EP4 | A Dream of Colour — Eva, Winner of the Kyla Artist Prize for International Illustration, Joins The Great Artist, Conquering the Tokyo Exhibition Hall with Gentle Fantasy

A graduate of the Department of Fine Arts Industry at National Taitung University, whose Daisy Rain reached the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, sustaining her creative passion through work as a coatings technician

[Taipei] The Great Artist podcast (EP4) by DE Global Art Agency welcomes Taiwanese painter Shih Hsiao-yen (pen name Eva). In this episode, she shares a winding creative journey from the nature of Taitung to the exhibition halls of Tokyo, from once giving up to winning international recognition, and how she has come to the fore in international illustration with a gentle, allegory-laden fantastical style.

Eva graduated from the Department of Fine Arts Industry at National Taitung University. Raised from childhood in a natural environment, this intimate connection with the land and with nature gave her an especially keen sensitivity to colour and emotion. Her work, in delicate acrylic technique, depicts a gentle fantastical world brimming with imagination. In 2024, she was awarded a distinction at the Kyla Artist Prize for International Illustration, and this recognition from the international stage marked an important milestone in her creative career.

Especially moving is Eva's perseverance in art. From childhood she resolved to become a painter, yet once set down her brush owing to practical circumstances; it was not until 2023 that she took it up again, holding one exhibition after another, and the very next year stepped onto the international stage. Throughout this journey, she has supported herself through work as a coatings technician, sustaining the toil and bustle of daily life entirely on her passion for creation. This tenacity, swinging back and forth between reality and ideal yet never willing to let go, lends her fantastical style a layer of real and weighty texture of life.

Eva's signature work, Daisy Rain, is especially memorable. This piece was once exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum under the theme "Art Gathering, Tokyo." With the poetic image of daisies transformed into raindrops, she conveys a gentle blessing: "I wanted to paint a gentle rain, a rain that might bring strength to you, a stranger." In the language of flowers, the daisy carries the meaning of peace and hope; she lets the daisies fall upon everyone who faces hardship yet still strives to live, offering her most sincere blessing. Another work, Coexistence of Water and Fire, fuses the originally opposed elements of water and fire within a single frame, conjuring an image of endless circulation that is at once beautiful and strange, displaying the distinctive atmosphere often found in her work.

In this episode, Eva also speaks of her view of creation. For her, painting is not merely a display of technique but a medium for conveying emotion and blessing. She often takes flowers and opposing things as her subjects, presenting them in a gentle manner, and in her own way creating paintings of the greatest warmth. At present, she is at work on a new series concerning "flower rain," continuing her exploration of gentleness and healing.

From Taitung to Tokyo, from self-teaching to international recognition, Eva's story is itself a parable of courage, and a warm epitome of the international career that The Great Artist advocates. Credible international prizes such as the Kyla Artist Prize lay an orthodox and solid foundation for the academic and market résumés of emerging artists, allowing creators who cherish their dreams to be seen by the world.

The Great Artist EP4 is now available on Apple Podcasts, SoundOn, and other platforms, with each episode running about 33 minutes. You are warmly invited to listen and step into Eva's gentle, fantastical dream of colour.