ONLINE ART IN KUALA LUMPUR
Just back from my latest trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Missed all the sun here in Ireland but temperatures were nearly the same, except for the humidity being higher in KL. As usual I headed straight for my art classes with Amir and Zai Ariffen in town near Istana Budaya which is beside the national art gallery on Jalan Tun Razak. I met up with some of my student colleagues from Norway, Australia, Singapore and India. See the map which gives you an idea of how popular these classes have been over the years. Only one person from Ireland though. The studio is light and airy with lots of Amirs painting around the walls for inspiration.
I brought a picture I had taken of some peony roses my mother had in a vase at home and chose a large canvas to paint it on. Amir started me off and divided the picture into triangles then it was easy to pick a petal and then add on the rest. Started putting the colour in, but had to take regular breaks. Painting with similar colours was very tiring, and had to stop myself painting all the petals all the same. Quite pleased with the result.
I also had a look around the the Art galleries and one exhibition was very interesting it was Chinese Calligraphy, I didn’t realise there were so many different types of print or writing. Am going to practice the Chinese writing with my new brushes and ink and watch this space.
When I arrived home the weather had turned to changeable (rain and storms) but I still went out to the railings in Malahide for the Malahide Has it! festival. We got about 2 hours before the showers started, plastics at the ready, but we all got worn out and headed for home around 3pm. Lots of interest in pictures and lots of business cards taken, am very hopeful.
TIP OF THE DAY
When sketching, look for angles and negative spaces and even draw upsidedown. You can see your errors much easier.