Braving the stormy sea

This is a painting of a yacht crashing through walls of waves during a yachting competition. I used the whites of the paper to depict the breakers crashing into the grey body of the vessel. The rough sea is depicted in grey to set the mood of the moment. Comments and critiques welcomed.

Lone angler

Did you see the chap in the blue covered boat? Spotted him at one of my favourite fishing grounds near an estuary. Scenery like this are quite rare as development eats up the countryside. Still, moments like this captured either on film or on paper, bring back fond memories.

Fishing Village - Latest Work

This piece was painted several days ago, in between coding the new site. I was somewhat surprised by the outcome. The colours used were exceptionally thin, and layered carefully. This one was done using W&N watercolours and I am pleased by the subdued result. The picture is typical of a fishing village. The tiny structure between the two bigger houses is the chicken coop. The houses are built on stilts just in case the tide runs over. Comments welcome.

First Paint, 'Destroy' It, Then Perfect it

This is an experiment. the painting above was created earlier. I felt it was quite empty. Then I decided to 'destroy' it by adding in various surrounding elements - first the trees, then the rocks, and other ground textures. (See below for the outcome.)I hope I have done justice to it ... or have I completely destroyed the earlier creation?

Yacht in the Harbour

This is a painting of a yacht resting in the harbour. It is done is very loose style after I was inspired by one of John Singer Sargeant's works. I was experimenting with something totally new and attention was paid to strokes of vibrant colours, especially lemon yellow and vermillion. I think one of the best ways a painter, a watercolour painter, can do for himself is to forget to be too mechanical in his/her painting. Don't allow pure logic to rule the brush and just paint what is before them. This will result in a loose and relaxed style.

Young Coconuts by the Seaside

I painted this sometime ago at the famed Tanjung Bidara. I was trying to capture the bright sunlight streaming through from top and the young coconuts on a very hot day. The beach is simplified, with some greenery jutting into the sea.

Red boat by the river

Have not been painting the past few weeks. Work got to me - arrrgh! Anyway, here is the latest. A very quick sketch of a red boat set against a tributary of a river. This watercolour piece took me less than 30 minutes in total. Special attention was given to the skies and the solitary coconut tree. I was trying to capture its form in the wind. One of the most difficult things a watercolourist faces when painting Malaysian seaside scenery is to get the coconut tree leaves/fronds right. This one is affected by the strong breeze, and the form is rather loose. The trees at the distance are painted in light grey-blue, providing a stark contrast with the blue skies which was painted wet on wet. The red boat is to provide contrast and centre of focus. This was a scene at the riverside in Kemaman, Terengganu

Venetian Waterway II

No, this is not the second painting I did. I saw this in one of JS Sargeant's works and decided to paint the scene. The aim was to do it as relaxed and as carefree as possible and capture the colours to the best of my ability. The rendition of this scenery is of a totally different style which I am used to. Painted June 04, 2006

Old Boat By Fishing Village

This scene is self-explanatory. Done in watercolours in a very different style. Attention was paid to the linear strokes on the ground, depicting the unlevelled beach. Painted in April 2006.

Fishing trawler in watercolour

This is a painting of a fishing trawler that is used in Kedah, a northern state near to Thailand. The registration number (KNF) denotes the state which issues the fishing licence, which is Kedah. This is a high deck trawler that is used in deep-sea fishing and as you can see, the trawler is going out to sea while another trawler heads upriver (at right). Because of the strong waves along the Kedah coast (facing the Andaman seas), trawlers such as this, is kept deep up river and inland to protect them from the elements. Painted May 20, 2006.

Enchanting Watercolours - Misty Morning By The Sea

I did not intend this scene to be like this, with an air of mystery hanging in the horizon. I wanted to paint a seaside house of a fisherman. The fisherman has gone to sea, only his dinghy remains behind. The flame of the forest are in full bloom, sparking a fine contrast with the casuarina trees that dot the lane in the horizon. The sea is calm and the air cold. Sometimes when you start painting, you dont know what to expect. In wet-on-wet techniques, sometimes the result can be mystifying, nay, enchanting. That is what makes watercolour so exciting - so unpredictable and so damn challenging when mistakes are not kindly tolerated. This is a peaceful scene by the sea, one I would like to build my house at when I retire! Anyone wanna join me?

No Fish Today

Life deals a tough hand for most fishermen, wherever they are. The fishing boat is his life and his world. It is the only means he can make a living and feed his family. In the months when the seas are not that generous, and the weather unkind, he has to remain land bound and pray for a better day. If his boat is broken, and if it is beyond his skills to have it sea bound again, then life will be very tough. His only choice is to fish from ashore, sometimes ridiculously, by using his fishing rod. This fisherman is in that dilemma. No fish today. With his fishing rod slung across his shoulders, he makes his way ashore, nary a fish in hand. How is he going to feed his family? Will tomorrow be kinder? These are the questions that race across his mind, as he takes a heavy step towards home. This is the mood I have set for this painting. I don't know if you like it. If it speaks out to you, let me know. Let your friends know, too. And thanks for viewing. Painted May 04, 2006.

This Old Boat - A Study of Light and Shadow in Watercolour

This old boat was found abandoned on the beach. The portion near to the right is the back of the boat, and the small piece L-shaped piece is the rudder. It is a simple boat design. The protruding piece with a black hole in the centre is where the stem of the rudder steering is embedded in. From the design, it would be a rowboat with perhaps three or more passenger. Why it was abandoned, I am not sure. Perhaps it has outlived its usefulness? The clump of tree root washed ashore was painted into at lower left to provide contrast to the more or less structured form of the boat. So, what do you think? Comments welcome.

Fisherman at Work - How do artists keep their skill?

This is an imaginary piece based on a photograph. It was a picture of an old fishing boat, by the beaches of Kemaman in Terengganu. The fisherman, the palm trees, and the figure in the distance, are all added in. The sunset, too. As you can see, I have fared not too well again. (Well, if you have anything to say, drop me a comment, huh?) It's funny but after such a short time of not painting, every step is a painstaking effort. I wonder how professional artists cope with not painting or drawing. After say six months of not working with your painting, how do you start? Where do you start? Pray tell. I know of one artist who carries a technical pen in his shirt pocket everywhere he goes. Every minute he could glean out of his day, he draws. On envelopes. On discarded bus tickets. On catalogues he gathered at Immigration check points during his travel. On anything that permits. And all these, bits and pieces of his existence and encounters with life's realities, are translated into drawings which he may or may not paint later. Is this how artists keep their wits about them? And skill too? Use your skill or lose them to time? This piece was painted on April 23.

Kelantan Traditional Fishing Boat

Did you know that the Kelantanese traditional fishing boats are the most colourful and they have the loveliest designs? These fishing boats are painstakingly built from memory by skilled boatsmen who learn the trade from their forefathers. During the monsoon months when the sea is too rough for them to go out, these fishermen cum boatmen spend their days working on the intricate patterns on the body of the boat, ie. the hull. Strips of colour, laid down in perfect harmony, one by one. This is a very simplistic drawing of one such boat which can be seen in Kelantan, particularly Pantai Dasar Sabak. I drew this one using Pentel oil pastels and this is the first time I am using them, so excuse the roughness. Drawn April 17, 2006.

Picking up the brush again...

It has been more than seven months since I last painted and when you don't paint regularly, for whatever reason, you will stumble. No question about it. This painting was done today, in short two hours on a 229 x 305mm paper. It was taken from a photo and depicts the Kuala Terengganu water taxi (bot penambang) terminal behind the Seri Malaysia hotel at the entrance to the town. As you can see, I am still trying to get a firm foothold... Painted March 27.

Two Boats - Port Dickson

This is a close-up study of two fishing boats in Port Dickson's fishermen's wharf. The fan-like machinery are the motors used to reel in their nets at sea. Without this mechanism, there is no way fishermen can reel in nets which are close to a mile long, and laden with fish, at sea. Painted in 2004.

Kelantanese Fishermen's Boat II

This is a depiction of Kelantanese fishermen returning from sea. Not very well captured but this is one of my earliest pieces. It was painted in mid 2003.

Teluk Kemang - Canoes

A pair of canoes rests under the palm trees. This is a scene in Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson, in Negri Sembilan. This stretch of beach is deserted on weekdays and watersport operators take a break in the lull in business. These two canoes are among the things you might find here, apart from jetski rentals and diving equipment. This piece was painted in Oct 2003.

Traditional Boat of Kelantanese Fishermen

Colourful patterns. This is the beauty of the traditional fishing boats of Kelantanese fishermen. As can be seen, this one is sheltered from the elements under dried palm fronds. The boat is propped up and kept away from dampness. The intricate patterns are painted by hand and fishermen in Kelantan take great pride in their handiwork. This piece was painted in late 2003.

Kuala Selangor - This Boat Start It All

This is the painting which sparked my interest with fishing boats. This is one of the deep-sea fishing trawlers that fishermen in Kuala Selangor use (note the SLFA prefix for Selangor fishing boats). I painted this at an art class way back in Sept 2003. I was also trying to capture the colour of the muddy water at low tide. The chap on the right is heading upriver, perhaps to his boat as the tide is coming in. How do you paint such a confusing painting? Well, like my mentor said it, start by composing areas of similar colour, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and you will be able to put up a colourful painting - no matter how confusing it looks.

Boxing Day Tsunami - Wrath of Nature

I had to record this - the Boxing Day Tsunami which caused devastation throughout Asia, taking with it hundreds of thousands of lives. This painting was based on a photograph of the aftermath. The waves were dying down and the specks on the high banks at left are the people who came out to witness the tragedy. I remember coming home from work that evening and , dazed by the swift tragedy which hit part of my country and destroyed lives, I started working on the painting which I cimpleted just under two hours that night. It was something I could not forget and hope by sharing this with you, we can remember how unforgiving nature can be. This was painted on Dec 27 2004.

Homecoming

This was done very recently and my first ever trying to capture human forms in watercolour. Four mariners were approaching land. The sails are billowing in the wind and the guy on the right, probably the skipper, was looking out for shallow submerged coral beds. This was done in July 2005.

Sailboat In A Storm

This is another of my line and wash technique which I again failed to capture well. The rough surf too was quite tough to achieve and I think I failed in both miserably. However, I think I managed to get the skies right, setting the mood for an impending storm. Perhaps I should not have introduced the lines on both the sails. What do you think? This was done in February 2005.

Sailboat At Low Tide

This was done taken from a photograph of a sailboat at lowtide. I was experimenting with my new Rotring pen in this maiden attempt of line and wash. This is one of the hardest technique to master and as you can see, I am not able to control the medium just yet. This was painted in May 2005.

Bagan Lalang II - Fisherman's Castle

This is a makeshift house by the Sepang Rivermouth in Bagan Lalang. The house is made of planks and discarded zinc sheets salvaged from construction sites. This is a poor fisherman's abode, his castle of sort. It is in this rickety structure that his life and that of his family revolves as they hope for a better tomorrow. I am not wise with words but I have lived in such a house before. If you observe carefully, the house was built under a tree. This may seem foolish but I think when the owner built this house, he planted the tree - a sea almond tree. Most fishermen mark the time they stay in a certain spot by using this simple method. Judging from the size of the tree, the house must have been there for more than five years. This piece was done in Oct 2004.

By The Sea - Storm Coming

This piece represents a departure from my usual work of boats. I was trying to experiment with simple strokes in this piece which features two dying pine trees by the beach in Morib. The surrounding scenery has been simplified as I try to capture the mood of the impending storm and the trees. This piece was done in August 2005

Bagan Lalang II - Sungai Sepang Estuary

This picture was painted atop a broken fishing jetty along the Sungai Sepang. The scene is at low-tide, and fishermen moor their boats here. At high tide, the water level can sometimes reach the bottom of the floorboards of the jetty and water can be more than 15 feet deep. At the far side is the verdant mangrive forest. In the past, this stretch of waterway was contaminated with pigwaste from farms upstream. After the Japanese Encephalitis scare in the late 90s, the farms have been moved away and the water here is relative clean, much to the delight of weekend anglers. Not far from this jetty is a seafood restaurant. This piece was done in Sept 2004.

Bagan Lalang I - Lowtide

This is a piece I did when holidaying in Bagan Lalang, a rivermouth fishing village in Selangor. Because of the shallow seafront, fishermen here do not use big fishing boats but rather small ones for inshore fishing. The reddish blob is the fishing net or pukat which fishermen lay across the seas, parallel to the shore, to catch any fish coming to feed close to the shore. Most of these small boats are made of fiberglass and motorised. This piece was done in Sept 2004.

Port Dickson Fishermen's Wharf

This is a picture of a fishing boat drawn in Port Dickson, near the fishermen's wharf in town. The fan-like structure in front is the motorised wheel used for dragging in the fishing net. As you can see, the numbers in front of the boat starts with NSR. In Malaysia, boats carry registration numbers according to the states, such as the prefix N for Negri Sembilan, S (ie. SLFA) for Selangor and so on.

Malacca Rivermouth III

This was another painting done on the bridge overlooking the Malacca rivermouth. The green building at left is now a restaurant. The scenery is at high tide. The boat is actually a tourist boat which takes visitors on the Malacca river cruise for a small fee. This piece was done in May 2004.

Riverside Godown - Malacca

This is a slightly larger sketch of the godown by the Malacca rivermouth. The godown was used to store charcoal and mangrove logs that were imported from Indonesia. This godown, now abandoned, sits at the rivermouth opposite the present maritime museum. Painted in early 2004.

Moored Fishing Boat

In this piece, I try to capture the overall feeling of the scenery. It was a windy day, by the sea, in the east coast of the Peninsular - Terengganu. In the foreground is a fishing boat. The boxed object at the end of the boat is a makeshift toilet. Although not many of these boats can be see these days, you can still find them in the east coast. Anglers will be familiar with the boats. This piece was done in 2003.