Read about Singapore’s oldest living pioneer artist Mr Lim Tze Peng on the news today. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2003 and he received the Meritorious Service Medal at the National Day Awards in 2016. Turning 100 this year, he is still painting with zest, and progressing in his art journey.
Two things strike a chord with me. First, he said that there are no short cuts in art.
I totally agree with him. When I first started this art journey, I thought that creating an art piece was about skilfully depicting a subject. I worked hard to perfect my skills but soon realized that perspectives are more important. What one sees is more important than what he can paint. The revelation was an eye opener to me. I began to see things that I did not see before. To be able to depict the beauty in the subjects that I see became more important than painting the exact replica of it. I can say that the more I paint, the less I see, but the understanding of the subjects and our relationships with them increases each time. It is just impossible to progress if I did not keep painting. Even if someone had told me, I would not comprehend unless I experience it. The discoveries each day keeps me going and Mr Lim is certainly an inspiration.
The second thing that Mr Lim said was, “A painter should focus on subjects from his own country. Stray too far and you become like a tree without roots.”
I can’t agree more with that too. I believe a person is very much shaped by his environment, the people around him, his friends, his family and even the events that take place, in one way or another impacts him. His work of art reflects who he is and what he aspires to become.
Many a times, in an art studio, even with the same setup, different people depict the subjects in different ways, and the works turn out to be quite different. How the work is rendered, and the results are often affected by the personality, experiences, and moods of the artist. We all perceive things in different ways because we were brought up differently, we had been through different events and met different people.
I believe that this pursuit will be a continuous journey. There will never be an end to it and for Mr Lim, his wish for his few hundreds of paintings be donated and exhibited in a museum by the Government, if it happens, will be the beginning of another milestone for him.
Recent Comments