By Stephanie Ng
My love for art began as a little girl, but ever since academic pressure and the heavy toll of school work and projects set in, I never really had the time to explore my passion in art. Slowly, my enthusiasm towards art faltered and I forgot the joy of creating, painting and drawing.
After completing my major examinations, I decided it was time for me to dive into the world of art again. The only problem was that I had neither the art materials nor knowledge of how to get started. Naturally, I watched many Youtube videos on painting and sketching but for some reason, my works never turned out the way I envisioned. One day as I was about to buy more art supplies at Art Friend, I chanced upon a flyer from Visual Arts Centre advertising their art courses and finally decided to take up professional art lessons with the studio.
I started with drawing and sketching lessons as I wanted to build up on my foundational skills. I completed several still-life sketches under the guidance of the gracious art teachers and was more than satisfied with the way my drawings turned out. The techniques to add depth and dimension to a drawing through varied shading, as well as creating carefully measured highlights with an eraser – these were the skills I picked up that transformed my sketches beyond my imagination.
Ms Wu, the art teacher, knew exactly what I wanted to learn and thus her comments towards my drawings were always extremely helpful and concise. Instead of generic comments like “increase contrast” or “make it darker”, Ms Wu would give targetted feedback and actually demonstrate how I could improve my work. I am immensely grateful for her relentless patience and guidance.
This is one of my completed works – the third still-life sketch that I completed here at the centre. I still have a long way to go but I’m quite proud of how far I’ve come since I first started lessons!
After completing 12 lessons in drawing and sketching, I decided that it was time for me to pursue my real passion: painting! I told the friendly staff that I wanted to switch to painting and they presented me with a fresh canvas that lesson.
I had never tried oil painting before as the materials were costly and I was always intimidated by how difficult it looked. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I realised it really was not! As oil paint takes a while to dry, it gave me the time to correct my mistakes and take my time with blending the colours to create the right shadows and highlights. It was a joy to see the gradual progress of my oil paintings and I am proud of the still life oil paintings that I have accomplished. I’m looking forward to starting on my next piece!
If you’re interested in picking up fine art skills, I would definitely recommend coming for classes here! The 24 sessions package comes with 2 free sessions and it allows me more time to explore and become familiar with the different mediums (oil painting/acrylic painting/drawing and sketching).
Interested in our art courses? Check it out here.
Visual Arts Centre is an exhibition gallery and art studio at Dhoby Ghaut Green supported by the National Parks Board and the National Arts Council.
Since its initiation on 31 January 2016, the Visual Arts Centre Exhibition Gallery has hosted over two hundred international and local art and design exhibitions, boasting a diverse range of art styles and programmes.
Email:
info@visualartscentre.sg
Phone:
+65 6255 0711
+65 6733 2155
In the Batik Introduction Handkerchief Painting workshop, participants will learn the traditional art of batik, a wax-resist dyeing technique originating from Indonesia. The workshop begins with a brief history and overview of batik, highlighting its cultural significance and various techniques. Participants will then observe a demonstration of applying wax with tjanting tools and dyeing the fabric. Following the demonstration, each participant will design and create their own batik handkerchief, applying wax to create patterns and then dyeing their fabric. The workshop concludes with a group discussion, allowing participants to share their creations and reflect on their learning experience.
