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

Magic Fall

This little painting was inspired by a nature picture that I took on Japan's Nakasendo Way which has beautiful foliage and cherry blossoms falling like snow. I am told that the Nakasendo is stunning in autumn, and winter, and this is what I imagined it to be.  

It's been a while since I last painted autumn and with nary a thought, the strokes flow and it was completed in one session. There are imperfections but the whimsical feel is just right so I decided to stop. Yes, that beautiful feeling of joy at white flakes a-falling is just magical. No overwork needed.

Title: Magic Fall 秋雪 (O107) 
Description: Whimsical autumn forest impressionist painting with white bark trees against reds, orange and greens foliage, with falling snow drops inspired by travel scenery on Japan's Nakasendo Way 2014.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

Dimensions: 61 x 61cm. 
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com

Autumn at Hallasan

The journey for this work was as convoluted as the actual climb at Hallasan that I undertook last September, all 5603 feet up Korea's highest mountain, just hoping to catch a glimpse of autumn even though Jeju was unexpectedly as hot as Singa-land during my stay there.  Well, that is "Singaporean madness" for you as we come from a land of eternal green.  

It was a small peek at fall, literally. Some fallen red leaves on a small patch of the forever rocky path.  But I was delirious nevertheless.  Even more so than when I was to later reach the summit.  

So I painted autumn again which I haven't in a long while.  While the composition came easily enough, I struggled with the colour of the ground for a while before I finally got the feel that I wanted, intentionally stark contrast and all. Lyrical yet brittle. Yup, that pretty much sums it up. 

Title: Autumn at Hallasan 汉拿山之秋 (O99)
Description: A lyrical fall painting of autumn leaves on a rocky path inspired by the artist's hike way up Mt Hallasan, Korea's highest mountain, just to catch that wee bit of fall. Jeju Notes 2014.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 61 x 61cm.
SOLD.