When I first started this blog...
my goal was to share my passion for creating art and to showcase my pieces with the world.
I didn't want an over designed or complicated blog. I didn't want it to be stifled by templates and stagnant formats. I want it to have a simplistic and child like vibe. I want it to not be hindered by rules or standards. Like how I produce my pieces, I want it to be free...
I have always dreamt of making a living out of my artistic pursuits but the gods of commerce demand uniformity, both in product display and approach. A buyer's world. But will this be in the way of true creativity and exploration? I think so.
I have been working very hard on my art portfolio in the last 8 months. Pursuing ideas, art and creative designs, without the promise of monetary security.
I dearly hope that this dream becomes a reality this year. However, the true nature of 'hope' entails an ironic combination of 'happy success' and the highly plausible 'cruel disappointment'. Of course, I hope for success in every endeavour pursued. The key goal for me is to balance the enervating emotion of disappointment with the positive 'oh-so-small' forward steps.
If any of you out there have real contacts to 'nice individuals' in the art world, do let me know.
I am going to work on my children's story, 'Max the mandarin duck', in the next few days. Wish me luck :)
Boh Munyong
(13 January 2013, Acrylics on canvas)
'Boh Munyong' means 'Water buffalo from Munyong' in Bidayuh. I spent some time in Borneo towards the end of last year, specifically in Munyong, Bau. When I saw this female buffalo, I was immediately attracted to the mud formations that had set on her undercarriage. More so, I simply found her beautiful.
My aunty had tied her to a post and she was grazing in the area allowed by the radius of her leash. Every once in a while, she would yelp at her 'babies' that were not too far from her.
There were some debate on her identity when I first uploaded this painting to my Facebook page. Bajit had apparently gored Sujak, a local guy, many years ago.
Marilyn & Marion
(27 December 2013, Acrylics on canvas)
Gertrude
(20 January 2014, Acrylics on canvas)
I wanted to surprise my dear aunty Gertrude by doing a portrait of her after lunch on new year's day. I initially drew her on paper with a ball point pen but it ended up looking slightly lop sided. My reference photo was taken from a wedding my family went just a week before.
When I returned to Sydney, I had made up my mind to do two paintings: One of my aunt and one of the beautiful valley in Kiulu. It was a way for me to overcome homesickness. I must admit my choice of colours was rather muted as my reference photo was not very clear but I was quite happy with the results.
Black bean tree
(7 March 2014, Acrylics on cardboard)
The idea for this painting came when I went for a walk after a full day of brainstorming for project ideas. I wanted to clear my head and get a breath of fresh air.
It turned out to be a glorious late afternoon and my eyes were immediately attracted to these striking trees grown on the side of the road, with their silvery foliage, peppered by the contracting black bean pods.
I wanted to draw it with soft pastel but I soon realised how difficult it was to get the right colour intensity on cardboard.
Romina
(16 March 2014, Acrylics on cardboard)
Romina's birthday was coming up and she had expressed to me that she would like an abstract painting based on a pink-green-yellow-brown colour palate.
I initially wanted to paint in a straight abstract but I decided, at the last minute, to add a representation of her face to the composition of abstract shapes.
Creative design ideas: T-shirt, 3D cards and autostereograms
(T-shirt: 15 March 2014, Huntsman)
(3D cards)
(Autostereograms)
Acknowledging the practicality of selling art, I know that I need to diversify my 'products'. These were some of the results of my experiments in the last few months.
An uncertain path
(9 March 2014, Acrylics on canvas)
This painting is a metaphor of the life journey of many artists. A journey to the unknown but one continues to forge ahead. You look around and some times, you can feel and see an image of yourself, already successful sans worries. Alas, these images are never clear and never for certain.
Kiulu
(16 March 2014, Acrylics on plywood)
My family went on a drive to Kiulu located about an hour away from Kota Kinabalu and known for white water rafting and mountain biking. A tropical shower had just finished and the ground was still wet. The air was saturated and heavy. The winding road was taking us further and further away from the nearest town and suddenly, we came across this valley. It is a normal view for many but for me, the composition was just perfect. I insisted on taking a few reference shots and the rest is history.
Fact: Plywood was used because I had a piece of recycled plywood lying around after I dismantled my IKEA drawer. I thought drawing a jungle valley landscape on treated plywood was appropriate.
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