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.
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.
I first visited China as a kid and loved Hangzhou then. Pleasant place, an amazing acrobatic performance, and a beautiful lake.
So it was that on this trip to Shanghai, I had to go Hangzhou again, even for a few hours. Gilded childhood memories aside, must say I was taken aback by the mad circus at the train station, the crazy cab ride to the nearest part of the lake in order to maximise my visit, and oh lord, I think the whole of China is here!!
Thankfully, the lake is incredibly big, more than I ever remember. Incredibly, there is space for everyone. And incredibly lucky was I to find a quiet garden section which was so beautiful I was reminded of Giverny. And oh the time flew by as I explored the little surprises at every nook and corner. Rarely has the harmony of man and nature been more intricate than in this heavenly place, which is the very essence of zen. And thus the tribute of this painting.
Title: West Lake 西湖 (O87)
Description: A quiet corner at the beautiful West Lake captures my heart, as Hangzhou once did many years ago. China 2013.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 61 x 61cm.
SOLD.
2 comments:
doreen said...Your painting exudes the energy that is not found in the photo. Well done! Love your painting!
timi said... This painting is beautiful and unique in its execution. I LOVE It.
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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!
Autumn is a favourite season of mine, perhaps because I don't live in a place with four seasons and don't have to face the prospects of a bleak cold winter ahead with all the bothersome things associated with it. And coming from a country with tropical greens all-year round, the gloriousness of autumn colours never fails to amaze me.
So when I travel, this is usually the season I try to catch - not the hot hot summers where I have had more than 
enough in my home country, not the cold cold winters even though the sight of snow is exciting to me as well - although spring is a close second preference. But the autumn window is notoriously brief and hard to time, sometimes arriving too early sometimes too late.. but when I did have the privilege to witness the grandeur, it's such a blessing, sigh..
Yet this beautiful transient period is such a provocateur of conflicting emotions - stimulation at the visual treat of nature at its surreal best versus trepidation of what is to come after - so we angst over the beauty, the brevity, the fragility of life, the effluxion of time - even the chinese character for autumn ( 秋 ) with a heart ( 心 ) at the bottom means sorrow ( 愁 ).
When I decided to paint autumn landscapes, this becomes a natural theme for my experiment with expressionism - a season of change, a season that prompts many thoughts - a season for contemplation ( 静禅 ), solitude ( 独思 ) & decisions ( 抉择 ), the titles of my 3 pieces in this Autumn Thoughts series.
Title: Contemplation (O24,SA26)
Description: Autumn is a season of change, with nature seemingly determined to depart from spring with a climax of its most glorious colours before retreating to bitter winter. It is also a period that provokes the most conflicting emotions. Contemplation is the 1st work in my Autumn Thoughts series and exhibited at the inaugural alfresco art fair @ clifford square from 30 Oct~1 Nov 09. 2009.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 45 x 45cm.
Price: SOLD.
Title: Solitude (O25,SA27)
Description: The second work in my Autumn Thoughts series. Aloneness with one's thoughts is the theme of this piece. 2009.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 45cm.
Title: Decisions (O26,SA28)
Description: Autumn Thoughts series. The inevitable need to find meaning and resolution in our thoughts is the central theme behind this piece. 2009.Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 45cm.
Price: SOLD.
7 comments:
anna jasmin said...
This painting (Contemplation) attracts, and I am happy it does. It possess a certain awe. Love looking at it!
jeffrey said...
I like the lighter shades in Solitude - kind of resonates with the theme how the colours of life start fading away when autumn beckons, don't you think? =)
beibei said...
like Contemplation and Decisions. Stronger Autumn Colors for me. I love Autumn too..那多事的秋。
jiayi said...
I like Solitude as well. 喜欢比较细腻的画作。
allison said...
Beautiful painting (Contemplation miniwork) (I just got it framed and hung and love it) and a great seller. Thank you!
janet said...
Just wanted to let you know that I received your painting (Solitude miniwork) yesterday.. Safe and sound, I love it!!
melissa forcier said...
Really beautiful!! (Contemplation painting)
The reference photo for this piece was taken on the famous 100-mile Klondike Highway from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, paralleling the White Pass Trail of the 1897-98 Klondike Gold Rush. I love this shot because it shows the winding road flanked by tumbling autumn slopes with majestic snow-laden mountains interpersed in clouds looming ahead. Everything folds into a kaleidoscopic centre where the highway appears to dip into a lake, hinting at the drama and spectacle that lays ahead.
I did the watercolour piece at a time when I was experimenting with watercolours, which I learned to be an unforgiving medium when it came to mistakes. However, I was really pleased with the nuanced effects I could achieve for the clouds interplay with the mountains. Later when I moved back to oil and started using painting knife, I decided to try this piece in a different mood. I had been trying to learn colour theory from artbooks which somehow stifled my inspiration, so this piece was a happy comeback explosion of sorts for my colourful palette. In the end, I have 2 works on the same scene but varying in medium and moods - one bold and glorious, the other subdued and pensive - echoing respectively the sweeping events of the grand epic adventure that was the Klondike Gold Rush and the poignant poetic side of the individual human stories.
The oil piece will be displayed at the 6 perspectEVEs exhibition from 17 ~ 28 August 2009 at The Art Loft @ Volvo.
Title: Seasons ~ Autumn Crescendo (O8)
Description: On the Klondike Highway from Alaska to Yukon. 2008.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 73 x 60cm.
Price: SOLD.
Watercolour Autumn Highway (W1) 41x32cm: S$80 (USD62).
2 comments:
alice said...This is gorgeous!
judy said...
Your use of color adds excitement to your work! I love your treatment of the mountain scape in Autumn Crescendo and the lovely Winter Wonderland.
I have a penchant for using moody reference photos with muted colours for my paintings because they give free rein to my imagination and I am not so influenced or constrained by the local colours. I am also a believer that a painting should not copy the original photo or scene slavishly, or I may as well take a photograph instead. In any case, my photos are works in their own right for that medium, at least I think so ;p As a result, I am not a realist painter and have strong leanings towards Impressionists and post-Impressionists styles.
So it was with this particular piece that my feelings of delight and wonder translates into a canvas of fantasy colours for a beautiful winter scene that I woke up to from my tent whilst on a trek in the Himalayas during a memorable adventure to the remote kingdom of Bhutan. Winter Wonderland aptly describes my bursting sense of joy and happiness like a child discovering a treasure then. It is thus the name for my painting as well as my photo, different they may look visually but encompassing the same magical emotions that I had felt and wanted so much to convey and share.
The painting took part in my art space's 2nd Juried Show on 25 ~ 27 Mar 2008 and was displayed at the 6 perspectEVEs exhibition on 4 ~ 28 Aug 2009 at The Art Loft @ Volvo.
Title: Seasons ~ Winter Wonderland (O7)
Description: Inspired by a beautiful winter scene one morning on the Druk Path Trek in Bhutan, this piece delights with its fantasy colours, evoking the feelings of joy and wonder of a child discovering a treasure. 2006.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 60 x 50cm.
SOLD.
5 comments:
jeffrey said...
I like Winter Wonderland
karel said...
Personally like the piece named Winter Wonderland
gavin said...
amazing artwork.....loved the winter stuff
judy said...
Your use of color adds excitement to your work! I love your treatment of the mountain scape in Autumn Crescendo and the lovely Winter Wonderland.
sorin apostolescu said...
Beautiful artwork !!!
