Oil painting of construction landscape; a transient space and disappearing scene with dumpster

A Slope Still

 I'm drawn to rustic, back-to-basics, disappearing spaces. This is one of the vacant spots in Tampines, north-eastern Singapore, like so many others, that's being urbanised. I pass by here at least once or twice a week and was lucky to capture this dumpster parked right there.

A Slope Still: Oil on panel / 6x8in (15x20cm)

It is a sleepy little scene with little activity, unlike the symbolism of  'Foreign Elements: Supremely Hazy Talks'.

Painting of Pasir Ris Beach Park

'To the Beach'
Oil on panel
6x6 inches

This end of the Pasir Ris beach park is a 5-minute walk from my home in Singapore. On weekday afternoons this 70-hectare, 3.2km park is a quiet spot to visit, but it gets crowded on weekends. Barely 2 hours after I began working on it, the rain came to chase me home.

Cityscape painting over newsprint of work in progress and Singapore Migrant Workers, to mark International Migrants Day

Foreign Elements: Supremely Hazy Talks

A shout-out to International Migrants Day (Dec 18).  Made during a period of thick haze caused by environmental pollution.  

 It is painted over newspaper - Banglar Kanthar, Singapore's only Bengali newspaper, affixed over canvas. Its editor Mr AKM Mohsin started the newspaper as part of his dedication to, and work and support for low-wage Bangladeshi workers, his countrymen.

Foreign Elements: Supremely Hazy Talks. Oil on newspaper-covered linen. 18 x 24 in

The title refers to the pollutants from agricultural fires in Indonesia attributed to illegal slash-and-burn vegetation-clearing practices by farmers. 

It also alludes to the then uncertainties of high-level Indonesia-Singapore haze talks. 

And, oh it's a nod, too, to the former Singapore Supreme Court Building (now National Gallery) that just happens to be in the background :) The green-topped gallery sits across St. Andrew's Road from the Padang , its lower structure blocked by Singapore Recreation Club.

I've come by this way hundreds of times on weekends to have coffee at nearby cafes. This scene was easy to capture accurately - only a few reference photos were needed for this work - the traffic was light that Sunday afternoon. This was quite the perfect capture for me: roadworks with safety-vested workers, traffic cones and lego bricks-like safety barriers, sand piles and the ubiquitous yellow cat crane that are sights that never fail to quicken my pulse; and that make me, a Singaporean, feel my homeland is a perpetual work-in-progress - which in many senses it is of course.
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International Migrants Day is observed in many countries. The day was appointed by the UN General Assembly in December 2000 to acknowledge the large and increasing number of migrants in the world. A decade earlier the GA had adopted the international convention on the protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families.

Recognition of migrant workers' plight has led to dissemination of information on human rights and fundamental political freedoms of migrants, and the sharing of experiences and practices to ensure the protection of these vulnerable workers. All are steps forward.

Meanwhile their journey continues....
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Beyond the picture:

To the right along Beach Road is grand dame Raffles Hotel, on the left is another heritage structure, the Non-Commissioned Officers' (NCO) Club. It was among the cluster of pre-war buildings, four of which have been gazetted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for conservation.

The site was under a $3.5 billion redevelopment as part of  South Beach, a mixed-use property that includes residences, offices, F&B outlets, and a 654-room hotel designed by Philippe Starck.

Beach Road used to run along the coast and was among the first roads to be developed in land reclamation in the mid 19th century. So the expanse of ground from South Beach to where Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and other iconic landmarks stand had been open sea. 




 

It's looking a lot like Christmas, with oil paintings, canvas prints ...

I'm all set for a Christmas fair at Raffles Town Club -- seven hours from now!

Here is a video snippet of my set up at the fair:
Raffles Town Club Christmas Fair

Apart from my oil paintings, I also have canvas prints of several paintings. I've been thinking a lot about offering such reproductions to those who'd love to own a piece of my art but would rather not pay the price of an original. Or those who'd go for the originals except they are no longer available.

     'A Tropical Christmas'.  Oil on linen. NFS.
This stone lantern was in the garden of our rented home for 8 years. The owners passed it on to us when we moved out. This was a temporary scene from my backyard, the poinsettia didn't stay in the sun for long. I recently found out those are poinsettia leaves.                                                                                  

Artists can reproduce for sale their artworks because copyright of original works of art remains with the artist even after the sale. Unless otherwise contracted, only physical ownership -- not copyright -- is transferred. So artists who have spent years honing their craft, are continuously studying to get better at it, and having spent countless hours on the piece that will go to only one person, may choose to sell prints.

Prints help to spread awareness of an artist's work and generate income to pay the bills and replenish art supplies.



Being semi-retired from my regular editorial work, I feel free to follow all manner of my painterly persuasions rather than be bound to work only on what others wish to see. Painting 'for' others isn't always a bad thing, though. It can be challenging and good for artistic growth. And new homes await the paintings!

My difficulty lies in getting good shots of "works in progress", quite an obsession with me at times. Good reference photos are often impossible to shoot as most worksites are boarded-up, restricted spaces.

'Men at Work'.   Oil on linen. NFS.
I took some 60 shots of this scene but finally had to use a combi of several medicore ones for this little compo.

I've had my share of run-ins with site supervisors and management, as well as with security people...

Most bothersome of all -- I have a couple of thousand snaps of construction/road works but the number of  good paintings I've managed to create from them can be counted on the fingers of two hands. And with my ever-growing digital photobank of mediocre captures, I feel loaded down yet suffer delete-paralysis, determined to coax out several more works.

But I digress. I've made 1 - 3 copies of each of a few paintings for sale and as giveaways, mostly of those originals I couldn't bear to part with.

I like the idea of eventually having archival-quality, limited edition prints, while I keep my originals. But getting the original art out of its original space may encourage the creation of more originals.

'VW Bus, Stopped'. Oil on linen.

The ABCs of copyright laws
'Who Owns the Art?'

Joo Chiat Wall Art

I first saw this gem of a corner while re-exploring Joo Chiat a couple of years ago. Intrigued by the shophouse extension and loving building design, I wished I could have taken a walk-through. I couldn't, but that's alright, the mural by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic was such a delight to behold and more than made up for it.

This is what Zacharevic said on his site --  "Singapore's reputation as one of the most law obedient countries, the response to this work was actually one of the warmest I've experienced and aside from the ticket for my inconsiderate boom-lift parking, there was no charges or interruptions of any kind."

Well, I wouldn't expect anything less! And I sincerely hope that ticket was quashed...

Penang street art and painting workshop

This oil painting was started at the premises of Khoo Kongsi Temple in Penang, Malaysia, earlier this year. Whether due to the melting heat and humidity or the temple visitors who thronged around our group from time to time that afternoon, generous with their compliments, my concentration wasn't at its best and I had to re-work the perspectives and values back home.

By George...

During the five-day plein-air painting trip organised by My Art Space, we stayed in three houses. Two of them were rustic woody structures on the premises of a fruit farm resort in Balik Pulau. The quiet town is about 8km. away from capital George Town and its heritage buildings, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The farmstay (albeit with air-conditioning;) was such a thrill for the few of us city folks who were lucky enough to get the allotment. The rest of the group took a modern three-storey house.

We sketched or painted at scenic jetties, fishing villages, a hilltop site, and amidst padi fields. The meals were delicious of course, given that Penang (like Ipoh and Malacca) is well known for its tasty and authentic Malaysian food. Our daily routine was painting, feasting, painting, feasting.. with gallery visits thrown in.

What's missing in my photos are more pix of the street art of Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian artist (b.1987). Please DO click the links if you haven't yet seen his work, which first appeared in the 2012 George Town festival. Let me blame the heat haze again (or could it be the turps inhaled?!) but I didn't think of snapping more of his realistic wall murals.

房子: The fangzi I shared with two others.

Pavilion Inspiration: We had a rollicking good karaoke time under this second woody structure.
Upstairs is a standalone (non-air con) bedroom with mosquito netting.
This Malay tropical house is a great getaway for an individual,
or a couple, or best buddies.

 Connected: Wi-fi availabiliy at the homestay host's house a short walk away.

Kitchen Stuff: Just like the old stone grinders in my garden.

Laden: Fruits were bagged to deter bugs before they had a chance to ripen.

Out-House Ablutions: loved this experience!
Though I must admit it felt a little spooky when we had to go, one dark and stormy night.

Watering Hole: Edelweiss, in a heritage building, offers spirits and respite.

Brolly Coolies: A 'shady' cafe on a jetty.

Art Fest: Cannon / Armenian streets is where much of Penang's fav street art,
among other interesting artefacts, is found --- A MUST-go.

Canned Music: From Milo and such tin cans and containers.

Focus: Honk!honk! Flanked by padi fields, some of us forgot that a road is a road and that the occasional vehicle that came along had the right of way. Maybe it's the food, the lack thereof, that being close to dinnertime;)

High View: It was very nice to paint in crispy morning air, with a cup of fragrant Penang coffee at hand .

Last Day: After BBQ the night before, with so many of us and such a lot of washing up to do (real ceramic tableware, metal cutlery and drinking glasses -- no plastics and styrofoam!) we saw but one male helper/gardener who got everything straightened, washed and sun-dried in no time at all.

Inside-Out Art Gallery: Old Hin Bus Depot is a good example of the re-use of urban space.
I believe that's a Zacharevic wall.

Last Lunch: Chinese meal laid over ubiquitous pink plastic sheet at an open-air seafood restaurant. (Clockwise from left) Stir-fried local veggies, chilly crab, braised fish fillet, braised pork in dark sauce, steamed pomfret, crispy prawns.
For drinks, we had a fermented and potent-tasting coconut nutmeg concoction, Guinness stout, and beer.
And just water, and nutmeg coconut juice, and Chinese tea.

Plank Walk: Looks rickety, but this pier is safely solid, and such a joy to traipse on, barefoot.

Penang Cousins: Fun in the sun.

Indoors: Housing an art gallery, this is a typical heritage house courtyard that is open to sunlight.

Quick Snap...before the morning's brush work.

Trunk Call: I loitered on the pretty grounds of the museum shop that sells, among other things, slivers of Chinese blue-and-white necklace pendants "salvaged from shipwrecks". Each came with a serial number as 'proof of authenticity'.

'Arrf Friends: These homestay sweeties gave us three women in the house great comfort when we heard animal howls
 (or was it only the wind?) and (to us nervous city gals) other weird sounds one rainy night.
Was it my imagination again, or did they look sad and resigned at seeing folks leave just as the bonds are being forged?
 For sure, we humans felt sad saying goodbye.

More about Zacharevic and his art:
Art is Rubbish
WideWalls
Old Hin Bus Depot.
Tails from the Lion City

Oil painting of a tropical secret garden at first light, with stepping stones over water

First Blush

First Blush
Oil on canvas
76x102 cm / 30x40 in
Sold 

Painted in 2009 and inspired by the contemplative courtyards in the tropical resorts that I have experienced. Also the 'secret gardens' within lovely Singapore homes that I visited while writing a fortnightly feature on design & architecture.

'Secret' -- and very lovely -- because these open spaces are protected from public view by high walls or thick foliage, or nestled within the house itself as an indoor-outdoor space.  There would invariably be water features, big or small, that add to the calming atmosphere.

I used a hot hue to evoke evening anticipatory passion. Or early morning delights;) ?

The courtyard view now resides with a young couple, drawn to its resemblance to one of their favourite spots in Fort Canning Park that they had stumbled upon.

May they continue to delight in joint discoveries and shared passions.