Home of the "Garbage Plate" – An Interview with Urban Landscape Contest Winner Amy Pak

From local memories to international recognition: how a historic diner inspired Amy’s award-winning gouache painting

When Amy Pak decided to enter Domestika’s Urban Landscape Contest, she didn’t just submit a painting—she captured a piece of her city’s soul. Her winning piece, Home of the Garbage Plate, is more than a depiction of a building; it’s a heartfelt homage to Nick Tahou’s, a century-old restaurant famous for its iconic dish and for the memories it holds in her community.

For Amy, this artwork was a way to preserve the bittersweet beauty of a place that has seen better days but still holds a special spot in her heart. “I like painting scenes from around my hometown and city, especially ones that have history and memories attached,” she says. “The area has changed and is looking more run down, which created a melancholy feeling for me. This contest gave me the perfect opportunity to capture that.”

Working in gouache, a medium she’s embraced over the last year and a half, Amy skillfully balanced realism with impressionistic touches, allowing the piece to evoke both nostalgia and a sense of time passing. Her creative process blends photography, sketching, and keen observation—always ready to capture those fleeting moments when the light hits just right or a scene tells a story worth remembering.

Read Amy Pak’s full interview to discover how she developed her unique style, overcame creative challenges, and found confidence through competition.

- Can you tell us what inspired you to create the winning project? What story or emotion did you want to convey?

I like painting scenes from around my hometown and city, especially ones that have history and memories attached. Nick Tahou’s is a restaurant has been in the downtown area of my city for over 100 years. Not only had I eaten their famous ‘Garbage Plate’ several times over my life, but the area has also changed and it is looking more run down, which created a melancholy feeling for me. I had wanted to paint a scene of it for a while, and this contest gave me the perfect opportunity to do so.

- What is your process for developing original ideas from scratch?

There are interesting compositions all around—you just have to keep your eyes open to see them and your camera available to document them! From something as complicated as a crowd at a carnival at night with the neon lights to a simple empty bird nest on the ground, if I find the topic tells a story, I will take photos and collect them in files for future paintings. Sometimes it means utilizing several photos in the composition of one painting. If I’m driving and the light hits a landscape or building in just the right way or I’m at an interesting location I may not visit again for a while, I will pull over and make time to grab a few photos. I had just happened to take the photo of Nick Tahou’s on a dreary day just a month before I discovered this contest.

I have also done themes where a group of paintings follow a topic. I recently created a series of three paintings that represented various aspects of God’s provision and another of four small paintings of foods or items you’d find on the breakfast table.

- Do you start with a sketch, an inspiration board, or something else?

Generally, I will create a sketch to lay out my ideas and tweak it until I’m happy with it. Sometimes I’ll bring my photos in Photoshop and play with them until I create the composition I’m looking for. I will also write notes on the sketch to remind me if I have a sudden idea I don’t want to forget, such as a color choice or something I want to include.

- How would you define your style, and how has it evolved?

This is a good question! An artist recently told me he considered me an ‘impressionistic realist,’ and I have to agree! I used to paint in mostly realism when I painted in my younger years, but now just getting back into painting these last few years after decades of setting the fine arts aside to raise a family, I have pursued other styles of art such as impressionism. However, having had a hard time letting go of the details (and smaller brushes), the two have merged and I find myself combining both realism with impressionism most of the time.

- What tools or techniques did you use to bring your project to life? (Traditional, digital, mixed media, etc.)

One medium that is new to me is gouache. I’ve only been painting with it for about a year and a half, but I love it! I enjoy how it lays down on thick watercolor paper, and for this project, I was able to use it highly watered down for the sky. I continued to use it like watercolor for the underpainting but began to use it in a thicker consistency for the following layers and details. I love how blendable gouache is, as well as its ability to be painted dark over light and light over dark. I also don’t mind when my pencil lines show through at times—it’s almost like it’s capturing a glimpse of the early stages of an evolving work.

- What challenges did you face when creating your artwork for the competition, and how did you overcome them?

Working with a limited palette can sometimes have problems with achieving certain colors. However, I’ve come to find that if the values are there and the colors are homogenous, the viewer fills in the blanks. An example of that is when I needed greens for the trees and foliage. My colors were in the spirit of the Zorn palette, with Deep Lake Orange (in place of Vermillion), Payne’s Gray (in place of Ivory Black), Titanium White (in place of Lead White), and Yellow Ochre. Payne’s Gray leans more toward a blue shade, so by mixing that with Yellow Ochre, it gave a somewhat desaturated effect of khaki and muted olive tones. That said, when you see them in the picture, your eye tells you they are green trees and foliage, and the colors play well with the rest of the scene.

Another situation I ran into was the fact that my photo reference had little interesting color on the left side. Being that the traffic light was lit yellow in a yellow ‘casing’ (signal head) and the yellow paint I had to use was ochre (which is generally earthy and muted), I opted to make the red lights the lit ones and make one of the cars red as well.

- How do you ensure your projects remain authentic and personal in a world full of visual trends?

I am not sure how to answer this… I know I find inspiration in so many places, and much of my art styles are diverse, especially depending on the medium I use at the moment. Even though I’ve only been back at painting for about three years, I’m surprised at how my styles have grown and morphed. I tend to paint what makes me happy—I’d say that reflects me personally! And as for authentic, I’m still a work in progress, and I learn from what speaks to me—be it trend, classic, or vintage. Whatever it may be, I have found that even if I find myself inspired by something I see, my own voice keeps coming through enough that people are recognizing my ‘look,’ even though I don’t necessarily see it myself! I just hope that my art can inspire others as well to try something they see in what I’ve done and enrich their repertoire as they grow as an artist.

- Do you follow any routines or rituals that help you stay creative and productive?

I paint on a regular basis, as often as I can! The more brush-mileage you can wrack up, the better you become just from sheer practice. I try to challenge myself with different situations (trying new mediums, changing a day scene to a nocturne, switching between photo references and still life, etc.). I also make sure to be among other artists in a community—there is a lot of encouragement with other like-minded people. I’m hoping to get into more challenges and contests as well.

- Which artists have influenced your work the most and why?

I’ve always loved the realism of Norman Rockwell; I love how he portrays everyday life and the emotion he puts in his pieces. Others are N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth, due to their almost ethereal feel and more muted colors. Lately I’ve been highly influenced by James Gurney, John Pototschnik, and Richard Schmid. I love their soft sense of realism while keeping the brushwork on the slightly looser side.

- What advice would you give to someone just starting out and wanting to develop their own style?

Keep practicing! Try to paint or sketch daily. I actually use sketchbooks for most of my gouache and many of my acrylic paintings. Do studies from the masters that have impacted you and take away aspects that you like most. As you develop your own style, you might find you start naturally adapting new techniques or principles due to studying and mimicking what you learned from those who’ve gone before you.

- What does winning this competition mean to you, and how does it influence your goals as an artist?

Honestly, I actually felt like a winner of this competition just by getting out and joining it—It’s the first contest I’ve participated in in over 40 years! I really wasn’t expecting to win. Even so, having been chosen was very validating and a confidence booster. This has encouraged me to consider joining more competitions, as well as looking into galleries and shows, and getting a website set up for eventually selling my work. I thank you, Domestika, for the opportunity you provided for anyone to participate in—it was a wonderful experience!

Feeling inspired? Your story could be next. Join our upcoming creative contests on Domestika and share your vision with the world. Who knows—you might just be our next winner!