“You can’t draw!”

Unless you’re in first grade, stick figures are not drawings.

Luckily for Albert Kuo, a professional working artist, such a response to his work hardly came up. He pushed himself — with the assistance from his parents, who would sign him up for many different art classes — to develop his creativity and artistic ability early in his childhood.

Today, in addition to producing his own artwork, Albert also teaches high school students who are interested in advancing their artistic abilities. He has been the professional artist in an art program at Fontbonne University for the past two years.

“The program is for someone who’s more interested in pursuing more of a studio practice, [specifically] it’s an experience similar to a college one. It prepares you for an artistic career, which is a nice stepping stone to have,” said Kuo.

For students who are not superb artists yet have a fond interest in drawing and painting or for ones that do possess exceptional talent but are not as interested, the program offers something for both. After all, people usually do not start with the same skills as a professional of any field whether it be art related or not. For most things, people are spread out on a scale of progress. Many start below others, thinking that they are not capable of reaching others who were born with a natural ability; however, by putting effort into sharpening their skills, they are able to reach the same level of talent as those born with more of a natural talent.  

“[To me], a lot of artwork is how you think about it and how you latch on to a new way of thinking. Just like everything else, it’s a skill that you learn. You might discover something you’re passionate about or uninterested in,” mentioned Kuo

As a professional artist,  Kuo takes the time to teaching students because he enjoys sharing his interests and learning about their lives.

“I like teaching because I like sharing my passions with people who might also be interested in the same ideas, [and I like it ] when a student does good work, and I learn more about them and their personal life. Some of them come from very sad situations, [given that I teach up in North County]; I’m stunned by the amount of strength they have to work hard at school [and seek an art education] with all the personal distractions they have,” added Kuo

Kuo always tries to think about the student’s futures and tries to instill something they can take away from the class. Artistically speaking, he hopes that the students will have improved the skills they learn with an added confidence to their work.

“[Not just in art, but in everyday life], I encourage you guys to be more sensitive in how you look at things. [Also], I want you to be more conscious of your decision making. The discipline it takes to look at something and recreate it; that practice, just like a sport, kind of trains you to be able to be you in the world. It’s no different from choosing how you address a stranger. [Simply to be] yourself in the most effective way possible.”

The staff at Fontbonne want to instill a new perspective on life for their students. To communicate all that art has taught them is relatively impossible; therefore, the teachers, such as Albert, share skills that will help young artist learn from their own experiences — to question who they are and who they want to be.

Kuo added, “Art has taught me how to think for myself. It has revealed to me my own identity. The more I understand what I am doing in my work, the more I have a picture of who I am, the things I care about, and the things that matter. [Art] is like searching for your sole.”