Me doing my thing

Been reading  in the news about people leaving this life at sixty  and many at younger ages and iI cannot help but feel my time too is at hand but the only question is how. I have always hoped and pray for a swift departure with not too much regrats but if i am to still be around I intend to keep myself busy and healthy.

Yes the tummy needs  some work on but otherwise i feel great especially after quitting cigarettes. I have developed my routine of exercises beginning with sitting meditation to stretching and some Tai Ichi type of movements and wrapping up with  a Chi Gung shake down. .  

I used to do some Yoga when I was living abroad and that has also remained with me  as part of my repertoire of exercises especially the breathing techniques or Pranayamas.

 Sketching early in the morning among the  flora and fauna of the "Japanese Garden" part of the Botanical gardens has always been pleasant.There is so much to sketch from and it is cool as the spot is much shaded from the morning sun.

This too is Georgetown - Waterfalls Gardens

 My daughter is on semester break from MMU  one new ly added activity was to go jogging at the Botanical Gardens at the wee hours of the morning. However it was never too early for joggers as the place was already overly crowded with the young and old fast walking, jogging, strolling along while chit chatting and like me sketching and snapping away with my camera..

The lanscape at the botanical gardens has never  ceased to amaze me ever since i started visiting it when I was barely five years old and that was sometime in the 1950s. My relatives and friends would make it a weekend trip to walk all the way from Sungai Pinang Road all the Waterfalls Gardens as it was known then. Off course back then it was much much more  cooler to be there in every sense of the word. The stream that ran through the gardens was much larger and allot cooler to take a dip in. 

I was always captivated by the trees there since back when and every time i visited the place i would  walk by and say hello to each and every tree i pass by stroking their bark sometimes and smelling their flowers every so often. It is no doubt that because of my frequent trips to this place as a child that I have grown to love nature wherever I am. I have sketched and painted plants and trees without ever getting tired of doing so all my life and when I teach my students I would insist that they recognize the fact that each and every trees and plants has their own personal character.

Capturing the lights of the rising sun is a trick and with the digital camera  one can have allot of fun  taking  chances with how a shot would turn up. 

'TRANSIENCE - A Photo Exhibit at The China House.

200 Victoria Street

According to an interview he had with the Magazine 'ArtMalaysia' Lee Khai's taste for art was greatly influenced by his late father who was a head Master by profession and had many  well known artist friends such as Khoo Sui Ho and Wah Peng. But having been a close friend of his and frequent guest at his home I know that Lee Khai is one of those few genuine art connoisseur and collector.  

His taste in art and the artist he patronize with his purchases merits  his standard of choice for he is an avid reader especially on works of art and Art history. It is a rare gift in these days and age to find someone with such passion for something that is not his call in life. Lee Khai is also a lawyer and quite well respected among his peers in Penang.

Incidentally Lee Khai has developed into an interior designer as well through his  participation and advert interest in curating and extensive research into what is the latest in art and design in the art world. Thus his new office building has his personal touch in its final restoration stage in decor.  

 A man who knows what good music and the best wine is when relaxing at home, he also has a great heart when it comes to listening and lending a helping hand to those who approaches him and most of these are artists who sometimes have a difficult time making ends meet as artists always do. In this sense Lee Khai I feel is a well balanced individual who not only is a shrewd lawyer but a  philantropist as well as a good hearted Christian.

Among his collections are some of the most striking works of contemporary Penang Artist such as Khoo sui Ho,  James Sum. Ch'ng Kiah Kien, Pheh It Hao and Malay young artists such a Shaparel and Shaparin Ghani.

Oh yes he has a Bahari or two snug in there somewhere no doubt if you look hard enough as these are smaller pieces of monoprints which Lee Khai likes most about my works.

It was an honor to be invited to tour the new place at 200 Victoria Street  where  litigation and  suing and counter suing will take place a midst all the creative artworks hanging on the walls. I felt very humbled by the whole experience in a sense that it reflects what success means in one sense in one man's life. I am also honored to be chosen as one of his close friends.