Singapore art gallery by Sri Rajes

Nature, it is She who is closest to my heart. I grew up with nature and she has filled me with fascination, awe and wonder from the first time I met her with my awareness. My childhood days were spent with trees and plants and the vegetable gardens, with the goats and cows and hens, cockerels and chicks.

I spent innumerable moments on the beach, making countless sand castles and collecting shells. Nature herself shaped me. She is my Teacher. All that I am now, that I do now, I ascribe to Nature and before her, I place my work of art as well, my offering to my Teacher.

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Since very young, I have been keen on painting. My art teachers used to tell me that my paintings had a lot of meaning and depth in them. My thoughts and ideas, my feelings, my emotions and the manner in which I express them are all shaped by nature. My hands are filled with Nature’s bounty and She has left an indelible mark in my very psyche that I cannot look at something without drawing an association with something that nature has offered me sometime, somewhere.

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I am a retired Indian Singaporean aged 62. My line of work has all along been office administration. Following retirement, I pursued my interest of looking after pre-schoolers and in preparation, joined modern Montessori school.

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Of the many modules I did was one that assessed creativity (creativity arts). It was a heavy module and when I submitted my folder, the lecturer took to it. Highly impressed, she passed it around to everyone in the school. This piece of work did inspire many of the course participants. However, I was not very impressed with the work and I told myself, “this is nothing”.

This could well have been the starting point in my current pursuit as an artist. I followed my whims one fine day, bought some paints, canvasses, brushes and started my first serious piece.

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This piece did not turn up to my expectation. It was not a piece of exhibition standard, I told myself. It has been my hobby to visit museums and whenever I viewed the exhibits, I would assess them in my own way and mentally tick them with “this I can do, and this too” or “this is not my cup of tea”.

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In this way, I developed in me a concentration of what I wanted to paint and how and so my art pieces take shape. I set a standard for myself. I assess my pieces continuously and pass a piece as complete only when something within is deeply satisfied. I must say that within a year, according to my own assessment, my paintings have seen tremendous improvement.

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I do my paintings as a hobby and I do each of my pieces with passion. I start my paintings with an idea in me. A picture forms within, which I express on canvas.

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I use mixed media, like leaves, twigs, sands, shells, pebbles and other elements from nature. My paintings are acrylic based and I splash them with vibrant colours according to my heart’s dictate and content. My speciality abstract art with vibrant colours and Jackson Pollock’s style.

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In 2006, I started painting seriously, with the intent of sharing my pieces with those outside the confines of my art studio. Starting with my relatives and friends. Their encouraging responses moved me and thus has begun my journey as an artist stepping out into the public arena, embarking on this vocation dedicated to art.

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The time spent expressing my innermost ideas and feelings on canvas are one of the most precious and happiest moments in my life.

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In 2008 I donated 50 paintings to National Cancer Centre and Singapore General Hospital and 43 paintings to Sinda to raise proceeds for a good cause.

In 2009 I donated 28 paintings to Meranti Home at Hougang. Some of my paintings have traveled to Greece, Australia and India, and were given to friends as gifts.

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On 25 April 2009 I donated 5 paintings given as prizes for those residents who created beautiful garden in Opera Estate. A beautiful piece made from bark of trees was given as a gift to Abdullah Tarmugi MP for East Coast GRC and speaker of Parliament.

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Tagged as: fine arts in singapore, Singapore art, Singapore art gallery, Sri Rajes