Hwang Fwee Yuh 黄翡玉 graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in 1971. She studied western painting in NAFA, but after several years of painting in oil, she wondered if Chinese ink painting was a more suitable medium for her to express herself.
She went on to study Chinese ink painting with Singapore artist, second generation Nanyang artist Lim Kay Hiong, and never looked back.
The flow of the ink, the gliding of the brush, the softness of the paper; these are the intricate wonders of the medium of Chinese ink that continues to amaze her.
Animals are a common topic in Chinese ink paintings. In custom with Chinese traditions, they are usually painted in "nice" numbers, with numbers four and seven usually avoided.
Calligraphy is also a "part" of the Chinese ink painting, whether it is to write the title of the painting, poetry verses that "matches" the painting, and even the artist signature.
Fwee Yuh has a strong mastery in Chinese calligraphy too, which she also deeply enjoys.
Whether it is the stately cranes, the pretty mandarin ducks, or the free spirited horses, we are drawn to the simple beauty that is present in her paintings, uncomplicated direct expressions of the essence of the subject.
There appears to be "little" to see in the paintings; it seems that everything is expressed in a few brushstrokes and there are very few colours, but yet there is a lot to "see", and ponder, and reflect.
From emptiness do we see fullness, from black do we see colours, from lines do we see objects.
That is the charm of Chinese ink paintings that has kept Fwee Yuh, and now us, mesmerised.
Learn more about the artist Hwang Fwee Yuh 黄翡玉, learn more about the above paintings, watch her share more stories in this video.
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