Convening with the Masters, Again!

Starry Night over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh

I was first introduced to the art of the great masters by my sister when I was barely ten years old. Those days, we did not have glossy art books or the internet. My sister's precious collection consisted of a small pocket sized book of works by the great impressionists, another one of Picasso, and a collection of watercolours by Dufy. These little books lit a fire in my heart and I have been in love with the impressionists ever since.

I can hardly contain my excitement whenever I visit an exhibition of impressionist paintings. I had the good fortune of visiting such an exhibition twice in the last couple of years. Last April, I was in Canberra for  Masterpieces from Paris. My friend and I had to queue for hours before we could go in. The highlight of that show for most people including me, was undoubtedly Van Gogh's "Starry Night over the Rhone". Yesterday, less than a year since, I saw this masterpiece again! This time, no crowds, and I could linger before it for as long as I please. The place - National Museum of Singapore, the exhibition "Dreams & Reality" Masterpieces of painting, drawing & photography from Musee D'Orsay Paris.

I feel so privileged, to be convening with these great masters of art! When I was a little girl of ten thumbing through the pages of those pocket books, I never imagined that one day I would be viewing those masterpieces face to face, not just once in a lifetime, but sometimes even repeatedly!

Disappearing Heritage

I am revisiting the land of my birth. However, the old house where I spent most of my childhood and youth has been replaced by an expressway. My old primary school has relocated to a brand new building. So has my junior college. The buildings where I spent most of my university days are either gone or have been converted to serve other functions. The hotel where I had my wedding reception has been demolished and replaced by a condominium. Only the church where I got married still stands. Even the last home where I resided before I left for Australia has been completely rebuilt and looks nothing like the house we had painstakingly designed and built. In the news recently, I read that the cemetery where my grandmother was buried will be exhumed soon.

Countless new buildings have sprung up in the last few years. There are now twice as many people in the country as when I left. There is a palpable sense of discontent in the locals I have opportunity to speak with, especially disgruntled cab drivers. Everyone is busy, and busy people do get impatient. I had the pleasure of savouring the delights of hawker food that I missed so much recently. However, I discovered that if I hesitated about what I wanted to order, or did not have my cash for payment promptly, I met with impatient looks on the faces of the vendors. I was reprimanded for giving one "poh piah"lady two 5 cent coins because she said it would impede her business counting small change!

Here, one can buy any conceivable manufactured thing under the sun, whatever the budget. I had a lot of fun browsing in a two dollar store selling Japanese goods. There are mega complexes of shopping malls with enticing array of goods to capitalise on festive shopping. I watched a programme on TV last night about how the Bhutanese people are fighting a losing battle to maintain their happiness quotient as tourism expands and the country's youth are increasingly exposed to foreign influences and the consequent hunger for material goods. Consumerism carried to the extreme is a threat to happiness!

It makes me wonder, what price progress?

Embracing Solitude & Revisiting Old Places

A Clinical Psychologist friend once told me that there are two kinds of people: people who recharge by being with other people, and those who do so by being alone. I belong to the latter category. I need a minimum time alone in order to function. This week, I have the pleasure of enjoying my own company, and having a whole house to myself. I have the luxury of waking when I please, eating when I please, and going where I please. This is my recharge time.

I am back in Singapore, getting reacquainted with the land of my birth. Things have changed a lot since I left. For one thing there are now close to 6 million people. It is a vibrant metropolis of sleek shopping centres and gleaming new skyscrapers. In the next few weeks, I hope to revisit the places where I used to go outdoor painting. More to come....

Art Class 2011

Landscape by M.M.W.

Niagara Falls by B. H.

I have finished teaching the first Beginners' Watercolour class and Creative Journey class at Art Shed today. To celebrate I brought along an orange and ricotta tea cake to class. It is an extraordinarily hot day but at least the air-conditioning is working, and we can paint in cool comfort. I still remember the first class, where being in a new studio, I was not even aware that the air-conditioning was not on and wondered why it was so stuffy. Eight weeks have flown by, and today we can celebrate what the students have accomplished. I am very pleased, and like a proud parent, want to show off their work:

Beginners Watercolour Class at Art Shed

Portrait of Angela

This is my friend Angela in her lovely summer dress. Sitting there against the light with an old fashioned spinning wheel in front of her, she looks beautiful and serene as she kindly posed for me. I had much pleasure painting her and the light around her.

Spinning Ladies

This week, I did some sketches of the ladies at the spinning group I join regularly.

I did two sketches from life, and the rest from photographs. These sketches are small, done on watercolour postcards. I wanted to do these little portraits as a way of expressing my gratitude to this group of lovely people who had welcomed me with such warmth and generosity that I have rarely encountered.  

Painting from Photographs

the photo

the painting

At my watercolour class today, I did a demonstration of how to paint a landscape using a photograph as reference. As the human eye is quite different from the camera lens, I have stretched out the areas in the distant horizon to give more visual interest to the composition of the piece. The result is quite satisfying.

Daphne of the Bush

Daphne, Raku Glazed Sculpture by Artist Bee

I made this sculpture of a kneeling headless female figure some time ago. I decided to do away with arms and gave her wings instead. After it was glazed and fired, I placed a branch of gum leaves onto it. My daughter at once said it reminded her of Daphne, the nymph in Greek mythology who turned into a tree when pursued by Apollos. This piece is currently being exhibited at the City of Stirling Art awards exhibition in Cedric Street, Stirling, WA. 

Art Awards

Last night I attended the City of Stirling Art Awards Opening with my family. My daughter and I had submitted entries - she, a drawing and I, a sculpture. There were over 300 entries and 287 pieces were in the exhibition. There were many artworks of excellence, though we all had our own favourites. Nor did we agree with the judges about the most deserving pieces. In the end, beauty does indeed reside in the eyes of the beholder, and to each his own. I am, however, impressed with the overall standard of the works displayed. I am particularly drawn to the winning work in the drawing and sculpture categories. 


As a mother, I am immensely proud of my daughter's work. To me, she is a winner. So here I share it with the world:

Tryptych by J. Huang

Gone Spinning

I have been spinning. Not the extreme sport, but spinning yarn. I was an inadvertent spinner (as explained in my spinning blog). That, in addition to my current art mural project and classes, is taking up a fair bit of my time. It's all good! I have not been posting here as often as I hoped, but I will do my best. Today, I am pleased to feature my Boab Tree sculpture:

Boab Tree Sculpture by Artist Bee 2011
(Raku Clay)

Art time

I am going back to my sculpture class again tomorrow. Not teaching, but learning. I enjoy being in class as a student as much as being a teacher. I love learning new things. Although this is a really busy period, the only way I can get to do some art for myself is to attend those classes. For three whole hours I can make art uninterrupted by distractions. I look forward to that time with anticipation that I can get my creative juices flowing in a pleasant environment with like-minded people. My project from last term is still uncompleted, and I look forward to working on it again. In the past I have brought work home and found it difficult to finish except with very special effort to circumvent the continual distractions of phone calls, meal preparation, housework, and the relentless attention seeking antics of my children, both two legged and four legged ones. For me, class time is art time for now. I look forward to the day when art time can be most of the time! For now, at least I have three hours a week to spoil my artist self.

Part of my Ongoing sculpture project "Changing Hands"

Crafting words

It has been a really exhausting weekend, and I have been feverishly working on a grant application to be submitted this week. I heave a sigh of relief as it is now completed. Crafting words for an art grant is an art in itself, one that I have not had practice for some years now. Unfortunately, there are many times when the words become more important than the visual elements in the making of art. This brings to mind Tom Wolfe's book, "The Painted Word" , a good read which I highly recommend.


What I saw before me was the critic-in-chief of The New York Times saying: In looking at a painting today, "to lack a persuasive theory is to lack something crucial." I read it again. It didn't say "something helpful" or "enriching" or even "extremely valuable." No, the word was crucial.

In short: frankly, these days, without a theory to go with it, I can't see a painting.  

(exerpt from the book)

As for me, I still think a picture is worth a thousand words!

Rose Reflections Watercolour by Artist Bee

Plein Air Painting

   

There is no greater pleasure than painting outdoors. I had the privilege of joining an outdoor painting class when I first attended art school in Singapore, under the tutelage of a very fine artist, Mr. Tong, who was a great proponent of plein air painting. He brought us to many scenic and interesting places. We painted at the harbour, the port, the riverside, from street corners to rural kampongs. We went for painting retreats in fishing villages and towns in Malaysia, and even made a painting trip to China, which remains a most memorable experience for me to this day. I am permanently hooked to plein air painting. Nowadays, I am not able to do this as often as I would like. Finding this photograph of me painting waterlilies (above) at the Botanic Gardens in Singapore many years ago makes me yearn to do this again, soon! 

Waterlilies, Watercolour on paper by Artist Bee, plein air.