My love for exploring art begun at an early age. Born and raised in a small town in the royal town
of Kuala Kangsar – I was raised by 2 iron ladies, my mum and grandma. We weren’t a huge family;
there was only the 4 of us, including my younger brother. Artisan has not been something new to
me per se, having grown up witnessing my late grandma being frugal and embracing a “do-it-
yourself” mindset, I guess drawing roots from the Greatest Generation.
I would so often randomly sketch on any piece of paper that I could get my hands on and would
hide them underneath my homework, for the fear of being caught! Despite expressing my keen
interest in enrolling to an art class, I was never privileged – as these types of classes were deemed
non-essential back in the day and was often something that only kids from affluent backgrounds
had access to.
It was only at a later age, my mum finally got around and signed me up for an elementary class
where I had to share a small room with 30+ other kids (can you imagine!). Now recalling back, it
was a whole lot of fun having to eventually be able to learn some wisdom from a practitioner.
After schooling, I was eventually disengaged in pursuing this true passion further after countless
encounters with numerous stereotypes that favoured conservative and successful professions
over the arts. Imagine walking around with all this desire and the world telling you NO! “No, it’s
best not to”, “How are you going to pay your bills?”, “Just leave it as your hobby”. Sounded fair at
the time, having seen all my batch-mates pursue tertiary courses in paving the way for the
corporate world. I then slowly watched opportunities slip away.
Fast forward many years on, I met a guy (who soon became my other half). He had a fondness of
my kiddy artwork collection and my admiration towards painting, which made me inquisitive and
immediately led me back to canvas. I started doodling several pieces as a hobby and as my
collection grew, I begun exploring ways to exhibit them.
It was through a friend who was convinced there was a market for my pieces that I was presented
an opportunity to exhibit a few at the University Malaya Art Gallery. It ended up being a great
experience (albeit thrilling honestly, as a first-timer!) to have networked with so many individuals
from various walks of life, and to hear their perspectives. My affinity that night and the ensuing
days (as it was a month-long exhibition) towards the scene grew on me. I somehow never felt
drained throughout, in fact I became more energized to walk in the consecutive days just to share
with the visitors my backstories of the pieces (and hear their aspects too).
It was at the end of that exhibition, did I truly realise I would give up anything to dedicate my life
in being an artist. I began contacting other art galleries and cold calling in search for other
opportunities. It was during this period, I was lucky to have been acquainted with a prominent
artist, Mr. Stephen Menon, who eventually became my mentor. He counseled me (and continues

to do so tremendously) through my color compositions, medium and tools which helped me
transition from commercial to fine art.