Birds flew over the Pagoda St nest, Secret Garden & SG50

The week of 23-29 March 2015 has been an emotional one for my fellow countrymen, mourning the departure of a great one whom we owe an indelible debt whatever may be said about the man. The saying that his monument is everywhere is probably something that fully hit the national conscience of many of us only now upon his passing. 

Ironically, I rarely paint Singapore, because it is simply too close to heart. And I always used to think, why is there a need to capture in images, what I already know so well and feel so strongly about, albeit mixed feelings? So my focus has always been on my wanderings, where I am but a transient passer-by to foreign lands, and will need the images to remember my feelings by when I grow old one day, sitting on that rocking chair reminiscing on my life's journey in this world ;p  But I am digressing. 

I have to admit I started painting Singapore again recently only because SG50 is the 'latest fashion', so to speak, for artistic outlet. But I am glad I did. I still stuck to material that strike an emotional chord with me, even if I have to go out and find it in our hot sweltering weather. And I do not really care if people recognise the place or not, as I was never a realist painter in the first place. There are plenty of good artists out there who can record landscape details for posterity. For me, art is and has always been about a personal emotional expression. 

Title: Birds flew over the Pagoda St nest (O120) 
Description: Whimsical painting of birds on a lamppost with festive red Chinese lanterns, over a plethora of colourful stalls tentage in Pagoda Street, a charming, touristy street market in Singapore Chinatown. SG50 Series. 
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

Dimensions: 61 x 46cm. 

Title: Secret Garden (O124) 
Description: Blue Victorian whimsical painting inspired by a beautiful pavilion by Swan Lake at the Singapore Botanical Gardens when birds came a-chirping before the dreamy backdrop of a sculpture of swans in flight. SG50 Series. 
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

Dimensions: 61 x 46cm. 

Title: A House at Katong (O123) 
Description: Expressionist painting rendering of an old house compound in Katong, a charming residential district in east Singapore with Peranakan (people of mixed Chinese and Malay heritage) origins. SG50 Series. 
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

Dimensions: 61 x 46cm. 

Title: Tree Tapestry (O125) 
Description: Bright orange red abstract painting of a blue tree, in a myriad swirl of tapestry like floral emblems, inspired by lyrical tree branches and leaves by a pond at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. SG50 Series. 
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

Dimensions: 61 x 46cm. 

Purchase at: yen.artfire.com 
* Birds flew over the Pagoda St nest & Secret Garden are currently on exhibition ~ Mosaic, an art show @ Volvo Art Loft, 2-28 April.

Rooftop

Been a while since I painted my homeland. This orange monochrome piece is inspired by an abstract picture of light and smoke I had created from a chance photograph I took from a bus window while it briefly stopped outside the Singapore Lasalle College of the Arts.  The morning sunlight reflecting brightly on the roof caught my eye, as well as the atmospheric effect of fumes being sprayed at the time creating a Chinese landscape atmosphere out of the overhanging trees, and that was how I developed the image. 

The composition of triangular and other shapes was perfect in the original picture and the only difference I made was the figure of the old man which became a Chinese long haired woman in my painting.  Not sure why but I painted most of this work outdoors at a myartspace market event on Dhoby Ghaut Green and somehow amidst all the murmurings of the bystander public in the background, the figure change became just right for this poignant piece ;p

Title: Rooftop (O116) 
Description: Orange monochrome impressionist painting inspired by morning sunlight reflecting off the rood top of a building at Singapore Lasalle College of the Arts grounds. 
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas. 

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