HOME-About me
I was born in P.R.China in 1961 and began painting at an early age. Ever since I can recall, art has been my passion and motivation. I drew whatever crossed my sight. During my teenage years I studied traditional Chinese brush painting and sketching under the guidance of several art instructors at Harbin Teen Center in Harbin City, P.R.China. I also studied with my mentor, Mr. Xu Gui, a famous Chinese painting artist in Northeast China. I studied with him until 1990 when I came to the US. My paintings were exhibited in Harbin City teen art juried exhibition and Heilongjiang Province teen art juried exhibition in China in 1970s. Since I moved to Triangle area of North Carolina, my paintings have been exhibited at Page-Walker Art & History Center, Cary Ballet Conservatory, Cary Senior Center, and Glenaire Retirement Center, etc. My studio is the first Chinese Painting Studio in Triangle area. In addition to teaching children/adults art classes at my studio and Chinese schools, I have given Chinese painting presentation/demonstration/workshop at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Jordan Hall Art Center, Carolina Kids Expo, public elementory schools, high schools, and Vacation Bible Schools, etc. My students can be found all over the Triangle area, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Morrisville, and Apex, etc. Some of my students were accepted by top art/design schools, including School of Art Institute of Chicago, Virginia Commonwealth University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Parsons-The New School for Design, Ringling School of Art and Design, School of Museum of Fine Art, NCSU-College of Design, UNC School of the Arts, etc. My students are talented not only in art, but also in other fields (scientific). Some of them got accepted by Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cornell, Duke, UC-Berkeley, Vanderbilt, NYU, UNC, etc. My pandas (Chinese paintings) have "run" to Europe. Painting has been a part of my life. My studio is the first Chinese painting studio in Triangle area.
The following interview article is excerpted from the Cary Business Journal, Dec. 22, 2006:
Born in the People’s Republic of China, Guobin Sun is a Cary artist whose medium is Chinese brush painting on rice paper. While the method is thousands of years old, it’s still evolving, with new generations of artists contributing to its development. Sun offers lessons to children and adults, and teaches both Chinese and American students.
How long have you been pursuing art? I don’t remember. I began painting at an early age. Ever since I can recall, art has been my passion and motivation.
What do you like the best about your work? I love to teach kids drawing and painting. Nothing makes me happier than seeing kids making progress on drawing and painting.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an artist in Cary? The advantages: There are art clubs or organizations that encourage the artistic growth of area artists and increased public awareness of fine visual art. There are so many talented artists. The disadvantages: I feel that not many people – adults – are interested in painting. For example, most kids take private piano lessons, but few take private drawing and painting lessons, although almost all kids show an interest in drawing as early as when they can hold a pencil.
How strong is the community of artists in Cary? Are there opportunities to build relationships among artists? I think the community of artists in Cary is very strong. We have many talented artists in this area. There are some opportunities, although not a lot, to build relationships among artists. For example, art clubs and art activities and events such as the Fine Arts League of Cary, Cary Art Loop, Lazy Daze Festival, etc., provide opportunities to build relationships among artists.
Are there a lot of opportunities to get your work before audiences? There are some opportunities. As a member of the Fine Arts League of Cary, I have the opportunity to get my work exhibited at several locations in the Cary area, such as Jordan Hall Arts Center, Cary Ballet Conservatory, Glenaire Retirement Center, Page-Walker Arts & History Center, etc.
What resources are needed in Cary to enhance the cultural life of the community? We need something (i.e. financial support) to help individual artists to develop and improve their skills, to get their work before audiences and to build relationship with other artists. The U.S. is a multiculture country. We need more multiculture activities and events in which people from different cultures can participate to enrich our cultural life. We can learn a lot from each other. Our view of the world will be wider and wider.