A friend said in order to achieve my dream, I need to visualise and draw it. And so I did. And painted an art store that I hope to have one day, my very own corner where I can paint and have other art activities, and hopefully be able to make a living out of it as well.
Yes, a dream that is hard to fulfil in a very urbanised very crowded very expensive city called Singapore. Oh I should focus on the positives :) And so I looked for motifs on the Internet (where else) that I would like for my shop - an artsy street location, a Shanghainese lady portrait will do quite nice for signage art, a laid back wooden feel with lotsa little embellishments like a stained glass window, peranakan tiles decor, an antique gramophone, a chalkboard duster sign, and of course, plentiful art and knick-knacks.
Sigh. Now all I need is the dough. Yes, I am working hard for it! In the meantime, am going back to a bit of my dark expressionist tendencies for a piece inspired by Japan Kyoto's Philosopher's Path. Those who have been will recognize the emblems of fishing teddies and the carnival carriage. It's a beautiful walk and one that invokes creativity and imagination, so ask not what the painting means, just feel and interpret as you will.
Merry X'mas & may all your dreams come true :)
Title: Untitled 7 (A48)
Description: Warm vintage painting of cool art shop with little girl and sleeping kitten, under a So Artsy sign and Chinese woman portrait, a quirky artist's haven with painting easel that is inspired by my dream art corner. 2015.
Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com
Title: Untitled 8 (A49)
Description: Whimsical fishing teddy bears painting with sleeping cat, dog & rabbit on carriage, inspired by Japan Kyoto Philosopher's Path, in bluesy vintage expressionist style. 2015.
Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
SOLD.
At least, this is what this Untitled series is turning out to be ;p It's a new direction in my art, and I am excited about it.
Instead of images from my travels which I have been doing for years, I began to paint pictures from my heart, a suggestion from a friend.
So I started to imagine scenes from whatever comes to mind.. nuggets, unknown places, memories, feelings, symbols, dreams.. and culled for materials to thread it altogether.
Somehow, the theme of being a child again just seems to linger. But I do not know what to call the pieces as they seem to invoke different things to different people, and even to me. So for the first time in my painting journey, I am leaving them Untitled.
Title: Untitled 1 (A42)
Description: Whimsical expressionist painting of little girl chancing upon a dog in a nameless city with rose symbol and streakng light in a dreamy surreal nightscape. 2015.
Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
Title: Untitled 2 (A43)
Description: Whimsical painting of a little girl and a cat reaching out for a fly away hot air balloon with a birdcage in tow, trailed by roses, angels and vintage symbols. 2015.
Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
Title: Untitled 3 (A44)
Description: Impressionist painting of train station in surreal bright orange lights whilst a little girl in pink and her teddy bear stand awaiting. 2015.
Medium: Acrylic on Ready-to-Hang Canvas.
Dimensions: 76 x 76cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com
Using an old canvas from a piece that didn't work out but which gives a green-tinged colorful underlayer perfect for my red theme, I created this piece in one sitting as everything just seemed to come together perfectly.
Tian Zi Fang is an arts and crafts enclave in the French Concession area of Shanghai, China. It is also my favourite place there, with a burgeoning arts and crafts enclave developed from a renovated residential area of traditional Shanghainese Shikumen (石库门) style buildings that is still teeming with everyday neighbourhood life, along with many small crafts shops, fancy eateries, trendy art studios, wires, pipes, lanterns sticking everywhere, but still amazingly coming together to give a unique eclectic buzz to the place. I love it ! As I painted away, combining quirky elements here and there from the bits and pieces of snapshots that I had taken including the black cat, it was like a re-living of my exploration of the narrow alleyways and quaint corners of Tian Zi Fang all over again.
The composition is not of an actual street but is a jigsaw puzzle of sorts, of my fond memories of the whimsical atmosphere of Tian Zi Fang. If you do visit as I did, you may spot an item or two of my painting there. Have fun exploring as I did :)
Title: Tian Zi Fang 田子坊 (O89)
Description: A colourful whimsical painting inspired by the lively streets of Tian Zi Fang, an arts and craft enclave developed from a residential area in the French Concession area of Shanghai. China 2013.
Medium: Oil on Ready-to-Hang Canvas with sides painted magenta.
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 4cm.
Purchase at: yen.artfire.com
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!
