Those Were The Days ( 小时候 )

小时候，我喜欢看电影的感觉。不，应该说我喜欢去那种旧式戏院看电影的感觉。当我们走近电影院，就会看到那超大型、把宣传片画得栩栩如生、十分动人、人物好象随时会从画面里跳出来的手绘海报！旧时的海报，就是那么精彩万分、富有充满想象力空间的立体感觉，让人不期然地对那继将上映的片子充满期待，太美妙了！

而小小的我，一直奇怪为什么那海报可以在某一天突然象魔术般地换画，这么高、这么大，他们是怎么办到的？再来，旧的海报又如何处理，好东西都给谁拿去了？好多的好奇，又没有人可问，或好意思问… 当时的我，甚至立志长大后，要做那画海报的伟大画师，那我就可以天天挥一挥大彩笔，制造一出出美丽的神奇，让世人惊叹，还可以寻找出我那许许多多问题的答案… 当然小时候的我，志愿天天变，比电影院换画还要快，哈哈！

唉，如今新加坡已极少或没有这种电影院了。所以，这次台湾行在台南的街道拐个弯突然看到这间超好玩的“全美戏院”，欢喜的不得了，好象找回失而复得的儿时记忆。真想把整座电影院搬回家！想一想，除了过关卡有点小问题外，在新加坡它恐怕难逃被拆的命运吧… 只好拍张照留念，回到家再把那小时对旧戏院的情忆结，构成一幅画。

Title: Those Were The Days (O46)
Description: A surprise encounter with an old cinema during a visit to Tainan, Taiwan, evokes many a happy childhood memory of the cinemas of old in Singapore. I love the old cinemas for their handpainted cinema billboards and wanted to be a billboard artist when I was young. 2010.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 60cm.
SOLD.

5 comments:
beibei said...
Wow.. i love that billboard.
jeffrey said...
This is THE cinema that Lee Ang used to frequent when he was still in High school in Tainan! And the painting rocks btw..
sookliang said...
在脑海里的回忆，一触不可收拾。那俊男美女的布画让我遐想到画师是如何画得栩栩如生。。。。 那被丢弃的彩画是如怨妇般的可怜。。。 忘了一时多少人的如此的欣赏。。
wilson said...
very artistic feel...
jiajia said...
love this new piece!

The Way ( 道 )

An expressionist piece that I had to paint twice to get the feeling that I wanted to achieve right, which I will leave to the viewer to interpret.

The scene was inspired by a picture that I took at the beautiful Confucian Temple in Tainan, south Taiwan. Red is a colour that I have found to be very beautiful and expressive since I started this Taiwan series and never more evident than in this work which I thoroughly enjoyed its richness in my execution.

Title: The Way (O45, SA30)
Description: An expressionist piece inspired by the Tainan Confucian Temple in Taiwan. 2010.
台湾行台南孔庙之“道”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-To-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x60cm
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com

Enlightenment ( 悟 )

The Longshan Temple in Lugang, central Taiwan, dedicated to Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy), is one of my fave temples on this trip to Taiwan. The structures are ancient yet elegantly beautiful and well-preserved, maintaining the feel befitting of its history and age. Like a grand old dame. Indeed it is known as the "Forbidden City in Taiwan", dating from the Ching Dynasty.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=2766855 I especially love the exquisite wood carvings and colourful paintings. This corridor was filled with streaming light even though it was not a particularly sunny day, epitomizing a sense of tranquility and enlightenment. Hence the inspiration for this piece.

Title: Enlightenment (O44, SA33)
Description: The light-filled corridor at the Longshan Temple dating from the 1786 Ching Dynasty in Lugang, central Taiwan. 2010.
台湾行鹿港龙山寺之“悟”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-To-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x51cm

Colours with Passion Exhibition 17, 19-30 Sept

Do drop by if you can, admission is free. The opening is this Friday 17 Sept and the exhibition will play daily 19-30 Sept. I am privileged to be a part of a wonderful group of ladies and we had both fun and challenge putting together:

An exhibition by 5 women artists, with diverse backgrounds and styles, converging together for a unique showcase of their works depicting a variety of subjects and themes, yet unified by a common passion for colours.

The exhibition will feature my Taiwan & Scotland -inspired works.

Date: 17,19-30 Sept 2010, 11am-7pm
Opening: 17 Sept 2010, 7pm-9pmVenue: Tembusu Art Gallery
140 Hill Street #01-05
MICA Building
Singapore 179369
Tel: +65 63371027
Website: www.tembusu-art.com.sgNearest MRT: City Hall & Clark Quay

Blooming Happiness ( 满满的幸福 )

Flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere! Gleeful were my friends and I when we discovered this field while taking a walk in the countryside at Jiji in Nantou, central Taiwan.

And the warmth and joy of that afternoon was what I seek to capture in this piece, with a touch of enigmatism added to the final oil work, as I wondered what was the source of our happiness that day. Was it the flowers? Was it the setting? Was it the company? Was it the strange shaped building yonder? Or was it simply the surprise bouquet combination of it all?

Title: Blooming Happiness (O43, SA37)
Description: Taiwan series. From a visit to Jiji, Nantou, in Central Taiwan, where we literally stumbled on this blooming field with beautiful flowers to our utter delight. 2010.
台湾行集集之“满满的幸福”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x60cm
SOLD.

Contentment ( 简单的快乐 )

Happiness can be so simple. I was moved by the serene scene of sunrays falling warmly on some houses at the Yangmingshan National Park where a gigantic overhanging white cloud seemed to be sheltering and protecting the humble abode. Hence I took a picture and created a longitudinal bookmark shot of this sunset scene, from which my painting was born.

I had thought it would be a simple painting to do. In the end it took longer than expected as I experimented to re-capture the wondrous feeling of that evening. It seems the path to happiness is not easy, but it is good when I get there :)

Title: Contentment (O42, SA38)
Description: Taiwan series. Simple living, simple happiness. Inspired by a dusk scene at theYangmingshan National Park in Taipei. 2010.
台湾行阳明山之“简单的快乐”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x51cm

An Old Port Town ( 鹿港老街 )

We almost didn't make it to Lugang. There was a hiccup finding transport to get us there from Central Taiwan. Lucky we did get there eventually because it was a nice laidback charming old town with historic archictecture and many nooks and corners to explore.

I especially like the old street and this sign that leads to it, the bustling yet serene old port town atmosphere, which I seek to capture in this semi-abstract piece.

Title: An Old Port Town (SA31)
Description: Taiwan series. An abstract piece epitomizing the activities of the Old Lugang Township on the west coast of Taiwan. 2010.
台湾行之“鹿港老街”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 51cm.

Messages From The Past ( 古老的信息 )

The old township of Lugang in central Taiwan is a charming place to visit, not too touristy and most of all, the character of the old shops in all kinds of odd shapes and sizes are retained and selling a fascinating array of colourful knick-knacks and stuff.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself browsing the shops with my friends when I spotted a Japanese photographer taking a picture of a beautiful door of a closed foresaken-looking storefront. With the whistling winds, the fluttering red pieces of paper gave the place a mysterious feel that seem to transport me to the days of old. I decided to shoot the storefront from the side in order to capture the effect of the wind, with the swinging red lantern adding to the atmosphere.

It was this romantic windswept feel of ancient Chinese times that I seek to capture with my strokes when I painted the piece, with the postbox adding the touch and link to modernity, as if the past is whispering its mysterious messages to the present.

Title: Messages From The Past (O40,SA29)
Description: Taiwan series. Inspired by the Lugang Old Town in Central Taiwan, this atmospheric piece uses strong contrast, bold colours and swift movement to juxtapose the romantic past with the present. 2010.
台湾行鹿港之“古老的信息”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x60cm

1 comment:
zemphira said...
i like your messages from the past.

Secret Bliss ( 美丽的秘密 )

It was the first day of a brand new year, after particularly bad weather and a freezing night on New Year's Eve at Jing Gua Shi near Juifen in north Taiwan. The weather has calmed somewhat and the air fresh and crisp, so I decided to take a walk in this mountainous region and chanced to come across this window ruins.

I was simply intrigued by its beauty - the beckoning layers of windows and doorways within left standing and the intricate pattern of planks and wild plants lit by the filtered light. One wonders what this residence used to be like, who used to live here - was it a family? were there young children? how did they make a living? did they have a garden? what was their life like? And above all, why it lay in this mysterious ruinous state today.

Title: Secret Bliss (O39,SA34)
Description: Taiwan series. Depiction of beautiful window ruins in Jing Gua Shi, North Taiwan, with an intriguing sense of mystery emanated by the layers of interiors and intricate patterns within, and of what it might have been. 2010.
台湾行金瓜石之“美丽的秘密”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 45cm.

101 Exuberance ( 101之喧哗 )

My friends and I had arrived in Taipei on a trip on Christmas Day and had a wonderful evening enjoying the lovely mood and festivity even though it was not an official public holiday there. The energy and exuberance of that night was best epitomized by a picture I took that had Christmas lights and decorations streaking and fusing with the city lights and the omnipresent Taipei 101 skyscraper, once the tallest building in the world, in the backdrop.

Hence, I aimed to capture the wondrous mood of the beautiful Taipei city on that evening with my strokes and colours on this abstract piece - colourful yet not gaudy, boisterous yet not rowdy, spectacular yet not bling - an exuberant city of clean good fun and bright youthful hope.
Title: 101 Exuberance (O31,SA32)
Description: Taiwan Series. An abstract piece of the Taipei cityscape at night, with the ubiquitous Taipei 101. 2010.
台湾行台北“101之喧哗”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76x60cm
SOLD. 

2 comments:
ruping said...Beautiful artwork from a talented friend.
john williams said...
Bold and Vivid and I can feel the movement-well done-John

Serenity ( 緑息 )

This abstract piece is inspired by one of the pictures I took while on a leisurely trip in Taiwan with a group of good friends and meeting other good friends there as well. As chance would have it, I got to visit Yangminshan National Park even though it was at the end of the day when we got there. We got a bit lost on a trail and were cold and hungry by the time we reached the Visitor's Centre, but all was forgotten when we got to witness beautiful dusk colours, like this forest scene, and a glorious sunset.

It is exactly this feeling that I want to capture with my colours and strokes on this green-themed piece - the feeling of beauty, the feeling of serenity, the feeling of unhurried leisure, the feeling of one at peace with nature, swaying with the soft winds and rays of gentle sunshine.

Title: Serenity (O30,SA35)
Description: Taiwan Series. An abstract piece of trees at the Yangmingshan National Park in Taipei, Taiwan. 2010. 台湾行阳明山之“緑息”。
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60x45cm.

3 comments:
piety dsilva said...Nice composition.
ayan ghoshal said...Wonderful...!
maria rova said...This is beautiful, love the peaceful, inviting colours!