Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My New Hobby

Colorful fishing boats at Pulau Gajah, Pantai Sabak.

With the interest in blogging beginning to wane, I decided to pick up a new hobby to fill up my abundant free time. Time is one luxury that a retiree like me could have. Often times such times are wasted doing nothing. I might as well use it to paint. Not house painting which is something I do only once in at least after five years when the house paint begins t fade. The kind of painting I have in mind is oil painting on canvas.
The interest on oil painting was rekindled when I saw some oil paintings of the Japanese carps normally known as kois by Chegu Mazeri Othman at his mother's house in Kg. Tok Sangkut. The desire to own one of the pieces by him was curtailed when he said he isn't selling them since he will be using them to fill up the walls of his new house. Infact he said he is still working on many more since he will be making a part of the new house as his personal gallery. Frankly I wont be able to afford to pay for his paintings as oil painting is quite expensive since the materials used are themselves expensive. A meter of the canvas can be had for about RM40. The oil paints are as much as RM9.00 for a 70 ml tubes for the lower quality ones. The frames for a standard size painting can set you back for another RM40 at the least. The most important element is the time it takes for the painting to be finished.
I had the opportunity to observe members of Persatuan Seni Lukis Kelantan (PESENI) as they were having a painting activity at Pantai Sabak, Kota Bharu. Here En. Ismail Kadir an established water color artist was seen putting the above sight of a berthed colorful fishing boat to paper. En. Ismail is an authority in water colors and is often invited to display his works overseas. Soon he will be going to Beijing for such a function.

Beside En. Ismail, there were other artists doing the painting of their favourite subjects before them. One of the painter is a young boy who share his father's hobby. With his father's guidance he will grow up to be a fine artist one day.


One of the finished job.

An artist hard at work.
A close up of his job.

Chegu Mazeri was also at the site though he wasn't painting as he had to attend class that afternoon. I was there to meetChegu Mazeri as I had requested him to buy me some materials for painting. Mazeri had brought along a piece of stretched canvas for me to paint on. Since this is my first go at oil painting and without any experience whatsoever, he asked me to use a recycled canvas that he had used on one side. Beside that he had also purchased for me some tubes of 70 ml oil paints and brushes of various sizes. Since I wont be using those made of hog bristles, he bought those that were made of nylon hairs. He also handed me a bottle of linseed oil to dilute the paints. The oil paints were of red, light green and blue colors. Noticeably absent was the yellow and white colors which I will have to acquire later when the stocks of the dealer is replenished. A few days later I managed to get hold of the yellow and white color. I defintely needed the yellow as I was intent on painting the heliconia that grows in my garden.

After sketching the heliconia flower on the canvas, I started applying the signal reg oil paint on the canvas.
This was followed by the yellow color.

Next I added a leaf blade to fill up the empty part of the canvas. followed by some details comprising of some dark blemishes on the red petals. Some hues of green was later added to the yellow part.
The remaining paints on the tile piece as as the pallette was mixed and used as part of the background colors.
That is how the painting is compared to the real thing. My wife who had been very skeptical about my ability was quite surprised at the result as she had never seen me draw anything before. At least she will now be more supportive of my painting endeavours.
I consider this as the finished product, a rush first job done in less than two days. Now I will have to wait for my mentor Chegu Mazeri to tell me how to improve on the painting. Personally it is really an amateurish job and I will need lots of practice and guidance before I can really produce something that I can be proud of.
Anyway I consider the work as not bad for an old artist doing it first time at a ripe old age of 59 years.

60 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow!!!boleh tahan,memamng ada bakat.

LITTLE DEWA said...

wah uncle! gud 4 u... kalau saya, jgnkan bunga, tangkai pon blekum tentu lulus :p

Pak Zawi said...

Uncleawang,
I did it just to prove to my wife that i can paint hehehehe.

Zendra-Maria said...

I'll buy your painting if it is up for sale. Who knows you may become a famous ripe old artist in the future. I'd then sell your first painting for a million! Just don't forget to sign it off as "Pak Zawi" (this name is already famous as it is).

Pak Zawi said...

Littel Dewa,
Boleh jadi, cuba dulu jangan terus kata tak boleh. uncle yakin gitu bab tu uncle cuba. Nak beli tak mampu bab tu uncle buat sendiri.

Pak Zawi said...

Zendra,
Consider it sold!. I will accept any offer from you. Come and collect it. I will sign it as For Zendra, Pak Zawi 09.

Zendra-Maria said...

Any offer Pak Zawi? That's cool (borrowing kiddo talk). You hang on to it OK, until I make my way to KB (don't know when yet). Wow, won't be able to sleep tonight, I tell you hehe.

Pak Zawi said...

Zendra,
I will keep it for you however long it takes you to come to Kelantan. Pasir Mas not KB OK? Please come before I pass on as paintings increase in price after the demise of the painter. Who knows my family will not even part with my first painting after I am gone hehehehe.

Fadhil said...

Pak Zawi,

Just goes to show age is not a barrier to starting a new hobby. You're not doing too bad.

Maybe you can try landscapes as your next project. I'll make it a bid for it when ready :-)

Pak Idrus said...

Zawi, great work of art but do continue to blog.

I am into Macro Photography now and this gives a new dimension in my blogging. You may want to try that too.

Have a nice day.

Pak Zawi said...

Oldstock,
Yeah it is never too late to start anything. By the way landscape is my favourite. I will do it next before embarking on portrait. Too many grandchildren that i would like to preserve on canvass.
You want one? I will do one just for you. I think u like landscape.

Pak Zawi said...

Pak Idrus,
Don't worry I wont stop blogging as I need it to publicize my works. Maybe it will take longer to make new postings as more time will be spent to paint hahahaha.

ZABS said...

Salam Zawi,
Lama tak kemari...sampai kawan nak jadi pelukis, baru datang semula. Tahniah, boleh berjaya dengan sedikit lagi ketekunan. InsyaAllah. Saya ambil gambar je bolehnya.

Gurindam Jiwa said...

Cat cat cat, berenti ambik gambar. Cat cat cat, berenti ambik gambar. Cat cat cat, berenti ambik gambar. Jenuh jugak nak menyiapkan tuh. He he he...

mekyam said...

you dark horse, you! :D

cantik! can't wait to see more of your newly-revealed talent...

Pak Zawi said...

Zabs,
Terima kasih kerana kembali mengunjung. Tak apa bab dalam hati kita sentiasa mengingati.
InsyaAllah saya akan terus berusaha dengan berkat doa kawan2 spt Zabs.

Pak Zawi said...

Mazle,
Sebenarnya melukis boleh dibuat bersama dengan photography. Saya ambil gambar benda yang saya nak lukis dulu. Itu yang laptop tu berada sebelah gambar tu. jadi dua dua hobby salaing membantu. Kemudian lukisan yang dibuat diambil gambar pula.

Pak Zawi said...

Mekyam,
This darkhorse has many more talents to unleash. It will be revealed in due course.
With Oldstock already prebooking my next project and my daughter Azini booking the portrait of Balkis, I have to work very hard and very fast. This is really inspiring!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Ya Allah Pak Zawi.. cantiknya painting boats tu....!

Kalau macam ni, baik saya bukak gallery sendiri ...! hehehe

I am a sucker for traditional themes.. doh nok wak guano..

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
It will augers well for the the development of arts if you open your own gallery. Start collecting now.
Hopefully Peseni will get their members to display those boat paintings at the coming art exhibition that you are helping to stage in November. then you will be able to see them for yourself. Maybe I can coax Peseni to present you with one of that paintings as a token of gratitude for your help?

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pak Zawi.. tak boleh! All's fair and square in the game..kalu nok.. keno beli! Nanti bila saya pi Kelantan soon, saya nak tengok sendiri..

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Wah Pak Zawi, is there anything u can’t do? I really envy u lah, u show great finesse in everything u put your mind / hands to.

Me? I’m hopeless with my handiworks {DIY stuff especially; it’s like disasters waiting to happen whenever I embark on a project} but I do have the ‘Midas’ touch tho’ when it comes to ‘games of chances’. Do u realised that the anagram for Midas is ‘I’m Sad’….hmmm.. someone must be trying to tell me something.

I shall look forward to your ‘unleashing’ other more exciting stuff, yeah surprise us!

Salam,
Tommy

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
We will be too happy to play host to you when you come to KB. Let me find a date when the artists are having a outing in the field. They will be going to Geting (not Genting) in Tumpat for their next filed trip to draw and paint like they did in Sabak.
just bring lots of money if you insist on buying hehehe.
Since you outbid Oldstock for the Buah Seto Tok Ma, you might as well be ready to collect the painting as well which I think will be yours soon.

Pak Zawi said...

Tommy Yew,
of course there are many things that I can't do. One of them is ballroom dancing unless I go to dance class. Another thing that I can't do now is running. Ever since i stopped being physically active, I find it very difficult to run. The short running excercise over 15 coaches length in Brussels Belgium nearly killed me. I am just another human being with lots of deficiencies.
Just wait for a few more talents that I want to show off hehehehe.

nura said...

Boleh tahan lukisan nya Pak Zawi :). Kalaulah abah saya mula melukis semula...

Unknown said...

yes, pak zawi can paint! :D
painting and drawing is not my thing, but i do appreciate art; and this is alright! i can't do half of what you did, not even the tangkai. nak beli canvas boleh lah hahaha :D

Pak Zawi said...

nura,
Terima kasih :).
Siapa nama ayah Nura? Dia mesti pelukis terkenal.

Pak Zawi said...

Akmal,
I am still learning. That was my first try. Anyway you can always paint abstract art where nobody can say it is not right.

Louise said...

I think you are well-suited to your new hobby. The painting is beautiful!

I am sorry if I missed it, but I came here from the My World Tuesday site, and could not find a post marked for that or a link back. Please be so kind to clearly label My World posts so visitors from the site can easily find them. Also please link back to the site over text or in the badge you can get from there so your visitors can easily get there and participate if they would like.

Thanks for YOUR participation! Love your painting!

Pak Zawi said...

Louise,
Thank you for the visit to my humble site. I will link it from here.
I hope to improve on my painting in due course. I am just doing it through trial and error.
Have a good day.

jaflam said...

Pak Zawi,
Congrats to you for taking up painting. I am supposed to start but now delayed due to heavy commitment.... maybe will join you next year.

Love that watercolor painting of colorful boats. Berapa harga agaknya lukisan tu hehee.

Pak Zawi said...

Dato' Jaff,
Like me, it is never to late to start painting. Don't wait for next year, start now and make the first step. It doesn't matter if you finish the job next year but if you wait next year, when will you finish?
We are arranging an exhibition of the works by Peseni members at Balai Berita sometimes this November with the help of Puteri Kamaliah. You can view these works of art then and the price will be displayed too. We can always negotiate an affordable price for you.

Sally in WA said...

Your paintings are fabulous!! Please do continue your new hobby and sharing them on your blog.

Pak Zawi said...

Sally,
Thanks for the visit.
I did only one painting so far. All the better ones are done by others. Yes I will be sharing with you all my future creations should they be worth sharing.

svllee said...

Dear Pak Zawi,

It is indeed wonderful to hear you have started a new hobby in painting. It must be relaxing, both for your mind and body. Those landscapes of the fishing boats are lovely but I see you like your paintings large, as in your floral study. Hope to catch you at it by the beach soometime.

Pak Zawi said...

svllee,
I have to start somewhere and I thought doing the heliconia would be the easiest to produce something resembling an art piece hahahaha.
Those of the boats are by accomplished artist.
Don't worry i will be doing other projects such as landscape, portrait and what not till I find my niche field of painting. I hope to polish up and produce something worthy to be kept by anybody who loves painting. Anyway photography complements painting as i will take photographs of the object or subject that I want to paint.

Unknown said...

Bila nak lukis gambar gadis kampung pakai kain sarung basah duduk ditepe perigi ?

mamasita said...

Chewaah...terrorlah you Pak Zawi! Bakat terpendam lamanya!

Pak Zawi said...

KBGuy,
I will paint one when I see one. Nowadays it is difficult to see a village maiden bathing by the wells as they have piped water even in the villages now.

Pak Zawi said...

Mamasita,
Bakat terpendam sejak tahun 1967 bila saya last belajar lukisan disekolah masa tingkatan 4.

SandyCarlson said...

Such talent is rare and exciting!

Pak Zawi said...

SandyCarlson,
Thank you for the visit and kind words.
Except for me, the other artists are quite established. I am just picking up the hobby and such words of encouragement sure is uplifting my spirit.

Lee said...

Hello Zawi, how you doin'?
Love your painting, and the pics here.
You certainly keeping yourself occupied being retired.

For me I fool around with my Apple, or when requested, will take portrait photographs of friends, mostly vain matured ladies nak jadi muda again, ha ha.

You have a pleasant weekend, best regards, Lee.

Pak Zawi said...

Lee,
Me doing OK.
Still working on the painting to refine it further. By the time it is really done it will look better as I had an artist friend who came to the house to coach me.
If ever you are coming back, I will paint one especially for you.

mdhafizi said...

Assalamualaikum,

Semoga Pak Zawi & keluarga sihat,

Apa khabar?

Can you send one to Labuan :-)

From, Hafizi & Noor

p.s. we have moved to a new house at Bukit Kuda, but recently met Lokman and your daughter at 1 Borneo, KK (konvo).

Selamat Berpuasa. Kirim salam pada auntie.

anasalwa said...

Pak Zawi,
What a beautiful job you you did with heliconia flower.
I'm looking forward to see more of your paintings.
Btw. Pantai Sabak photo in your entry caught my eyes. I remember (fragments) my mother used to take me there. How far is Pantai Sabak from Pengkalan Chepa?

Maria said...

But when will you actually paint the boats? There's one for sale near the beach here in Narathiwat... That would be even cooler than painting on canvas.

Pak Zawi said...

Maria,
Is it safe enough to go over to Nara to paint the boat? Will do it provided you will buy the boat for me :).
How's the viewcam? Take some shots of yourself and your mum and dad will be very happy to see you in movie mode.

Pak Zawi said...

Mdhafizi,
Waalaikummussalam. We are OK.
No problem to send one painting to Labuan. Let me work on one for you.
Selamat berpuasa. Auntie minta saya sampaikan salam kepada Hafizi dan keluarga.

Pak Zawi said...

Ana,
Still working on the heliconia, it is not done yet.
Hope this new hobby is sustainable and more such works will be produced.
From Pengkalan Chepa, pantai Sabak is not more than 10 km I guess. Unfortunately it is not as beautiful as it used to be due to the erosion of the beach. Ain't it time you pay Kelantan a visit?

Berisman said...

Pak Zawi,
My congratulations to your latest masterpiece and a new hobby.Indeed,you can paint! Btw,I also took up a new hobby doing some sketches-itu pun lintang pukang.What do expect from an old engineer,anyway.For your info,the DG of Galei senilukis negara is my personal friend.if you wish to show your works to him,just let me know.
--Adib

Pak Zawi said...

Pak Adib,
We are doing something to please ourselves, if others are pleased with it too then its a bonus. It is never too late to start any new hobby.
As to the access to Balai Seni Lukis Negara, we keep our mind open. After PESENI Kelantan's exhibition at Balai Berita this November, we may want to put up another one at Balai Seni Lukis Negara. We will see how the responce is to our November event. If it is going to be a success, then Balai Seni Lukis Negara will be the next venue.
I have seen your sketches and I like them. So just keep going mate.

salim saw said...

I just got to know you thru your blog on Pasir Mas. Now came to realise that you have taken on some new challenges. I wish you a successful endouvir in your oil painting.
You are blessed with talents. On writing,photography,and now painting.
I like your chronological step by step description of oil painting. It really enlightened me as to the steps involved.Too shy to ask any artist and always puzzles me.AAlso your breakdown of the costs involved. So we understand artists dont make "all" the proceed from sales.
I actually have a friend who calls himself promoter of art.(commision agent) wud be the commercial term. He takes a cut of 30 to 40%from the sales.
All the best . Keep on painting. I will follow your LAISI blog.

Pak Zawi said...

Salim,
Thank you for coming over from the other blog. Now you know why I am not updating much of My Pasir Mas. Its the new hobby and the attention to LAISI. Thank you for the wishes and encouragement.
I will be happy to know your friend but maybe later after I have established a name in the art industry. As of now I can only brag about the one and only painting that I have done. InsyaAllah more will be done soon.
Should you come back to Pasir Mas this coming Raya, pls SMS me at 0199125647, we may shoot some breeze together. Selamat berpuasa.

Unknown said...

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan al-Mubarak ye!

semoga ibadah puasa kita diberkati Allah!

Pak Zawi said...

Ahan,
Thank you for te wishes. I wish you the same.

Lee said...

Hi Zawi, just dropped by to wish you and all at home, selamat menjalankan ibadah puasa dengan penuh tabah dan kesyukuran. Best regards, Lee.
ps, terima kaseh for your kind gesture re the painting. You got a deal, ha ha.

Pak Zawi said...

Lee,
Terima kasih seribu. Disamping beribadah puasa akan membolehkan saya menguruskan sedikit badan saya yang semakin berat ini.
How proud will I be when I can tell my children that my painting is being hung in a home in Canada and New York (Mekyam has booked one. The first painting to my first customer will be delivered to KL tomorrow.
I must work harder now to fill all those request from friends far and near.

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Bakat proven!

Pak Zawi said...

tabib,
Terima kasih