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It’s not easy being an artist, especially in these current times, where the creative industry is one of the hardest-hit ones, not only in Malaysia but on a global scale as well. While those in other sectors could easily turn to running their businesses online, it’s not as easy as that for artists who couldn’t goto their studios to create new pieces, meet customers’ demands for personalised items and do live sketches at events, which used to be a norm during those glorious pre-Covid days.
As many of them were left to make do with the little that they had at home, the artists chose to stay focused and explore other ways of pivoting their business by conducting online art classes or live doodling sessions, doing digital brand collaborations, selling merchandise with their artwork, and then some. Below, the five artists share with us more about the artworks that they’ve created for SENSE Scoop, what’s keeping their passion alive and the mantras that they’re sticking to in order to keep moving forward.
1. ELEEN TAN AKA MISS ELEEN ARTIST
Fashion Illustrator & Art and Design Lecturer
Those who used to frequent fashion and beauty events before the pandemic struck would know this familiar face, whose joyful illustrations have adorned the walls of cafes, magazine covers, calendars and more. If you’d like a personalised drawing of yourself or for a gift for your other half, BFF or family member for any occasion (or even no occasion but to show your love during this period!), you can drop Eleen a DM on Instagram!
1. One word you’d use to drive yourself:
“Become.”
2. What’s your masterpiece called?
“Keep going.”
3. What’s it made of?
“Mixed media using watercolour and digital painting.”
4. What’s the story behind your creation?
“Like my daily routine, it follows the process of receiving a brief with a bit of discussion before doing my research, getting inspired and putting it into action.”
5. What discovery have you made since MCO 1.0?
“All the while, I was busy with teaching and doing various projects. But due to the pandemic, I received less project enquiries for live drawing events. On the bright side, I had more time to work on my own drawing and explore new mediums and bigger-sized paintings. A good thing that came out of this was that I received some digital project enquiries after putting my works out there. Another significant achievement for me would be that I finally managed to set up my own website!”
6. What finally made sense to you since the pandemic started?
“It’s like a wake-up call for many of us: that it’s time to slow down, rest and reset.”
7. And what didn’t make sense?
“Being disconnected to others; not being able to shake hands nor give hugs, and not meeting family and friends like we used to.”
8. What do you hope will make sense for you or everyone soon?
“I hope that we’d be able to acknowledge that things won’t go back to the way they were. Some of the old systems, rules and regulations just aren’t effective anymore. No matter how old you are, you must always be willing to learn, explore, accept the change and adapt to the new norm.”
9. When the going got tough, what kept you going?
“Love and support from friends. We explored Instagram Live together during the lockdown. Since everyone wasn’t allowed to go anywhere, we scheduled a series of Instagram Live sessions on Friday nights and weekends to share some drawing skills to our audience. Personally, I’m not good at talking to strangers but Instagram Live sort of trained me. The Live sessions that I did with my friends definitely made my WFH days more interesting!”
10. What’s your current mantra?
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
2. KENJI CHAI
Graffiti Artist
Although Kenji summed up his 2020 as a ‘hibernating’ year, this year has seen him busy at work as he continues to spread his colours and creativity through his alter ego, Chaigo the turquoise-coloured stray dog. His latest collabs have seen him produce a special design for Swatch as well as a food-inspired collection of scarves, notebooks, mini shopping bags and clothing for dUCk – both of which were launched in conjunction with Merdeka Day.
1. One word you’d use to drive yourself:
“Passionate.”
2. What’s your masterpiece called?
“Keep on moving.”
3. What’s it made of?
“Digital art.”
4. What’s the story behind your creation?
“Basically, you see a lot of obstacles and the road is ascending. Despite all of that, you can see that Chaigo keeps moving forward with a smile; showing us that we need to be positive and have hope for the future.”
5. What discovery have you made since MCO 1.0?
“Since the pandemic started, I’ve been focusing on doing collaborations for Chaigo. Through that, I got to discover so many talents from different fields and had a chance to work with them to create something together.”
6. What finally made sense to you since the pandemic started?
“That we need to appreciate what we have.”
7. And what didn’t make sense?
“The fact that we can’t travel anywhere.”
8. What do you hope will make sense for you or everyone soon?
“I wish for everyone to stay safe during this period and survive this pandemic.”
9. When the going got tough, what kept you going?
“Hope and believing in God are what kept me going until today.”
10. What’s your current mantra?
“Keep on moving!”
3. SHAN SHAN LIM
Artist & Designer
Although Shan Shan has adapted quite well to the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year and a half, she is moving forward with self-acceptance on her mind. Besides mural painting and creating art prints to add colour and life to various spaces in the past year, the artist and designer has also designed a jigsaw puzzle for Whimsigirl, experimented with linocut and set aside more time growing Kushan, her artisanal and natural skincare line.
1. One word you’d use to drive yourself:
“Self-acceptance.”
2. What’s your masterpiece called?
"The embrace."
3. What’s it made of?
“I drew this digital art piece on my iPad.”
4. What’s the story behind your creation?
“’The embrace’ was inspired by my desire to accept all situations in life; the good and the bad; to allow all the joy and sorrow into my heart, and to live life to the fullest every single day. Perhaps it also signifies my longing to embrace all my loved ones who have left the earth and those who are still here and not too far away.”
5. What discovery have you made since MCO 1.0?
“I discovered that as much as I enjoy solitary creative expression, there’s infinite value in collaborations. The people you choose to surround yourself with are incredibly important and can have a direct impact on your work. Over the last couple of years, I’ve gradually come to realise that a handful of strong, quality friendships is much more needed than having many friends who don’t show up when you need them most.”
6. What finally made sense to you since the pandemic started?
“Uniting as a family, a community and a country towards the betterment of humanity and eliminating the notion of being divided.”
7. And what didn’t make sense?
“I think we can all agree that it’s been a year and a half of things that made little to no sense!”
8. What do you hope will make sense for you or everyone soon?
“I hope it becomes clearer to all of us that our purpose on earth is not that of domination but rather of integration; to learn that not only are we one as a human race but we are one with the earth itself.”
9. When the going got tough, what kept you going?
“Believing in myself and knowing that no matter the environment, it’s up to me how I exist within it; like a lotus that blooms from the mud. On top of that – my two beautiful cats, Bella and Momo.”
10. What’s your current mantra?
“Go for quality over quantity.”
4. SHARON LIM SAUTAREL
Freelance artist
While the Paris-based Malaysian artist calls 2020 the year of realisation, Sharon is taking it one day at a time these days and devoting her hours to her family, meditation and yoga practice, taking on commissioned art, design and lettering projects, as well as travelling out of the city and immersing herself in nature every chance she gets.
1. One word you’d use to drive yourself:
“Improvement.”
2. What’s your masterpiece called?
“The world in our hand.”
3. What’s it made of?
“Fineliner ink on paper.”
4. What’s the story behind your creation?
“The story here is that we can’t change how people think or do things. We are the change and everything starts with our own thoughts and actions.”
5. What discovery have you made since MCO 1.0?
“For myself, it’s to slow down and enjoy being alive. To not rush anything. That everything I do doesn’t need to be ‘express’ or ‘fast’.”
6. What finally made sense to you since the pandemic started?
“That washing hands and wearing a mask can affect and change a lot of things!”
7. And what didn’t make sense?
“How, despite these unprecedented times, there are people who can still be ignorant.”
8. What do you hope will make sense for you or everyone soon?
“I hope that the world will heal from our [inhuman] actions soon, so that we’ll remember to not pollute Mother Earth again in the future.”
9. When the going got tough, what kept you going?
“My growing children, Luli and Emma.”
10. What’s your current mantra?
“Be better. Improve. Blossom.”
5. VENIE TEE
Illustrator
When the pandemic struck and the lockdown was implemented in Malaysia, Venie used the time to reflect on her career and life.The ever-optimistic illustrator thrived on hope and patience during the toughest days and continued to teach art to kids through online classes while taking art classes simultaneously to further hone her craft.
1. One word you’d use to drive yourself:
“Manifestation.”
2. What’s your masterpiece called?
“Hope.”
3. What’s it made of?
“Gouache and watercolour on paper.”
4. What’s the story behind your creation?
“I did this drawing during a Facebook Live session in the first lockdown. I wanted to have a positive concept for the fashion illustration, so I incorporated the idea of prayer flags and the Himalayas on the coat and added the hot air balloon to represent the joy of moving forward with hope.”
5. What discovery have you made since MCO 1.0?
“That I’m very patient in teaching!”
6. What finally made sense to you since the pandemic started?
“That we have to remember to appreciate our body and stay healthy, and trust that everything happens for a reason.”
7. And what didn’t make sense?
“For me, nothing in particular.”
8. What do you hope will make sense for you or everyone soon?
“That Mother Nature is at ease, and that we humans will have found a way to either end this Covid-19 or co-exist with it without fear.”
9. When the going got tough, what kept you going?
“Meditation and reading.”
10. What’s your current mantra?
“Stay positive and have faith!”
Check out what four local fashion designers have illustrated for us in the first part of this series here.
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