With the lockdown, backyard has become my outdoor space I can delicate to my art. This painting reveals just how lovely and comforting to see the birds in the yard, singing and looking for their ‘food’ in the surrounding of beautiful camellias, as I watching them from the window of my ‘shed-turned-into’ studio. Being in lockdown has given me the opportunity to actually look at my immediate surrounding. This painting, oil and ink on linen, is a self-portrait with a mask, a reflection of the sadness and frustration of being in confinement as experienced by many of people lives around the world. It inspired by the feelings of the current unsettling times, and my reconnection with the natural surroundings during the pandemic.

Light and its effects are my inspiration. I enjoy the challenge of conveying my fascination with the interplay of light and reflection, such as capturing the characteristic of the flowers when the light touches them, the chiaroscuro that can change by the minute in the landscape, the fall of light on clear waters and the reflection and shadows that play with the surface tension, etc.

I use highlights to portray the areas where light hit an object, whilst darker hues to illustrate the contrasting shadow. Adding the lights and shadows make the subjects I paint or draw look more three-dimensional. They give me ideas how to give my work a sense of depth. I like to create art that is beautiful, lifeful and makes the viewers feel good to look at it.