Art by Yen

Ta-da!  Introducing my new revamped website: www.artbyyen.com 

Been tardy about blogging since I discover the insta-joy of instagram, and yes, been too busy painting my heart out, no kidding ;p

Okay no more excuses, I am back after six months, oops..  and wonder where I should begin.  My art journey in the past half year has been one of experimentation, not of the wild abandon variety, but trying out new things that I have not had the time to do before, and painting things (even cliche ones!) I have wanted to do at some time but never found the time.  In other words, I was having way too much fun ;p

Revamping my website has given me the chance to contemplate and to draw a thread to it all.. namely, abstraction and more precisely, its no-boundaries anything-goes methods which help me to hone my original style.  I have learnt that the brush and knife are not the only ways to paint, in fact, it is the tool I used least in my recent work. So I veered from abstraction methods of thick layering, sponging, collage, using objects, fingers, you name it, from impressionism to abstraction and back. Including some artwork here that I personally like, whether they came about accidentally or not ;p  After all, abstraction is not knowing where I'd land which is what makes the process so exciting :) My art journey is getting more fun by the day..

Icelandic Houses I, 10"x12"

Starry, 12"x12"

From Prague with Love, 18"x18"

Brilliance, 12"x12"

Cape of Hope, 20"x24"

Sail to the Moon, 18"x18"

Purchase at: yen.artfire.com

Kaleidoscope

Another work inspired by my last Scotland trip.The reference pic was taken when I was re-visiting the Highlands on the train and as usual, the typical 'atmospheric' (read: rainy) Scottish weather prevailed. When we weren't shrouded in fog, the window panorama threw up some really dramatic 'cloudscapes' and all I could do amidst the high speed frenzy was clicked optimistically hoping to catch some of these gems, however blurred the result may be. This shot was one of them and I loved the fisheye effect.

But when it comes to painting it, my colour instincts took over completely. My original photo is called "eye of a storm"; the painting result is however more of a kaleidoscope of colours with all the elements of nature - ocean, mountains, islets, beach, sky, clouds - interacting and encircled in a harmonious peaceful scene. Hence the name "Kaleidoscope".

Title: Kaleidoscope (O29)
Description: Highlands from the train. Inspired by the atmospheric 'cloudscapes' whilst travelling in the Scottish Highlands by train. 2009.
Medium: Oil n Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 60cm.

Zing

Having travelled extensively and visited many a european city, it had been a long time since I was so strongly attracted to a place. And I was only passing through Aberdeen for a couple of hours en route from the Cairngorms National Park to take a ferry to the Shetlands on this Scotland trip. Funnily I was just looking for food when I walked up from the bus terminal to what looked like the "Orchard" area. I like the vibes of the city. Maybe it was the genial Scots, maybe it was the students, maybe it was the buildings setting, somehow it felt like I was in Harry Potter land..

And then I chanced to see in the distance what I learned later to be the Castlegate square. It drew me instantly like a magnet. I was especially fascinated with the hexagonal 1686 mercat cross (market cross) with a vertical post and white unicorn at the top, that symbolized the burgh's (Scottish town) right to trade. It was also the site of royal proclamations and public executions.. oops, in the old days I mean.. believe it is the host of less hazardous activities nowadays ;p

I love the square and the way the particular lamppost stand out against it. Giving the pic I took a 'photoshop' treatment produced a wonderful red sky drop in sync with my feelings about the sense of the place. I changed the composition somewhat when I did the painting for better spatial perspective and gave full play to the interaction of the subjects, creating lots of movement for the eye.


Title: Zing (O27)
Description: An expression of the whimsical interactive energy that the Castlegate square of Aberdeen gave to me, despite it being known as the Grey City. The buildings, citadel, mercat cross, and even the lamppost, seemed to speak to me when I was there and it was this strong attraction, together with my impressions of the captivating vivacity of Aberdeen, that I seek to express with my colours and strokes. Scotland 2009.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 50cm.
SOLD.

Cloud Series ~ The Dome

This is an interesting piece that seems to provoke rather diverse comments. When I created it, I was simply looking to develop my cloud series and found this moody cloud-church pic from my europe trip 3 years ago.

I had a busy time in Paris trying to catch as many museums as I could which was a bit tricky with all their er.. brief opening hours ;p Literally, with like minutes to closing, I had dashed into Rodin's Musée Gardens to visit The Thinker and chanced to look up and saw this in the distance. So I snapped an under-exposed photo to capture the cloud drama around what I thought was some cathedral. It was only when I was naming the painting that I did some digging and found that this was no ordinary church. The Église du Dôme is the most striking feature of the Eglise Saint-Louis des Invalides royal chapel specially constructed in 1679 in an extensive ex-military complex that holds the tomb of one Napoleon Bonaparte..

With a grandiose title like that, I'm not sure if I've done justice to the history behind the dome, but this was one piece where I literally gave full play to the clouds and made the colours swirl from the dome to the moon, and back. I wish I could give some logic to what I did or intended but this was a purely instinctive work, so the interpretation is really up to the eye of the beholder!

This work will be displayed at the 6 perspectEVEs exhibition from 17 ~ 28 August 2009 at The Art Loft @ Volvo.

Title: Cloud Series ~ The Dome (O17,SA8)
Description: Moonlight serenade of the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. 2009.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 50 x 50cm.



5 comments:
shu laang said...
Nice, very dreamy and deja-vu :-)
serena said...
There's a magical Disney-like quality... Sorta like Aladdin.
jeffrey said...
I thought "The Dome" had a religious touch. Domes in Churches are somewhat like repositions of the heavens above and many domes carry paintings of God in the center of the Dome (which suggest that God is watching over the people on Earth). The brightly colored clouds that seem to come out of the Dome in this painting seems to represent "Hope", "Life" that comes from the heavens above.
weishian said...
I especially like the Clouds – Dome and the Mornington Peninsula – Tea at Boathouse.
kmwatkins said...
a great painting, yen!

Watercolour Hiatus

My main medium is oil which I use in the studio, or acrylic when I paint outdoors. Occasionally I'm enticed to dabble in other media for the fun of it or when I'm having a block with the canvas. So it was that I was having a particularly long block that I decided to have a go at watercolour which I've been told is the most difficult medium of all. In fact, several of the experienced folks at my art class started with watercolour and are now firmly attached to the canvas ;p Too much heartbreak, they say.

So it was with great trepidation that I started on watercolour.. and learned first-hand all the things that I had been warned.. tremble, tremble, joking.. I'm no watercolourist but it had been a fun experiment. I learned the essentialness of thinking and planning everything ahead, the importance of decisiveness in colour, stroke, and amount of water in the brush, and of course, the criticalness of delivery where a single mistake will cost the whole piece - and somehow it almost always does.. sigh.. that's why I say I'm not a colourist. Too much heartbreak, indeed ;p

But I do find that the watercolour experience helps when I reverted back to oil and found fresh perspectives. When I travel on my own, it has become a habit to bring my little watercolour pad because it's the easiest medium to bring, in case I do find the opportunity to paint. So here are some of my "experiments", for good or for bad.












Title: Sunrise At Halong Bay (W4)
Description: Impressions of Halong Bay, Vietnam. 2007.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 30 x 23cm.
Price: SOLD.

Title: Trees At Overland Track (W5)
Description: Eucalyptus trees at Overland Track, Tasmania. 2007.
Medium: Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 30 x 23cm.
Price: SOLD.










Title: Iona Abbey (W6)
Description: Inspired by the beautiful columns of an ancient abbey at Iona Island in the Scottish Hebrides. 2007.
Medium: Ink & Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 24 x 18cm.
Price: NFS.

Title: Iona Ruins (W7)
Description: Ancient ruins at Iona Island in the Scottish Hebrides. 2007.
Medium: Ink & Watercolour Work.
Dimensions: 24 x 18cm.
Price: SOLD.


1 comment (Halong Bay):
karen said...
... gorgeous... pretty impressive, in my view.

1 comment (Overland Track):
beibei said...
Somehow i like this

A Street In Arles

A couple years back, I took a hiatus from work and went gallivanting in France & Scandinavia for a good 2 months, which was altogether fun, funny and challenging since I speak no French.. ;p But I had to visit the art museums in France (and they are really good - when they are not closed ;p ) and pay pilgrimage to the land of my favourite Impressionist artists. So naturally I made my way to Provence and ambled into Arles, which I learned to be Vincent van Gogh's place except there wasn't a painting of his there and his studio had been destroyed in WWII. Nevertheless, I was much inspired by the place, especially the lovely uneven buildings with multi-coloured tiled roof intertwined in a fascinating maze of narrow winding streets, which probably accounts for this being considered Van Gogh's most creative period.

So it was that I painted this particular piece from a reference photo which was actually quite muted in colour but the feeling and atmosphere of my stay in Arles came through in the gay colours I put to the buildings of this street scene of a middle-aged lady going home. The bags may seem heavy but the mood is not, with hope and warmth represented by the strong lighting that I added to the scene. This was also one of my first oil pieces using painting knife and I found that the splattering effect turned out well on the buildings and pavement :)

The painting will be displayed at the 6 perspectEVEs exhibition on 4 ~ 28 August 2009 at The Art Loft @ Volvo.
Title: A Street In Arles (O6, SA1)
Description: Inspired by the narrow winding streets of Arles, Provence, France. 2008.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 50cm. SOLD.

Mini-Acrylic Work (with burgundy cardboard frame) 24x21cm: S$45 (USD30).

5 comments:
mary c. aikens said...
I really like your paintings very much. You have captured the use of color. I also use much color in my artwork. The "Street Scene in Arles" and "Tea At Boathouse" are among two of my favorites of your paintings.
beibei said...
I like this
valerie said...
I loved your painting of Arles. I hope to visit someday. In the meantime, thank you for capturing and sharing with us this beautiful place through your works.
teckmeng said...
I too like your piece of Arles. Been to France before but never knew that place even existed.
huilin said...
i like this one =) inspiration from??

Pigeon Symphony

Sometimes, the feel is just so strong that makes it easy when I do a painting. This was one of them. The reference photo (below) is a favourite photo of mine which I took whilst on a backpacking trip to East Europe with 2 good friends. We were in Krakow's Rynek Glowny Grand Square, the largest medieval town square in Europe. The pigeons were so much a part of the hustle and bustle of this lovely place. I especially like how they sat around the fountain enjoying the cool flowing waters, a parallel congregation to us happy human beings also gathered at this great square conversing, relaxing, observing, idling or generally enjoying the life and great atmosphere here.

The way the pigeons positioned at this rounded fountain also reminds me of an audience listening intently at a concert arena, except in this case they are attending a "fountain symphony" with music courtesy of the rhythmic white waters. With so much feel, the colours just came naturally that I can't even explain my method, if there was one at all. Perhaps they are an expression of the music that I imagined the pigeons were listening to.


Title: Pigeon Symphony (O3)
Description: Pigeons enjoying the flowing fountain waters at Krakow's Rynek Glowny Square. 2006.Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.Dimensions: 60 x 50cm.
Price: SOLD.
Print available for purchase at my artfire shop.

3 comments:
trudy said...
the colours are really unique in that painting, what was your inspiration?
jeffrey said...
Well done! Lovely
sharon mau said...
this is a fabulous painting, very beautiful work.

Other works on East Europe:

Title: Window Display (A2)
Description: An enchanting window display of a lady in red at a Budapest shop. 2005.
Medium: Acrylic on Panel (flat).
Dimensions: 41 x 33cm.
Price: SOLD.

Title: Krakow Bell Tower (A4)
Description: Reach for the gigantic bell at Krakow's Bell Tower! 2006.
Medium: Acrylic on Panel (flat).
Dimensions: 40 x 30cm.
Price: SOLD.






Title: Zakopane Hut I & II (SA22, SA23)
Description: At Poland's Tatra Mountains where I find the triangular shape of the huts most interesting. 2008.

Seascapes ~ The Rock

This piece was inspired by my trip to Scandinavia and the Norway Lofoten Islands. I arrived in crappy weather which was to persist the few days I was there until the morning of the day of my departure when glimpses of the sun finally appeared belatedly and the fog started to disperse. That was when I took a walk at the coast of Å where I was staying and fell in love with this little rock islet. So I took out my sketchbook and spent about an hour behind a rock wall hiding from the chilly winds and inking the scene.

Back in Singapore, I did the oil piece with the colours and strokes flowing freely, seeking to relive and capture the feel of that lovely morning at Å. Ironically, by the time I left the Lofotens, the sun was shining so brightly and the skies so clear and blue that it looked like the bad weather never was. Perhaps, my liberal use of bright orangey yellow was an unconscious reflection of that irony! This was also my 1st exhibited painting in a showcase of student works entitled "Colours of Life" at my art space on 4 ~ 5 Nov 2006.


Title: Seascapes ~ The Rock (O2,SI1)
Description: Inspired by the Norway Lofoten Islands. 2006.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 50cm.
SOLD.
1 comment:
cheri said...
Nice work with such bright and vivid colors. Keep up the good work.


Other works on Norway:











Title: Norwegian Alps (O9,SA2)
Description: Inspired by wintry scenery whilst on a train ride in Norway. 2008.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 50cm.
Price: SOLD. Mini-Acrylic Work (with biege-gold cardboard frame) 21x18.5cm: SOLD.


Title: Portrait ~ Norwegian Artist Kaare Espolin Johnson (O20)
Description: An ode to the artist whose works struck a chord with me when I visited his art museum in Kabelvag on the Norway Lofoten Islands. 2007.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 50 x 40cm.