I was ten years old the first time I painted with watercolour. Mr Tan Kay Nguan showed me how, and I remember sitting still for hours, just trying to finish one painting. Something about it settled into me that day and never really left.
What I love about watercolour is that you can't fully control it. The pigment bleeds into the water however it wants. Your brushstrokes move across the paper and take on a life of their own. You make choices along the way, where to place the colour, how much water to add, when to stop, but the outcome is never entirely yours to decide. However it flows, it's right. I've come to think that's not a flaw in the medium. It might be the whole point.
As an adult, I kept learning. I've had the privilege of studying under other wonderful Singapore artists too, Mr Tham Pui San, Mr Foo Kwee Horng, and Mr Nam Siang among them. My style today is loose, abstract, mostly roses, bold in colour, and a little wild on the page.
When I teach, I tell every student the same thing, no matter if they're a child or an adult holding a brush for the first time: paint what makes you happy. I mean that as more than encouragement. I genuinely believe it.
If there's one thing I hope you feel, whether you're painting beside me in a workshop or holding something I've made in your own home, it's simple. A little peace. A little joy. That warm, quiet feeling of something good.
Thank you for being here.
Follow me along my journey of creativity and the appreciation of nature captured in vibrant and bold watercolours.