The Very Early Years and Influences

Bintulu Government Secondary School Art Competition

The 6th of August 1966 was penned in my diary as the day I won second place in the BGSS's Creative Art Festival Competition for a 'beautiful painting'. This painting was submitted under the " Crayon, Still and Plant Life" category. The picture I did was of an iris plat.

This was a major happening in my art career because it was the first time I won in an open competition. The award meant so much to me that even to this day ( 41 years later!) I still keep my first ever award certificate and you got to see it too.

Even though the certificate was of a blue manila paper, it meant so much for the budding artist in me.

Art Education

Thus my art education started early in the 1960's. However, even at the primary schooling level, of all the subjects we had to study like English, Arithmetic, Religious doctrine, Geography, History , General Knowledge, Science and Hygiene, Art was still my best subject. I was awarded V.G. ( Very Good) in the Primary Six December 1963 report card for Art.

I will never forget a poster I did at that time of the "Bintulu Regatta" done to advertise the river regatta held at Bintulu as part of the first Malaysia Day Celebration. It was a most meaningful occasion for Bintuluians at that critical juncture of their political history.