Our Artists
The artists, E and Lai, have been married for close to 60 years. Painting is a common passion that unites them. During their 20s, they put aside their love for painting for more than two decades, to take care of the needs of a young growing family. In their 50s, and with their children all grown up, they were able to resume their artistic pursuit. Lai signed up and completed a 2-year course at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. While she appreciated what she learned in class, she knew that she needed to continually practise, learn and evolve if she wanted to become a good painter.
For them, painting brings much joy whether they are doing still-life indoors or sketching outdoors.
1990 was when they first went backpacking in Europe. They visited France, Italy, Switzerland and Hungary, where they found the landscapes, street scenes, and old architecture mesmerizing. It felt like everywhere they turned, there were scenes they must capture in their sketchbooks.
In subsequent years, they travelled to China, America and other cities in Europe with their family. These trips widened their exposure and gave them many more opportunities to practise painting in varied settings. “We are grateful to our children and grandchildren for planning family trips which always catered to our love for outdoor sketching,” said Lai.
They also enjoyed painting trips with fellow artists. Besides nearby countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, they also embarked on trips to India, Nepal and Turkey. What a treat it was for them to see and paint such a variety of scenes and historical buildings!
E said, “Painting is a huge part of our life. We are grateful for the joy as well as the challenges that this passion continues to bring to us every day.”
余和黎结婚已近60年了，绘画是他们的共同爱好。当年轻时，夫妇倆将这爱好搁置一旁，以便全心全意的照顾家庭。二十多年后，随着孩子们的长大，他们才得以恢复久违了的艺术追求。在五十多岁时，黎 在南洋美术学院完成了为期两年的课程。虽然在课堂上学到了许多宝贵的知识，但黎深知，如果要成为一名优秀的画家，她就必须要继续不断的练习，学习和突破自己。
对于余和黎来说，无论写生或室内画画，绘画总给他们带来无限的喜悦。
1990年，他们首次到欧洲背包旅行，留下足迹于法国，意大利，瑞士和匈牙利。那里的自然景观，街道风光和古老建筑都令人着迷不已！每个景象和角落，处处皆可入画。
接下来的三十年中，他们还与家人一起到过中国，美国和欧洲等其他城市旅行。这些旅游扩大了他们的视野，也让他们尝试了许多不一样的绘画体验。黎说：“我们的孩子和孙子们都很疼爱我们。每次策划家庭旅游行程时，他们都会考虑到我们对户外素描的热爱。”
余和黎也经常和他们的绘画好友一起出国旅游。除了马来西亚，印度尼西亚和泰国等临近国家，他们也去了印度，尼泊尔和土耳其。这些国家都有很独特的历史建筑物。有机会亲眼目睹, 并可将它们捕捉在画纸上真是一种言语难以形容的享受!
