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Nascence – emergence,  coming out into existence for the first time.

The title speaks volume since this is my first ever piece of abstract art with colour pencils.

I received a personal invitation via email from Vera Curnow.CPSA,  the founder the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA)  back in March this year. She challenged me to take a break from my usual art style and submit an abstract piece for the  CPSA bi-annual To The Point (TTP) magazine June 2017 issue. She is featuring abstract art works with colour pencils and hoped to have more abstract representation in order to step up and reinforce the concept that coloured pencil medium is versatile.

Initially,  I was quite doubtful of my ability because even though I do appreciates some abstract art but it has never crossed my mind to venture into that genre of art.  But nevertheless, I gave it a try anyway and will

Shard- a piece of broken ceramic, metal, glass, or rock, typically having sharp edges.

This  4th and final piece of my “Time” series showing all the dismantled parts of the clock haphazardly ‘dumped’ in the casing of the rusted clock. It depict the end of a life span, end of time.

This series, from the beginning to the end, is a metaphor of a person’s life, starting from the time when we begin to slow down physically and mentally till the end. Harsh it may seem but it is a reality. Aging is not something that people like to discuss nor talk about, but I beg to differ and that is why I chose this subject.

I have always enjoy listening to golden ager reminiscing their pasts. The faraway look on their faces when they talk about their past fascinates me, it is like watching a movie, all in

This is my interpretation of life when one is in the autumn of their lives and our physical body starts to degenerate. At this stage of time, do we give up and let our mind and body just rot away or choose to live life to the fullest?

For me, it is time to reflect and develop a depths of our being, to step up to the life ahead.

“Miracles occur when human beings step up to the life they’ve got right there, in the muck and the mire, and discover they’re far more creative and capable than they ever dreamed they were. Miracles occur when we learn to blossom right in the middle of what we told ourselves we could never survive or get beyond. Miracles happen when we discover that we are far more than who we ever thought we were or what we were taught to be. Miracles occur when we have

Time can be so unforgiving. Even the mechanism that we use to measure time gets antiquated as time goes on.
Just like us, with each passing day, we grow older and in a blink of an eye, years passed and when we look at our reflection in the mirror, we see our parents instead.

BUT is it a bad thing? Given the opportunity, would you want go back in time? To be young again?

To me, the ups and downs, good and bad that I had experienced throughout four decades, made me into who I am today. A much more confident, calmer and patient person. I observed and listen more. I have learned to appreciate each passing day.

All that, only time can give, no money in the world could buy that.

This is the second sequel to my ‘Time’ series. Why did I chose this subject matter? I believe time is very significant in everyone’s life. Our lives revolves around time,

What is time? Does it even exist? Have you ever wonder?

When we think of time we tend to think of the ways in which we measure the passing of time, such as a clock or watch, or perhaps a measured interval of time such as an hour or minute, but not of time itself. So what is time? Exactly what is it that we are measuring? -www.thekeyboard.org.uk

To me, TIME is a big mystery. Since the day we were born, our life is measured and controlled by time. Everything we do now, past and future are all based on time. Is it a good or bad thing?

Deep huh? Maybe I think too much. But sometimes, I can’t help it. I imagined life without worrying about time. No deadlines, no getting pissed by people who are always late to an appointment. The dread of waking up to the shrill of the alarm and many

Once in a while, I love doing super colourful subjects just to relax the mind and eyes or just for the heck of it.

Rooster, is one of the subject that I have not done and never crossed my mind to paint it. I find painting chickens and birds difficult because of the lack of expressions. But I do love looking at their gorgeous feathers.

The idea came about quite suddenly when I was looking for references. I recalled seeing a group of chickens roaming freely at a temple on a hilltop where I used to cycle to some time back and I have always been fascinated by their shiny colourful feathers, especially under the bright sunlight.

So I told myself, why not try painting one and see how it goes. So off I went one lovely bright Sunday afternoon to that hilltop, took my camera and drove all the way up and hoping

Now, this is a very interesting subject.  The subject itself is very symbolic. Family.

The keys represent the individual in a family. Different types of keychains, various knick knacks attached to it. From there itself, one can roughly guess which key set belongs to whom, the father, mother, older/younger siblings.

This is a wooden key holder hanging in my dining area. In this painting, all the hooks were occupied, showing that everyone is home. It can be where everyone is home at the end of the day, a weekend or a holiday.

It is a very simple subject, very straight forward but you will feel a sense of warmth, love in a family.

Technically, this is quite an easy subject to work on. The focus here is to bring out the warmness of the whole subject matter. The painting needs to portray the warm fuzzy feeling of a loving home. The wood panel, with the earthy

Equanimity – calm, composure, presence of mind, serenity, tranquility.

As shown in several of my work, rock/pebbles seems to be one of my favourite subject. I find them very versatile, both in paintings and expressing human feelings metaphorically.  They can be intense yet subtle at the same time.

With this piece, I wish to portray a sense of tranquility yet complex at the same time. At a glance, the whole composition looks calm and serene. But take a closer look, you will see so many muted colours and textures in every individual rocks. Just like us human beings,  we are unique in our own way.

If we as a society are able to practise tolerance, understanding and respect for each other, no matter how different we look or difference in belief and creed, we CAN co-exist peacefully. Imagine a world where everyone look and think alike, scary isn’t it?

The size of this piece is

Pluralism has such vast meanings. In a simple explanation, it means “the condition of being multiple or plural.”  

My interpretation of this painting is based on Sociology, the existence in a society of groups having distinctive ethnic origin, cultural forms, religions, etc.  A condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.

In Sociology, “Pluralism” means the existence of groups having distinctive ethnic origin, cultural forms, religions etc., that are present and tolerated within a society yet adds to the “flavour” of the whole.

Individuals, irregardless of race, creed, culture, shapes and sizes, when coexist harmoniously, can turn this world into a beautiful and harmonious place in time of many challenges.

The rock pebbles depicted in my painting is a metaphor of today’s society, multiculturalism. Each rock represent us as individual, some are similar but never quite alike and some are a total opposite but still a rock all

Wabi-sabi represents Japanese aesthetics and a Japanese world view centered on the acceptance  of transience and imperfection . The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete”. Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenious integrity of natural objects and processes.  – en.wikipedia.org

Now, what made me want to paint this? Many did asked why and what were my thoughts when I chose this particular subject.

I happened to notice this main water valve by accident. This valve is right by the junction to my house that I drove pass every time but I never took any notice until then. It is something that I, like many others took for granted that it is just there.

I was desperately looking for subject/inspiration for the Langkawi Art Biennale 2016. I need a