Douglas Yu - October 2025

Where do you draw inspiration for your forms/designs

Most of my drawings are drawn from the natural world and my woodwork is inspired by architecture. I’m constantly taking photos of the world around me. I also search on the internet for imagery

What draws you to your specific medium/preferred medium?

I love charcoal because of its flexibility. When used by itself it creates a rich, dark black but I can also easily change it level of saturation with an eraser, almost half of any given work is created with eraser work.

In terms of woodworking, on a whim I took a beginner woodworking course. I loved the variety of wood and the hands on element. I also love the fact that I can use my visual arts skills to design my work.

What challenges does your medium or process present and how do you adjust for or react to those challenges as the arise?

The biggest challenge with working with charcoal is that it’s messy. Touching it or dragging your hands across it will smear it so you have to plan in advance to know where to start and where to finish.

I want my woodwork to be functional so I have to design it accordingly.

Who were your mentors or resources did you use to learn your medium?

For drawing my mentor was Richard Long. Though I had already knew how to draw, he taught me different ways to approach drawing and creating a “finished” piece.

I took several woodworking courses and did a lot of reading on woodworking.

How and where doe your art practice begin?

When I was a child, I loved to draw. As I got older, I lost interest in creating. When I was at UW-Madison, I took a drawing course just to add some variety to my course load. After that I decided to enter art school. I left school due to unforeseen circumstances and I moved away from the art again, A couple of years ago I decided to try art again and have been working ever since.

Where is your practice now, what is your focus?

Lately I’ve focused more on my woodwork. I got a little burned out with drawing so I changed my focus. After a few more wood projects (I’m making Christmas presents so I don’t have to worry about them later) Ill return to drawing. I think it’s helpful to have more than one focus so I can still express my creativity.

How do community art places like Art Hub enhance your ability to make, distribute and celebrate art?

I show in several shows a year but they are temporary and aren’t always in an art focused location. People come to Art Hub to look at and purchase art. The opportunity to show art at Art Hub is a huge motivation for me as an artist. It’s an honor for me to be able to show alongside other great artists with different mediums and subject matters. This diversity is what makes Art Hub a valuable resource.