Launch of Lautan Tiga exhibition at Art Village, Bangsar South

Zainal presents a painting to Bingley for officiating the Lautan 3 exhibition.

Looking on are Suhaimi and Tuan Azhar

Yesterday, Bingley Sim, personal friend and art lover and art collector, officiated the Lautan 3 3-man show at Art Village Bangsar South.

In his speech, he said he was "a small-time art collector," but I beg to differ. His enthusiasm for Malaysian art has made a huge impact in the lives of many Malaysian artists, myself included.

His wife, Fatima, their children, Bella, Iza and Imen (please correct my spelling!), and Bingley himself are avid fans of art. Their support and encouragement has helped many artists to move forward in developing their works and careers in art.

Thank you, Bingley, for giving us your precious time to officiate the Lautan 3 exhibition. And thank you to everyone for sharing your Saturday with us and to enjoy the paintings we have ourselves enjoyed producing!

I also want to record my appreciation to Kenny Teng of Art Village for giving us this opportunity to showcase our works at his premises.

For pictures, go to our Facebook page.

Lautan Tiga Exhibition

(please click for larger image)

Dear friends,

I'm happy to announce my upcoming exhibition "Lautan Tiga" at Art Village, opening on 21 November, 4pm (and continues till 13 Dec). I'd like to personally invite you to the launch and share my latest works with you.

The exhibition is personally something that I've wanted to do with two of my close friends, Suhaimi (Mie Pak Lah in this blog) and Tuan Azhar, my buddies from ITM "those days." I'm glad for this opportunity to exhibit with them finally!

Moreover, the exhibition will be launched by Mr. Bingley, who has been a great supporter of the Malaysian art industry, and who has encouraged me in the development of my work.

I'm also thankful to Mr. Kenny from Art Village for giving us the opportunity and space to exhibit at his chic new gallery in the esteemed neighbourhood of Bangsar South. (View map)

As to why we've named the show "Lautan Tiga," well, you will just have to be there at the show to find out!

Please come by and say "hi" to me...I look forward to seeing my old friends and new acquaintainces there!

Lastly, please spread the word. For Facebook promo, click here.

Work in progress

Funny how the year 2009 started out quite bleakly with the world economic recession hanging over our heads and art business everywhere suffering a slow period. And now, here I am in the last quarter of the year running on 5th gear!

The most recent news is that I've managed to secure the house next door to be turned into my studio/gallery. Right now, I'm busy supervising the contractors to do up the place a bit, i.e. turning the garage into my work area, minor spruce-up works inside so that it will be a presentable art gallery, making my work-bench, etc.

Over the next few weeks/months, I will be installing the lights, getting the curtains, designing and making the storage equipment, and making my own simple furniture and minor storage accessories.

At the same time, I'm juggling my time to finish up some works for my up-coming exhibition in Bangsar which will hopefully happen in November.

And as the maiden exhibition at my studio, which I've simply called "The Art Room," I'm planning a show with some friends of the Penang drawings we made during the marathon. Hopefully that will be ready before the year-end.

It's quite a headache, but I don't mind this little pain knowing that there is an outcome to look forward to.

And so, who says an artist's life is one of leisurely pursuits? Sigh...

The 1st Malaysian International Drawing Marathon 2009

(At Suhaimi's house before we left for Penang)

(My drawing) (Suhaimi's drawing)

(Tengku Sabri's drawing)

(Tengku Sabri preparing to draw)

(Professor Fauzan Umar standing in as model)

(One of the participants of the marathon)

(Deep in discussion)

(Suhaimi and Lennon)

(The Cathay Hotel on Leith Street)

(Plumber on the move)

I am proud to say that I took part in the 1st Malaysian International Drawing Marathon 2009, the inaugural programme hosted by the School of Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang from 5 to 7 October 2009.

It was partly a male-bonding session with my friends and I who drove up together in my trusted station wagon. There was me, Lennon, Tengku Sabri and Mie Pak Lah, all excited, partly because of the drawing marathon, to meet my lecturers and artist friends, my art collector, and also because we wanted to make it a "food marathon," too!

It was literally a drawing marathon where some 20-plus artists stayed up the entire duration for 72 hours to draw. Drawing is one of the first things they teach you in art school, and it forms the foundation of your artistic strength in later years. It is so basic that many art students today disregard its importance.

For me, the drawing marathon was a welcome break from my paintings. Besides the invigorating exercises that pushed me to explore my drawing skills, it also rejuvenated my spirit in making art.

Being at the University, meeting Professor Fauzan Umar who first taught me drawing at ITM all those years ago, being in the company of other artists furiously sketching away -- these all combined to create an atmosphere filled with creative energy. Being there was truly an inspiring experience and sparked my ideas and motivation to create and explore the possibilities in my work.

It was a shame that the outdoors of Penang was not utilised much. Instead, the drawing sessions were held indoors (with the exception of the first day when we had a scheduled outdoor sketching session), with settings that immediately brought back memories of art classes from my college days!

I look forward to a yearly installment of this marathon, and hope that next time the organiser will encourage participants to freely explore Penang. After all, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and every street, every corner that you turn, you can feel the vibration and the energy from years of accumulated history, heritage and trade. Now that would make for some interesting output!

And as a little something new (because I always believe in lifelong learning and progress), I compiled the photos above in a little video. Enjoy it!

For the love of art (The Edge, 3 August 2009)

This article appeared in The Edge (Options) 3 August 2009.

Cultural Index: For the love of art

Full Circle

This article appeared in Accountants Today (August 2009), written by Anis Rozaimah Ramli. Please double click on each image to read the story.

Never a dull moment around here

I feel very bad for neglecting this space for so many months, but truthfully, with so many things going on in my life recently, and the puasa and raya festivities, I find that I hardly have time to update this blog.

My wife has been on a long leave from her job and we have been spending a lot of time at home together with Musa. It is nice to see her spend her time leisurely with me, instead of rushing off for work at the break of dawn and only to see her late at night.

My kids have also returned from their school in Jakarta for their annual holidays, and they, too, have kept me preoccupied. We recently went on a holiday together to Langkawi, all nine of us, and it was a very memorable trip for all.

Despite the demands on my time, I have also been working non-stop the past few months to produce works and to paint based on my trips this year.

In fact, there is an upcoming exhibition I am preparing for -- a three-man show with my good friends and artist comrades, Suhaimi Abdul Wahab (Mie Pak Lah) and Tuan Azhar. It's called Tiga Lautan and will be organised by Art Village in mid November. At least, that's the plan...one that I look forward to very much. It's meaningful to me because Mie and Tuan share the same feelings that I have on art and on the whole matter of "why we paint" and hopefully, the exhibition will materialise to enable us to share our feelings with others.

Finally, I'm taking part in an international drawing marathon organised by Universiti Sains Malaysia's art faculty. I'm also excited about this one because I've managed to rally up the interest of fellow artist friends to take part in this event with me up in Penang. As I understand it, the event will bring in artists from all over the country, and the world, for a gathering to do drawings with fellow artists. It starts this Monday, and Lennon, Tengku Sabri, Mie Pak Lah and myself are driving up for it.

My time is fully occupied these past few months and the next, for sure...I will be in 5th gear, moving things along...there are many things I want to record in this blog, but they can wait for the mean time.

And oh, almost forgot...God willing, I will be occupying the house next door very soon, and make it into my studio and gallery. My wife will be happy to have my paintings, easels, canvas and brushes and paints (which are now lying haphazardly on the floor of our current abode) out of the way, for sure...

Rolex and art

(Above: Waterlilies at Janda Baik, Acrylic, 2006)

When I was a kid in school, I remember we always had to write an essay or karangan about our hobbies. Mine, of course, was painting. Friends would write about collecting stamps, catching fish, playing marbles, etc.

These days, I think our kids' hobbies are very different from my generation's. Theirs are probably more advanced and high-tech due to the new invention of things!

Recently, I got to know a new art collector based in the north. Besides collecting paintings, he is also an avid collector of rare and vintage watches, and specifically Rolexes! From his website, I learned about the history of this fine brand of watch and why even to this day, a Rolex is an esteemed timepiece that people are willing to pay thousands for as an investment or a much envied accessory.

Of course, many want to own a Rolex simply for the name and prestige that it commands today. But, for those like this Penang collector, his love for the Rolex is not only about the brand, but about the passion, fine workmanship and the commitment that goes into each vintage piece.

I hope this means that he collects my paintings, such as the one above, for the same reasons! Hehe...

Janda Baik sunset

Last week, we went to install a few paintings at Kevin and Dwina's house. Their main "feature" wall was red in colour, something that was of concern to the couple when they were looking for a painting.

But when we hung "The Janda Baik Sunset" against it, the red wall framed it quite nicely.

This particular piece was my wife's favourite because we both have a certain fondness for Janda Baik. It's one of those places that we used to frequent on the weekends for a quick getaway. My in-laws have a nice little apartment at Bukit Tinggi, and we have friends who live there, too, operating a little chalet business.

It's amazing that in just about an hour from the congestion of KL, we can already be amidst nature. Being partly in the highlands, Janda Baik is very cooling in the daytime, and extremely cold at night!

Like everywhere else, development is encroaching upon this tiny village, but there are still some very nice places there, with the rivers and streams, the thick jungle, the hills and valleys and wildlife there.

My wife wrote a poem about the place once, and I'd like to post it here...but will have to search for it first. She wrote about being at peace, the solitude there, the colours of nature -- a magenta-coloured dragonly -- and about doing absolutely nothing!

UPDATE: The poem by my wife:

The dream of pink dragonflies

We sat there by the pond

counting dragonflies

that flitted here to there

on paper-thin wings

of red, magenta-pink,

blue and gold.

I had never seen pink

ones before, I said,

Only dreamt them up

in my dreams.

But sitting there

by the water's edge

with tadpoles

swimming at my feet

and you lounging at my side,

it came to me,

-- a quiet smile --

my dreams had just

come true.

Readings

Our house is littered with books everywhere...in the living room, under the table, by the bedside table, and of course, in our throne room!

Even from a very young age, my son has shown a love for books. He is currently into Malay rhymes like "Aci, Aci buka pintu," "Can mali can," and "Suriram." The blue book (pic above, top left), "That's Not My Robot" is a particular favourite at the moment.

My wife buys books for all of us. Her recent book presents to me include The Artist Revealed (pic above) which she got during the Malaysian book fest at PWTC a few months ago. It features a short story about major artists through the years as well as their self-portraits. I think she is enjoying reading about them because unlike other art books, this one features the artists on a personal level and talks less about their works. She particularly loves reading about the female impressionists such as Berthe Morisot and the wealthy American artist, Mary Cassatt, who were both supportive of and influential to the artistic development of their Impressionist male counterparts.

Also, I think she is secretly smitten by the outwardly-gruff Edouard Manet!

The book isn't of great photo quality but it gives a glimpse of how all the artists were friends with or related to each other, and how they supported each other.

She also borrowed a book for me from her office library written by Ilse Noor, which features beautiful prints of Malaysia as well as some poetic writings of her travels around Malaysia. The book was commissioned by Shell.

So, these are some of the books we are reading now...although most times, we do tandem reading of several books at once!