May you always get more than you wish for.

 

May you always get more than you wish for, oil on linen, 100cm x 120cm, 2021
May you always get more than you wish for, oil on linen, 100cm x 120cm, 2021
by Ouchul Hwang


May you always get more than you wish for

Beneath the Tibetan mountains of western China, in a small town, I placed lilies, roses, pennycress, baby’s breath, carnations, chrysanthemums, and sunflowers — flowers delivered from Xinjiang — into a blue-and-white porcelain jar I had bought yesterday from an antique shop near the Xidu passenger ferry terminal.

Two fish are painted in cobalt blue upon the porcelain, their lips almost touching as they drift through water among swaying seaweed.

After finishing the house cleaning for the Lunar New Year, I wish to welcome new energy as a gesture of respect toward the coming year. Quietly seated, I paint a New Year’s painting.

I pray that you, I, and all people in the world may live in abundance.

<em>Nián nián yǒu yú</em> (年年有余) — “May you always get more than you wish for” — like fish in water, is a wish for harmony, happiness, and a life in which our labor and existence may become a little easier.

Countless wishes, hopes, and prayers of the world are also embedded within Chinese customs and traditions.

Whether painting is decoration, talisman, investment, passion, or simply preference, I feel a freedom from all such definitions.

Flowers bloom and fade freely, and my brush quietly paints the fish upon the vase and the flowers before me.

A traveler once asked a farmer why he continued such difficult farming work.

“You don’t even know that? What a strange person,” the farmer replied.

I hope there will never come a day when people ask a painter why he paints.

— May you always get more than you wish for.

Ouchul Hwang is an artist whose work explores the relationship between walking, observation, and visual expression. His practice is rooted in the idea that movement shapes perception, and that drawing can emerge directly from lived experience rather than pre-planned intention. His work is closely connected to the Camino de Santiago, where he creates drawings and paintings during the act of walking. These works are often made quickly, using minimal tools, yet they aim to capture a deeper sense of presence and attention. Hwang’s approach emphasizes continuity over completion. He builds a sequence of works that reflect the ongoing experience of movement. His materials are intentionally simple, allowing for daily practice without interruption. He is the creator of *Buen Camino*, a watercolor art book that documents his journey through walking, seeing, and drawing. His work invites a slower way of looking, where ordinary moments become visible through sustained attention. He has taught and collaborated with institutions including Seoul National University in South Korea, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red Earth Road: The Patient Promise of the Camino

Image
Red Earth Road: The Patient Promise of the Camino Buen Camino is often imagined as a road of stone churches, distant villages, yellow arrows, and pilgrims moving steadily beneath the open sky. Yet the Camino is also made of smaller, quieter elements: dust, clay, wind, trees, and the changing color of the ground beneath one’s feet. In Red Earth Road , Ouchul Hwang turns attention toward this humble but powerful material presence of the road itself. This watercolor, created in 2025 as part of the Buen Camino series, presents a landscape where the earth appears warm, rough, and alive. The road does not simply lie beneath the traveler. It seems to breathe with memory. It holds the pressure of countless footsteps, the heat of the day, the silence of passing bodies, and the promise that the horizon will eventually open again. Red Earth Road, watercolor A Road Made of Clay, Heat, and Memory The title Red Earth Road immediately directs the viewer toward the ground. This is i...
Read more

What Happens to Your Mind After Walking and Painting Every Day

Image
What Happens to Your Mind After Walking and Painting Every Day At first, I believed walking and painting were separate activities. Walking belonged to movement. Painting belonged to stillness. But after long periods of traveling, sketching, and painting daily — especially during the Camino — I slowly realized they were deeply connected. Something happens to the mind when walking and painting become part of everyday life. Not suddenly. Not dramatically. The change arrives quietly. Colors begin to feel different. Attention slows down. Ordinary moments become strangely visible. And over time, the world itself begins changing shape. walking on Camino road Walking Changes the Speed of Thought Modern life moves quickly. Screens, notifications, schedules, transportation, and endless information continuously fragment attention. The mind becomes trained to jump rapidly between stimuli. Walking long distances does the opposite. Especially on the Camino, t...
Read more

Best Watercolor Paper for Travel Sketch (2026 Guide)

Image
Best Watercolor Paper for Travel Sketch (2026 Guide) When you travel with watercolor, you quickly realize something important: the paper matters as much as the paint. On the road, conditions are unpredictable—wind, humidity, uneven surfaces, limited time. The right paper allows you to respond, not fight. In this guide, we explore three of the best watercolor papers for travel sketching, from professional-grade blocks to everyday practice pads. Why Paper Matters in Travel Sketching Unlike studio painting, travel sketching is immediate. You are not just painting a place—you are responding to it in real time. Watercolor paper determines how pigment flows, how edges soften, and how the image holds together under changing conditions. A good travel paper should: Handle water without warping Dry at a balanced pace Be portable and durable Support both quick sketches and layered work Top 3 Watercolor Papers for Travel Sketch 1. Arches Watercolor Block — Profes...
Read more