The Artist @ Work - Nicholas Choong - The Creative Process: Larger Than The Sum Of Its Parts! 🎆
I sit here in the studio of one of my favorite Artists watching him create one of his incredible pieces. Nicholas Choong may not be a familiar name to many of you but like a growing body of admirers I believe he is possibly be the best artist at work in Malaysia today. He is also a dear and old friend of mine… 😉
Malaysia: A Country In Transformation – Nicholas Choong: An Artist Without Boundaries!
I spent many years in Malaysia at various points throughout my life. From a child to an adult I have been in this fascinating multicultural country full of more shades of green than I have ever seen anywhere else. As a young adult I became friends with Nicky through the club scene as we both loved to dance and DJ. What I didn’t realize all those years ago was that Nicky is a truly great artist, someone whose creative talents transcend mediums. Nicky has the ability to create amazing art in whatever format he chooses.
Dance, Music, Composition, Painting… Art in all its forms are open to Nicky. Like all great artists his work flows from inside him instinctively and his talent allows him to master any medium he chooses.
When I first began to see his art online I was in Australia and I fell in love with his work immediately because it gave me a strong emotional response. Initially I saw watercolors of Malaysia, its distinctive architecture of old two-story shop houses. Those works resonated so strongly in me that I knew Nicky would one day be famous for his work. He had perfectly managed to capture the images, colors and emotions of my childhood. Little did I know how far he would take his art and how amazing his work was to become…
Malaysia is in the midst of massive transition. I can feel it and I hear it when I speak to the beggars on the street, the wealthy in their club houses and the average Malaysians I meet all over the city as I hitchhike around one of the cities of my youth. It’s a fascinating time to be in Kuala Lumpur now and Nicky’s art is transitioning perhaps in a conscious or subconscious reflection of the wider changes in Malaysia’s society.
Why Should We Purchase Art?
Many years ago a mentor of mine in London told me that there are only two reasons to buy art. Firstly as an investment if you want to play the art market, secondly and more importantly because of the value it brings to your life. My mentor explained that if I was to buy art it should be to hang on my wall and look at every day. During those moments of reflection I was to draw inspiration from the art. Art should make me feel emotions that were the result of a combination that was larger than the sum of its parts!
In essence my mentor told me that art held power and having art in your house should provide you with emotional responses that would enhance and improve your life, provide inspiration and give you something intangible yet real.
Nicky’s art does that for me! I wanted some of his art the first time I ever saw it. My emotional response to his art is so strong that it inspires me. Interestingly I know now, when I buy his art it will be primarily for the emotional response it gives me but there is also another reason. I am sure his art will become more valuable over time. Nicky is truly an amazing artist whose reputation will only grow and I am not alone in appreciating this.
All The Beautiful Colors…
I write this post watching Nicky at work - surrounded by tubs of primary cyan, primary magenta, cadmium yellow, hooker’s green, leaf green, vermilion and yellow grey. Tubes of various proportions and unknown colors are littered around the studio surrounded by rows of classic works of fiction as we listen to interesting music.
We are both creating art in various forms. Nicky is currently working on art that is abstract and painted on recycled materials. I in my less talented and humble manner write a Steemit post struggling for words that fall far short of the wonder I feel in my heart at watching the artistic process. Like a child I laugh and tears of joy fill my eyes.
What is the difference between a child’s art and an artist who chooses to paint like a child? There is a difference of course. The intentions and skill sets are different. Yet there are also similarities. Children allow their creativity to flow out of them uninhibited. As we get older society and fear try to corral us into conformity. A true artist like Nicky is able to resist the fear and create art from within, uninhibited and unafraid. His creativity and skill instinctively flowing out onto his large canvases and boards.
I have had the honor of knowing only a handful of other artists as talented as Nicky in my life. Some are still alive and one has left us. The one who has left us was never meant to grow old and remains always in our memories as young and exceptionally gifted.
In writing this homage to Nicky I cannot help but be reminded of the one who has left us and a pang of regret sits inside me that I was never able to introduce the two artists to each other. They both have/had the ability to create amazing work no matter what medium they chose. Some people were never meant to meet I guess, but I see their similarities.
“Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back!” – Nicholas Choong
This seems to be a mantra of Nicky’s at the moment and I completely agree with his philosophy. If we were less fearful the world would be a much better place and the powers that shouldn’t be would have less control over us.
As Nicky dances around to classical music he is artfully assessing his work and adding splashes of color across the board. Sometimes there are large movements and at other times he drags on his cigarette and adds nothing but a tiny dab of color in a position that only he knows should be there.
Nicky only plans his work briefly but the majority of his creative process comes instinctively from within. Life is a progression and Nicky’s work reflects that. From DJing he moved into producing music, from watercolors he moved to oils and now is experimenting with recycled materials. One thing that everybody agrees upon is that his work is truly awesome.
As Nicky turns the board to paint upside down I ask him:
“Nicky does this piece have a right side up? If someone hung this upside down in their house would you correct them?”
His reply is classic:
“NO! I wouldn’t correct them, they should enjoy the art as they feel it. The structure of the piece is there and it should look as amazing one way up as another!”
Let go of your fear and try to truly see the reality of your life and what is in front of you. The more we let go the more we get. I truly love Nicky’s art and watching the artist at work is a humbling experience. When he began this piece of art he told me:
”I have to try not to overdo the paint on this piece.”
He hasn’t and the philosophy of less is more is apparent in the work. As the layers of colors add up a depth is appearing in the contrasting colors… As of the time of this writing there is no name yet for this work. I ask him:
”Nicky is there a name for this piece yet?”
He answers:
”No I don’t even know what it is yet. I will know when it’s done, then I will know its name!”
The latest thing he has said while dancing around to a Burning Man set is:
”Yeah! More vermilion man!”
What a gem he is and I am very lucky to call such a wonderfully talented person my friend! Just keep doing what you do Nicky we all love it and we love You! I can’t wait to see where your art goes because it always blows me away.
All the photos in this post have come courtesy of Nicholas Choong and his website is here!
Go Nicky! Booooooom!
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