Art is a form of communication that bears meanings depicted by its artist. On the surface, it consists of no words, yet it can speak thousands of words.
For artist Liew Kim Phiaw, his artwork encapsulates a story from the past, while ensuring its continuity into the future.
Started seriously dabbling into arts in 2018, Liew revealed that he never learned the skill. The businessman, who is also known as Fook Liew, shared that although he did learn arts in school during his adolescent age, the passion to continue was not there yet.
“I knew that I could draw, but I didn’t pursue it. I remember the few times that I did try to draw art when I was younger, and it was always sparked by boredom. At one point, it was a school holiday, and I had nothing to do, being in the dormitory. As I was reading a comic book, I noticed the muscular features of the character. I became intrigued, got up and drew it. Then I never drew anything anymore,” he said.
As he continued on with life, Liew became a businessman — something that would make his family proud, as well as keep food on the table. Though artistic by nature, he brushed away the passion until a later time.
“It was only when my son was born that I wanted to preserve his facial features through art by drawing using a graphite pencil. He was the reason I continued till this day, as I find drawing and painting a therapeutic hobby,” said the 50-year-old.
Being a member of the Sarawak Artists Society (SAS) as a vice secretary (Chinese), Liew’s skills extended to canvas painting, portraits, sculpture building, and murals too.
His specialty is in the intricate details he does for each artwork. Even a strand of hair, or a facial wrinkle is not to be missed whenever he does his work. The duration of each hyper-realistic portrait ranges from a few hours to a few months, with seven months being the longest he has ever done for a graphite pencil artwork.
Discussing the challenges he faces, Liew explained that his focus on hyper-realism comes with limitations as it is time-consuming. But due to the healing factor of creating an artwork from scratch, he continued.
“It can take a long time, but the pleasure of being able to finish it is worth it. Whenever I am stressed, or just want to kill my time, I draw,” added the artist.
A painting worth a thousand words
The majority of his artwork leans towards the culture and history of Sarawak. Through his belief in being able to depart a message from his artwork, he describes painting as a language like words — it could communicate.
“Since my artwork takes time, I might as well do something meaningful, that’s why my focus is on Sarawak’s history and culture, and those significant events.”
As it takes time to create art, Liew chooses his struggles well. Noting the timeline used to draw, he considered the worth of investing in it.
“It’s not easy. To commit months to a project is not easy,” he shared.
“Before I’m about to start a project, there will be a voice calling me to begin; that I must paint about this subject. And when I start, I cannot stop. I must continue until the end,” he added.
Whenever he begins, there would be excitement that accompanies him. It’s like giving birth to a baby — it feels amazing, he exclaims. The mundane part comes in the middle, “it feels like I’m about to give up. But I persevered, and as I saw the finish line, I became excited again. I feel excited about the finished product,” he relayed.
At the moment, Liew is painting a mural at a pillar in Tropics City, Kuching —depicting the harmonious and peaceful elements of Kuching, Sarawak.
Liew’s artwork — like his passion, captures the charm of our city perfectly.
