My favorite approach to drawing and painting is portraiture. I try to approach the design of each piece differently in order to express my message. Also, by using one dominant color in a painting or a drawing, I emphasize different feelings in each portrait. I believe it is important to evoke emotions through my artwork. A different interpretation for each artwork and a unique connection with each piece is what I hope for each viewer to experience.
Dang Khoa Vo, 2011
Dang Khoa Vo is a second year student in the Illustration & Design Program of Dawson College. He enjoys the watercolour medium, and he experiments with textured surfaces to achieve sumptuous visual effects. His artwork is characterized by dynamic graphic elements that create a “windswept” movement through his compositions. In addition to his schoolwork, he is active as a freelance artist outside of the school environment.
Comments
Serenity
November 30, 2011The shading techniques really give depth and dimension to your work, but your use of color is what really captures my attention. For example the subtle use of color against the black really makes your drawings stand out and make us notice all the fine detail you put in your work”. While the use of complementary and contrasting colors in “Spark in the Dark” is captivating and the texture of water spots on the painting give it a dream like quality that is really inspiring. I Hope to see more of your work in the future. P.s. if you like emotionalism inspired paintings try to check out Andre Desjardins’ work.
lina12
November 30, 2011The art is amazing. The “sensual” and “spark in the dark are breathtaking.” They caught my eye out of the eight painting. Also, there is a real emotional connections, something very real in these two paintings. The shading techniques around the eyes in the “sensual” painting reminds me of the carnival , furthermore, it has a very free emotion to me. The painting itself feels as if the woman is setting herself free, whether or not it may be through sensuality. “Spark in the darks’ colors are captivating. There is a sense of sadness , within the beauty of the painting .
Dang Khoa Vo
November 30, 2011Thanks you so much for the complement ! I feel very glad to see your different reactions and point of views from my artworks , very interesting !
ericaguth
December 2, 2011You have an incredible sense of color, which is what really makes your work unique. These images have a wonderful glowy, ethereal quality to them which makes them very eye-catching, especially in “Spark in the Dark,” “Butterfly” and “Sensual.” I also loved the emotion you captured in the eyes of most of your figures. Mirror is a very unique piece. The shattered face is very thought-provoking and the background shapes create a very composition. I very much enjoyed your artwork. You are quite skilled in capturing the essence of a human being-you can feel the soul behind each one of your figures. Great job on this collection, you’re a very good portrait artist.
Dream
December 3, 2011I am not an artist in terms of painting/drawing/sketching, but I do appreciate this form of art and pay attention to small deails, as well as techniques, for everything that creates an image, I believe, is a detail that matters. Your pictures are absolutely stunning, and I am in love with the water colour effect that you have used.Your colours are vibrant, and yet, I feel like they have been carefully chosen to evoke the necessary emotion you wish to capture, according to the title of the image, and you have done that very successfully. I feel like I am experiencing a moment of sensuality when I look at Sensual, and Silence sets off a defensive air. Spark In The Dark is captivating, you use of colours is enchanting.
You have such a gift!
Cassie
December 4, 2011The colors you use just really speak out to the viewer. I am far from an expert when it comes to this type of art, but I loved the pinks/purples and blues that are used and how they are blended together so effortlessly, like they are just one big color of their own. It makes it seem other-worldly, almost mystical. You managed to bring life to your characters, especially through their eyes. I was just staring at the eyes of “Spark in the Dark” and there is just so much emotion there. She almost looks sad, and also like she is longing for something or someone. The girl in the “Butterfly” has a mischievous look, very playful. Your meticulous attention to these details helps create a real connection with your audience. You have an amazing talent!
Thomach
December 7, 2011With the combination of one dominant color along with blank faces for the majority of his portraits it allows the viewer to keep a great amount interest on why that character is feeling a certain way. The colors bring out certain emotions such as blue for sadness, red for anger or frustration. There is a natural wonder of why these people are feeling this way. They become personal and it allows the audience to feel connected in some way to the characters. They’re hinting something, but we don’t know what it could be because they have no words to tell us why they’re feeling that way. All we have are colors and they’re facial expressions allowing for people to question a great deal on what it is they’re trying to get at, which in turn is exactly what Dang was trying to do. Dang wants every person to have a different perception on what his pieces are about. This was a great exhibition to look at, nicely done.
Barbara Freedman
December 16, 2011Love your exhibition. Is there a way to see these live?
Thanks so much for showing this amazing collection.
Barbara
gurl2045
April 29, 2012When I saw your first picture I had to open your exhibit to see all of your other drawings. They are so amazing. You have a true talent. The way you use your color to add to a black drawing is spectacular. Your art work makes me want to watch you in action when you are actually painting these. You put so much detail into your work which makes it very eye catching and not to mention the color also. Thank you very much for showing us your talented work. Kudos to you!
Nadine
March 6, 2014“Nature” and “Spark in the Dark” really spoke to me. When I look at Spark in the Dark I feel like this woman is dreaming yet seems very sad. She in a way compels you to feel her sadness. The way you drew her eye and used the color in Nature represents both strength and also the fragility of nature. When you are in the nature, all is beautiful, like her eye. The use of black and of the diluted colors makes me feel that the man who abused her takes her beauty away, like people who are destroying nature. Overall, all of your pieces captivate the eye with their vibrant color, and you have an ability to give life and emotion to every piece.
mr
March 9, 2014The mix of purple and blue are really vibrant. This piece is very simple,by its complete white background but yet it is really captivating The set of colors and the simpleness of this piece makes it melancholic and the look on that woman’s face is just incredible,she seems to be looking at something very far away and seems happy,yet sad. I think she is secret in a way. The fact that we can’t directly tell what she seems to be feeling means the work is well done
Bravo !
Gg thompson
March 13, 2014My favourite piece in this exhibit is the sensual piece. The blue mask around her eyes make her look more mysterious and alluring. Her face is very delicate and soft yet her eye give her a more strong like persona. Eyes, lips and hair are usually the elements that are considered most attractive with females, so by Dang putting these elements in colour its almost like he wanted to show the importance of them. I also enjoy how Dang uses different mediums in order to create this piece, it makes it a lot more interesting than using only one.
Andrew E
August 31, 2020Portraits & Expressions by Dang Khoa Vo
I really loved the way you made this exhibit. The thing I like the most is the fact that you use one dominant color in your work. I find that using this technique really brings out the colors and gives it an appearance that it is almost glowing and popping out of the screen. I enjoyed how in most of your work you focused on the eyes. I think that is one of the best parts of the body to emphasize because it has a lot of meaning behind it. The piece I like the most is Spark in the Dark. This is my favorite peace because I love the way you used colors in this piece. Its almost like the pictures has a different brightness from the rest because of the vibrant colors.
TK
August 31, 2020The piece of Mirror
Even though the piece has many components to it, I like how the first thing you see are the eyes. The eyes convey a great range of emotions from sorrow to anger. Not being able to be who you want to be. The contrast between the emotions that they are feeling and the stoic face that they portray shows the hardship that most people have to endure. It shows that you simply cannot hold it in forever because, one day or another, you will fall apart like stones from a brick wall. The overall impression that I feel from the piece is; hurt. Hurt from keeping it in. Hurt from having to put up a front. Looking into a mirror and not knowing who is in your reflection.
TK
September 1, 2020Silence
I like how the artist drew the character in monochrome to show how dull and toned-down the person is. They have to fit into the same mold as everyone else in order to be accepted. Hiding what they truly want to say. They are even losing themselves slowly and fading away through the strands of their skin. The key of this artwork, for me, is the blue heart. The colour and life of the heart is wilting away. The once vibrant blue is becoming grey, grey like the rest of their body. Overall, I love how Dang Khoa Vo expresses the same message throughout their whole exhibit. Using colours to show who you really want to be and who they tell you to be.
Aya
September 1, 2020Animal
Even though the piece has different technics and colors to it, the eyes are what we see first. The emotion of sadness is so powerful that I feel some kind of empathy for the character. The colors might be vibrant but the darker shades are what really stands out. I think the artist was trying to demonstrate some sort of solitude. The colors are slowly fading away compare to the dark that becomes more dominant. It’s like if the character becomes colder every time a color vanishes. We can compare this situation in real life when someone starts to be depressed. They attend to isolate themselves and only see the negative parts in their lives. We can compare the colors in this art as hope. It’s an emotion that can be in your favor if you really believe in it or if you don’t, it can affect you deeply. The artist did a such a good job of showing feelings through the different characters because you can easily identify each work with an emotion.
Usha
September 3, 2020Mirror
This piece grabbed my attention. It was different than the other images from the exhibits. The individual in question is looking through a mirror and doesn’t recognize himself anymore, which says a lot because that reflects on us everyday. Loosing himself piece by piece without even knowing until you look at yourself in the mirror. No emotion or reaction, seeing himself being destroyed little by little. The background colour puts the piece into perspective. Non-living object in the back has colour which gives life the inanimate object, and as for the human, a living being, is in shades of grey. As if the human is being erased from the world. As mentioned in the description of the exhibit, this piece is a portrait, therefore when drawing him, the artist captured the subject where even themselves don’t recognize the person in front of them.
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