The Paintings

1. My Lovely Hometown

2. Day Off-Pulau Ketam

3. The Bridge

4. Russet Red Cameron Hill Tea House

5. Dawn at Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

6. Sungai Lembing Town

About the Artist

“I am so very grateful that ever since I took up painting, I have enjoyed every bit of the process including the training, the education, and the passing of my knowledge to others. Primarily through the use of colour in the theme chosen, I can fully examine and then express the deepest reflections of my inner-self and my endless appreciation of nature. My dream is to be able to be a full-time artist, painting simply because of the supreme joy I derive from it.”

Nancy’s heartfelt words in the quotation above convey the essence of her spirit and personality, as an accomplished and continuously evolving, maturing artist. The words also reveal the reason she continues to paint: it is her true passion in life. She derives enormous, unadulterated joy from painting, and that joy is felt and communicated to the viewer. I find her paintings to be personally uplifting and can easily picture several different ones hanging in my living room.

Nancy herself is a person with a great capacity for empathy and joy. She has a remarkably innate ability to understand that there are often deep-seated struggles going on within others, in spite of their public smiles, as well as varying degrees of emotional turmoil that almost every one of us have to some degree. She instinctively reaches out in her own special ways to let them know that she cares about them, that they have genuine value, and they are not as alone as they might think. I myself have been on the receiving end of her kind and compassionate nature. I can attest that it makes a lasting impact in the most positive of ways for me, and I know of many others who have also been touched by her kindness. Talented artists, I have found over the years, are highly sensitive to others in need, and this concern and love for others is often reflected in their art.

Nancy grew up in Melaka, where she had a happy and adventurous childhood outdoors exploring near her home and playing in what was then a scenic and lush landscape, but is now rapidly disappearing. Massive property and commercial development have been decimating the land, forests, lakes and buildings of her youth, transforming entire towns, villages, and once-wild rural areas.

Thankfully, she is able to draw on the rich and vivid collection of childhood memories preserved in her mind. One of her most important goals is her desire to recreate those impressions onto canvas in an effort to preserve them for future generations, so that they too will be able to enjoy their heritage.

Nancy is a versatile artist, comfortable and skilled in several mediums, particularly watercolours and acrylics. She often goes to a specific location, such as Cameron Highlands, as a setting for her work, some from her latest series of which are showcased in this issue.

First. she sketches a scene or building which has inspired her. Then, she takes photographs of the scene and, once back at home, she utilises her oils and acrylics to create and finalise the painting.

She tells me, “I have a busy life like most everyone: three children, a full-time job as the Founder and Director of two Little Artist Field Art Centres for pre-schoolers to secondary schoolers, and as an art teacher who goes to different schools each week to teach children from three to six years old the basics of painting. I have little free time just for myself, so I purposefully set aside 4-5 hours every week just to paint. During this time, as I concentrate on my painting, I am able to release my stress. I feel exquisitely free, especially when I apply the stroke of colours onto the canvas.”

The beauty and striking illumination of light she skilfully creates in each painting allows her paintings to speak for themselves with no further need of any embellishments from me.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the paintings here, she has given each one a deep discount for The Expat readers, and you can contact me at [email protected] for further information.

“I want people to cherish Malaysia’s beauty and learn to appreciate the uniqueness of my homeland That’s why I recreate buildings and places of a now bygone era,” she says, smiling the peaceful smile that comes from following her passion for painting.

Source: The Expat Magazine June 2014

Read more:

• 7 Unique Paintings by a Malaysian Artist
• Malaysian Artist Profile: Philip Wong
• Malaysian Artist Profile: Ng Sheau Hoi

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