WAY OF AN ARTIST: A Painter's Life
Emmie, Poon Wing Yiu
Public in Macao may know little about the definition of art or how is the life of an artist, especially who engage in painting. An artist may somehow be mysterious to the public - people don’t know about their workplace, how they work or even if they exist.
Poon Kam Ling, a local painting practitioner, has more than 40 years of painting experience and has taught several hundreds of students. Poon has also participated in several art communities such as Macau Artist Society and International Women Artists Council.
“I, as a practitioner of painting in Macao, devoted most of my life in the name of art and lived a life of frugality,” said Poon, placing emphasis that her personal goal in life is spiritual, which is a path towards the destination of a true art piece - to seek perfection in art. “The path of perfection is a railway of no destination. What we can do is to improve our knowledge and skills of art day by day and never let this stop.”
Poon believes that art is a beauty. In Poon’s definition of art, a true art piece should be attractive no matter what the theme is. It should indeed always give people a feeling that only the word beautiful can describe how they feel, and should be able to make others feel the same way as it is intended.
Poon has begun to focus her art pieces on natural beauty rather than any cultural heritage for four years. Among all of the natural beauty, Poon prefers to flowers ??not a specific type, but any of them. Quite a lot of different flowers can be found in Poon’s home for her sketches.
Poon said, “It is my home where I work most of the time; it is the place where I draw my paintings and teach art.” Poon’s home is used as her workplace while her art pieces are sometimes presented in the exhibitions in Macao.
Various art tools for different uses can be found in Poon’s drawing space, a large room in her apartment. Though they are dated, Poon still treasures them like her family, and will never dispose them.
Her home is also full of various art pieces such as a jade tree. It is a home of art, a space of art. Poon said that the workspace she designed gives people a feeling of warmth which makes her workspace as an excellent place for meditation and relaxation and a perfect space for her students to learn drawing. She said her home is the best space for any art lovers.
Poon lives differently comparing to others. “It is not a mansion that an artist cares, nor it is wealth that an artist’s living place represents. It is just a sense of art, where artists can feel that they exist,” said the veteran painter.