PINK LABEL : Malaysia 's Most Picturesque Blog !: A Simple Painting Journal Online

“… in jail, you eat curry rice. That’s all they give you; no chicken, no veges, no nothing. Just the curry over plain cold rice.”

- 1998: Joseph X, he mumbled as he limped towards the tray to find me a fine brush.

I have always love painting so mum stopped me from organ classes and we switched to painting instead. I had to however, start from crayon to water color, then sketching, drawing portraits and still life, etc, etc.

When I finally get to use paint, I had massive fun painting landscapes and dream-like sceneries as the reason I love painting is because my neuroticism annoys me! Each time I had a dream and I tried explaining it to my friends, it bothers me to understand that everyone’s imaginary space in their mind box is different; therefore they couldn’t see what I actually saw.

And so I thought if I could paint, I could paint the EXACT same thing with the feeling I experienced in it, and that would be perfect!

But I was wronged.

Mum and I found out that my painting teacher went to jail again and there’ll be no more classes. So I never learnt how to paint, took “Introduction to Painting” with the SAME intention which had aged ten years, but turned out to be a Surrealist painter instead when I thought I am a Romanticist after I took “Romance & Realism” theory class last summer.

What an EXCITING journey of finding own self as an artist!

“There is always a new beginning, but a different ending.”

- ... and we never knew what happened to Joseph X till today…

Week 1: Introduction of Still Life Project

A few objects were arranged on a table and my neurotic mind started to REarrange them instantly and so, this came out:

Here is a story of a wooden horse which manages to free itself into a real horse in a Déjà vu world, but still can’t gain freedom as balls take over the space.

- a boy drinking coffee is being crushed by a ball

- the horse which just managed to free itself is still controlled by a ball

- the coffee cup which (on the left – can’t be seen here) stands on a pile of balls (balls can’t do so but here they can to portray the power of impossibility) spills and is flowing towards the man

- tiny white “+” (s) which symbolizes Christ is scattered around the spilling black coffee

- Are you checkmated?

Week 2: Still Life Project

I was brought outside the class room to look at this:

On the side lines of the floor, placed a few small yellow tea cups. We were supposed to “play with scales” with the cups, but even before Mary could finish her sentences, I ALREADY had this image which urged me to paint it.

HOWEVER, not with cups, but cars…

The racing lights

The little car accident

And the Final picture :

F2 by Miss C (2007)

- When can you speed without fear?

Week 3: Still Life (Tone) on 2D Surface

Today is the first time I really felt challenged while painting –to ONLY use black, white, and only ONE other color. I also learnt NOT to leave a backdrop WHITE; color it with white paint even if its meant to be white, and try not to throw away a spoilt painting, but try work on it more instead, cause that’s where you experience *NEW* things and you never know how interesting my “leaves” turn out to be melting leaves instead…!

Challenge given:

Challenge Accepted (!!!)

I chose the color GREEN. They say, “Is that a hole in your leaf?”. I say:

- Where is the Caterpillar?

Week 4: Still Life (Color Relationships) on 2D surface

Now that we are allowed to use as MANY color as we like, I didn’t know WHAT TO PAINT ! Perhaps I was too greedy. I meddled around with paints, made a brown goop, and went home clueless.

I went to have a little evening chit chat with my housemate Peter and he mentioned something called the “magic mushroom”. I did some research about it and it is said that magic mushrooms only grow at dawn from cow dung. Knowing THAT, it means I wouldn’t have a chance to see it in my life after being fascinated by its true existence, so I decided to make a painting to represent it myself.

- Its my hand printed mushroom you’re feasting.

Week 5: Still Life (Texture and Patterns)

I subconsciously started working on “texture” in my previous painting of the magic mushroom by using my fingers as the brush and had loved it so far.

I got this baby blanket which texture I adore very much. There is nothing in this world that feels like it and I don’t want to share the touch with everyone or it’ll turn black, so I decided to use this theme to PAINT it out using finger prints

Experiment:

Does using fingers instead of brushes add more human touch into a painting?

The original baby blanky

- Find the princess in you.

WEEK 6 - Week 9: Self directed project (1)

Mr. X wears a pair of heavy oversized yellow boots for years but he never changes them. In this picture, he is walking under the black clouds but his yellow umbrella flew away to the brighter side before him. However, he never chooses to let go the grip of a huge heavy heart.

The ladder which is his destination is an impossible place to go to, as even if he reaches it; it’s a broken ladder and there’s his room that gets in his way.

Week 6:

It started off with a few lines.

Got too complicated.

My painting went missing.

Week 7:

Completed.

Week 8:

Completed.

Week 9:

COMPLETED.

- His shoes bathed in a yolk at New York !!!

WEEK 10 - Week 13: Self directed project (2)

Mary borrowed me a Surrealist book and this was how the ideas came out in a short 15 minutes time while browsing through it.

Right to Left:

- Mr. X is climbing a tree formed by the crack of an egg on a chessboard; his umbrella fell again, and what he was about to cling on to avoid falling down is a black snake
- The sphere is made up of stripes excerpt from the previous paintings above; the horse, the blue car, leaf, Plush!, and the mushroom's texture
- This is the exact same room which now becomes too small for Mr. X while previously too big for him he couldn't climb up the ladder in Onus; which is also broken anyway
- Parallel with his room window there plays his future with his lover, but still he has to stand on a cube to hold his bride's hands

Moving up...

Left to Right:

- A pot of poison flower in a cupboard hanging on an eye, ear and two nipples are falling upon the ceremony
- The cupboard's door is falling upon his bride
- The detached lips opening up night and darkness
- A symbol of U and I (I couldn't be seen here) instead of North and South

- There is never an answer to art, cause once there is, there will be no life in it; people stop thinking. And only dead people don’t think.

Pin - Up Day @ The Art Gallery