Nancy Lau is one of the most prominent artists painting today and to think she just started in 2008 is remarkable. She works in a combination of oils and acrylics and has focused on landscape scenes, au plein painting and scenes of a bygone Malaysia. I was truly stunned by her judicious and skilful use of colours and decided she was definitely cover worthy. I hope you, too, enjoy her works showcased here on these pages. Since she articulates in such a heartwarming and clear way how her current life as an artist evolved, I decided to let her tell her story in her own words.

“I have loved drawing since I was young. The one person who always stood by me was my mother. She did not object to my interest in drawing as long as I did well in school. After graduating from secondary study, I took up graphic design course and later on I worked as graphic design lecturer and children art educator. At this point, I still had not started doing canvas painting. In August 2008, I finally started my first canvas painting lesson.

“One of the reasons why I love painting is because I love nature. I go for morning exercises three or four days a week. I enjoy the morning breeze, the greens of the field and the crystal blue sky in the morning. It is an uplifting experience when I am able to put all these beautiful sightings into my paintings. I am also very fond of my childhood experience near the coast of my hometown in Melaka. These are the places where I used to play hide and seek with friends. It comes with good memories but sadly is slowly disappearing in the name of modern development. Therefore it is my goal to preserve these memorable scenes through my paintings. In doing this, not only that I am able to fulfill my dream to introduce the authenticity and the beauty of my beloved country, Malaysia, and at the same time also to declare the glory of God’s wonderful creation.

“I truly enjoyed every minute of my art education and training. With the limited time I have for the art learning, my appreciation for painting grows daily. Over the years, I have slowly but clearly discovered that I am inclined to use nature and heritage scenes as the theme of my painting. One of the main reasons for this is because of my childhood experiences in village and seaside environments. I spent a lot of my childhood playing in my hometown Kampung Hilir in Melaka. Today, this place has been developed into a modern town, with commercial buildings surrounding it. I can still recall the many familiar facets of it through photos and I want to put these memories in my paintings. The same vision I also apply on the heritage scenes and sights for other states in Malaysia.”

Nancy is very thankful that she had the opportunities to be involved in art exhibitions of different types – Art Village in Bangsar South City, Shah Alam Gallery, Christian Art Exhibition by Art Seni, Art Auction by Lion Club in National Art Gallery, Inspiration 2011 in NN Gallery. Out of these experiences, the one that most impacted her was Inspiration 2011 in May last year, where she had five paintings chosen by the gallery and all were sold to KWSP and Datin Nona, the Director of Children Discovery House.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these paintings, Nancy has put a deeply discounted price on each one. She also has another 15 or so in her portfolio that are available for sale. If you want to view those, or buy any of the paintings, please contact me on 017.654 4858 or email me at [email protected]. This is an artist who is taking the art scene in Malaysia by storm and I am very pleased to introduce her to the expat community. I would also like you to know that she donates most of her proceeds to various charities.

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Source: The Expat December 2012
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