hours a day, and the cost of each decision we make becomes much more critical over time. When that realization hit me, I started to see risk much more seriously.

I thought to myself, if I run into any losses or failures when I’m much older, I might not have much time and energy to make up for it. If I can make more progress now, when I’m younger, I might be able to minimize the cost of those losses. Of course, there’s no guarantee that this is an equivalent exchange, but it still is better than not moving forward.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a designer for years, but all my jobs were focused on solving visual problems for clients. Those jobs are a balancing act between your creativity and others’ visions. Eventually that led me to think about how I could express more personal artistic ideas; that’s why I started posting art as Nightbrew Bar on Instagram.

In the early phase of this journey, I focused on the idea of the brain and the heart. This came from a question I would ask myself often: Was I making decisions based on logic or emotion? I found out it was an interesting conflict that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. Therefore, I created two characters– a tiny heart and a brain, who were like a pair of mischievous kids trying to have fun. However, this idea eventually came to a point that made me feel conflicted. I was not bored of it, it was just hard for me to keep playing the same idea without any other new things in between. In those moments, I would just step aside to think or try out other ideas. It sometimes took a few days or weeks to get another new inspiration hit, but when that happened, I would be able to jump back and create several drafts in a row.

One way I kept moving forward was always going back to what influenced me profoundly since I was little. It reminded me what type of fun I had as a kid. It wasn’t just about what motivated me to start doing art and design, but also represented everything else that made me who I am today. This self-review really helped me whenever I felt stuck in my life as an artist.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite spots in the city are the coffee and tea shops, especially the one offers the space to sit and work. I really enjoy being able to work outside with a cup of coffee or tea. There is no way I can ever quit drinking either of them. Another thing that excites me is the energy that flows among the people of the shop. It keeps me more focused on my task somehow, and makes me feel much alive in the moment. The connection to the vibe of the environment really motivates me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are many people and inspirations helped me to become who I am today. It is really hard for me to just pick someone for shoutout, but if I really have to, I would like to thank my parents. In my childhood, many of my friends were not supported to do any type of arts, even just for a side hobby. Unlike other friends’ experience, my parents always really supported me to do and learn based on my interest. There was not a single time they told me to stop drawing and focus on school test or homework. It was very lucky to have them as my parents. I really appreciated them.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/nightbrew_bar/

Instagram: @nightbrew_bar