Anchored by established galleries such as Wei-Ling Gallery, TAKSU Kuala Lumpur, Galeri Petronas and Annexe Gallery, the contemporary art scene in Kuala Lumpur is one of the most vibrant and fascinating in Southeast Asia. Besides contemporary arts other genres such as fine arts, creative arts and performing arts are also flourishing in a new found environment of liberalism and freedom.
I used to think that all you need to become an artist is to do art – not so. While some are simply born with the gift of artistic prowess, others have to study hard to become fluent in the language of art. “Growing up, lots of people have told me that I have a good eye for colours and design. After graduating from college, I had all this pent up creative energy in me. I needed an outlet. And I found it in the form of teaching, sharing and imparting my ideas and knowledge to children,” says Ms. Pauline Choo, the principal of Picco Artisto Workshop (PAW) in Bandar Baru Rawang.
Presently, PAW offers courses in portrait and human form drawing, oil and watercolour painting, painting on canvas, batik painting and ceramic crafts modeling. Each of these courses would ideally take about three months to complete. During the courses, students would be taught different drawing and colouring techniques, space, dimensions and proportions plus the use and effects of light and shadows. The ambience in the workshop is so vibrant and happening, with its tasteful décor, its colourfully painted walls, its lighting and of course its principal and her teachers.
The only aim of a work of art is the self-expression of the individual artist who creates it – this is what one would call “Art for art’s sake”. However, in today’s society where people constantly seek to be identified with a certain group or accepted by certain segments of society, the so-called artist craves attention and acceptance and therefore he works towards a certain achievable goal. PAW provides a training ground from which these budding artists can hone their skills.
Being an artists’ workshop, PAW has an amazing and unique itinerary of events and programmes. There are special crafts events for festival days such as the lantern festival, Mothers’ Day and Hari Merdeka. There are day trips to the studio organized by the kindergartens, schools and nurseries nearby. There are even people wanting to book the studio for parties such as birthdays and special occasions. Aside from these fun-filled activities, PAW also offers special teachers’ training courses for Art Teachers wanting to teach Art and Crafts at kindergartens, nurseries, daycare centres or enrichment centres.
“The happiest moments of my day is when I am with my students, when I see them smile. When I see a sense of satisfaction and achievement on their faces when they complete a project,” says Ms. Pauline with a smile. She continues, “Art is my passion. Art is my life. I try to model PAW after one of my favourite quotes from Vincent van Gogh ‘Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.’ ”
Today we do not readily identify ourselves with the multimillion dollar works of Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali. Rather we look to a more recent time. A time of Andy Warhol and his Campbell Soup cans. Closer to home, we have our very own Monica Lee, Anthony Fook, Haris Rashid and Emila Yusof. And in our immediate vicinity we have Ms. Pauline Choo and Picco Artisto Workshop.
After the interview, I felt as if Principal Pauline had taken me through a whole gamut of emotions within the last hour or so. She was positively bursting with excitement and creative anecdotes when speaking about her workshop, programmes and students! Yet she comes across as a very real and warm person. A person who will “comfort you and give you warmth when you are lonely and feeling down. A person who is not afraid to hold your hand and lead you through the darkness. A person who will gaze into your eyes and see the beautiful sunrise there……"
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