Red Delicious

Oil on canvas
6 x 8 inches (15 x 20 cm)

Old Beloved Brass

Oil on canvas
Reserved

I'm a sucker for lost-and-found objects. But these aren't mine, they belong to Mr Wee @Waterloo St. I couldn't have asked for a more interesting composition.

Manuka

Commissioned work

A pear that stands

 

A Great Pair

Oil on canvas

8 x 8 inches (20 x 20 cm)

VIRGIL: "To start with, a pear has an unusual shape. It's round and fat on the bottom, but tapered on top... A pear has no buttocks. Its bottom is round."

BEATRICE: "So how does it stay up?"

VIRGIL: "It doesn't. A pear either dangles from a tree or lies on its side... 

The crunchiness of a pear is far more appealing. It is giving and fragile. To eat a pear is akin to...kissing."

VIRGIL: "Oh, my. It sounds so good."

-- Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel.

Fragrance (frangippani)

Oil on 2 square of gallery-wrapped canvas.

 

 In Asian cultures, the Frangipani tree is associated with mysticism. The tree is said to provide refuge to spirits and the flower is commonly used in Hindu religious ceremonies. 

Polynesian women wear the flowers to express their relationship status -- over the right ear if they are single and over the left if they are 'taken' or in a committed relationship.

The tree thrives even in hard, inhospitable earth. Its gnarled, leafless stem belies its ability to soon become lush and sprouting fragrant blooms. Hence the Frangipani is also symbolic of rebirth and regeneration. 

Doors of a Chinese courtyard house

Sold

<Strange, the image keeps appearing sideways..>
I painted this one night while seated in an armchair and wearing pyjamas, without a painting apron, certain that if I was extra careful I wouldn't get paint on myself. Well, I was wrong, and not for the first time too.

The reference shot was one of many photos I had taken while holidaying in Beijing with three fellow museum docentss. Such ancient doors open out to a hutong (胡 同) or alley. Behind the alley walls are siheyuan (四 合 院) -- traditional courtyard houses with indoor gardens in which generations of families have lived.

During the Ming Dynasty, aristocrats and families of high social standing and importance lived in larger, more elaborate siheyuan around and closer to the Forbidden City. The commoners and others lived further away and occupied smaller and simpler siheyuan.

In the course of my journalism career, I've been fortunate to have visited some amazing local homes fashioned after the traditional Chinese courtyard house. A number are built right to the edges of the plot. An open garden/courtyard is ensconced in the centre, a step from every living space of the home.

Entering such a house from the street is like walking into another exterior, albeit one that's partially roofed, calming and private.

Distress

The almost-antique fire extinguisher that I loved mysteriously disappeared from the porch. It's such a shame. It was rusty in parts and its top had the loveliest oxidised patina of blue, uniquely distressed and organic.

The brass bell is reminder of a historical tragedy, with "Titanic" engraved on it. A fleamarket find.