Saturday, September 8, 2007

Batik Paintings

The production of batik paintings was an interesting discovery of sorts during my mature years period. In the first solo exhibition I had in 1981 at Kuching, there was not a single piece of batik painting exhibited. It would seem that time is really needed to master an art. Batik techniques were learnt during college days( 1967-1970) but little was mastered then.

It was only when I came back to Bintulu in 1983 onwards that I contemplated on mastering this art. This was largely due to the fact that Bintulu was an upcoming town and there were plenty of expatriates available as buyers. Thus it makes commercial sense to go back into batik painting because batik is uniquely Malaysian.

The motifs then were exclusively native or ethnic.. In the earlier pieces(1985-1989) . The colours were very subdued and rich in hues. In later paintings(1985-1989) I concentrated on the unique spontaneity and impressionistic tendencies of batik. Here are examples of work done during this period. More examples will be shown in later blogging.

It would seem appropriate at this juncture to remark that in the 2nd solo exhibition which I am now planning, there will be plenty of batik paintings especially those with modern or abstract motifs.




Kelabit Girl with Flute - circa '86


By The Water's Edge - august,02


Three Doves - circa '86



Water Lilies- may,'02


Plants study - june '02


Paddling upriver- april '85


Two Women Washing - may'85









1 comment:

Robert Rizal Abdullah said...

Mahmud,

You are a talented artist. I'm glad you followed Mr Voong. His teaching was not in vain. I was good in TLS but when I joined the Army I did not continue to paint and my ability just disappeared like that! What a waste.

Robert Madang Langi