 First stepsLooking back at my early paintings, in the archives section, a common trait seems to emerge. It appears that most have some sort of "social realism" theme running thru them. And yet except for my first painting, shown here, none of the paintings that followed were "planned", they just took on a life of their own and evolved away from "initial conditions". In this respect, my first painting was somewhat special in that every element in this painting was placed with much deliberation; awaiting the viewer to uncover and connect its underlying sentiments. The description below covers most of the symbols placed in it and should help in the disciphering. Mainly, this painting is about a little child(ie. an absolute beginner) having outgrown her toy teddy bear tries on adult's shoes to adventure on her own. The shoes(tasks) are too big and the child struggles to balance while keeping them on, unaware of the route she is taking as the road ahead forks into stairs on the left and a passage on right. On the wall of this building interior(a cloistered man-made environment) is a 'painted' view of the natural world outside. An open window to the real world outside is seen intruding, breaking into this man-made picture. As always, the window to the real world outside is dark--concealing its mysteries and much too high up for the child to peer through. The child is unconcerned anyway has she is too absorbed by the immediate task before him/her and continues to seek out the truths only as she encounters them along her way. A straight-forward painting of my perspective on life and on my art. However, you are encouraged to form your own interpretations and opinons on the above painting and the ones that follow.... On hindsight, with this painting, I too had taken my first steps into art... Teng Jee Hiem Back to home. |