Heng Eow Lin
A Carefree Artist; a Seeker of Beauty

by Duola

"A person may have a lot of regrets in life," says artist-sculptor Heng Eow Lin. "But becoming an artist makes me very happy." Below is an extract taken from Duola’s book The Way of the Heart (written in Chinese) detailing his long journey to success in the art world.

From the materialistic point of view, an artist may not have a lucrative income compared to that of a businessman. However, pursuing the creative vocation has brought "happiness and freedom" to Heng, whose works are admired by many.

After graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Art, Heng immediately wanted to become a full-time artist. From the very start, he has never changed job or held a second job. His pursuit of art has been very steadfast. This has caused him to be misunderstood but he shrugged his shoulders, saying, "It’s okay. I like it that way." He is indeed a very happy man. After 32 years, he heard people praising him as a "very persistent man!" At the same time, some ridiculed him as "a mad man!" Persistent in his pursuit, he does not want a second job to better his way of life.

"During the first 20 years, I never dared to say that ‘I am proud’, but now I can even shout aloud." Many middle-aged people will reflect and discover that they have missed out a lot due to their strong will. Heng’s career, however, shines brilliantly due to his persistence.

Many artists would agree with writer Ernest Hemingway, "Because of a poor childhood, I have become an artist." Heng, however, disagreed. "That’s the remark of an author. In reality, almost all professionals experience some difficulties. The pursuit of ideals is difficult. Those who hold on to their ideals are bound to suffer."

Heng’s most difficult years were at the beginning when he had to struggle very hard. No one knew him or recognised him. No one bought his paintings. However, he never abandoned his pursuit. Some people survive on desire while others on idealism. Individuals have choices.

"Idealism," Heng says, "may remain as idealism. Sometimes we may not achieve our target." To be an artist is his ideal profession and he has achieved his target, though it has not been an easy profession, especially when he was born in a place where people did not know what an "artist" was.

Born in Kulim, Kedah, Heng was once known as "jungle man". Thirty-two years ago people there had never heard of painting as a profession. Compared to other "suffering" artists, Heng had an advantage. His family did not oppose his decision to take up art and even encouraged him. His doting grandfather liked to see him doodling and promised to give you some pocket money if he could draw a picture. Whenever Heng needed money to buy snacks or noodles, he would draw a picture for his grandfather. Because of such "economic incentives", he cultivated a good habit of drawing pictures.

Heng’s father was regarded as a "strange" man, but Heng is very grateful for his support. Once, his father returned from Singapore with a heavy gift of an "oil box" for him. Nobody knew what it contained and when the young Heng opened it, he was deeply delighted with tubes of oil paints!

"Love Me - Carry Me"	"Happy Times"

After completing Junior Middle III studies, he wanted to study art. When his father finally agreed, almost all his friends objected. Becoming a professional artist was "nothing great" then. When they seemed to be ridiculing him, Heng wanted to speak up for his father. He pledged to do better than their children who furthered their studies overseas.

Determination Brings About Results

Heng’s happiest days during his pursuit of education was at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. He began by painting portraits and from there learned the use of colours, discovering the rich and vibrant changes of colours which is hardly noticeable under light and needs to be examined carefully. He takes these changes as extremely significant.

Deeply grateful to be guided by England-trained artist Lim Yew Kuan and France-trained Georgette Chen, Heng enjoys painting portraits and would paint many pieces once he started.

"A portrait must have at least 80% likeness," Heng says. "Do not exaggerate or deviate too much from reality. The most important aspect is the mood which should be able to capture the inner character of the model."

Heng had toured Europe for a year and depended on painting portraits for a living. There he was fascinated by the many art galleries, big and small. His favourite artist was Austrian-born Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) who had left many artworks in old buildings in Vienna. "His paintings have rich colours and balanced composition. He was a refined painter."

"I love beauty," said Heng," but I understand that it cannot be perfect. When I am composing, in painting or sculpting, I try my very best not to think of whether the product will be perfect or not. Trying your best is the most important thing. I am myself not 100% perfect. There is advantage in this awareness and that’s the way it should be. Nothing’s perfect anyway."

Heng’s trademark is industry and determination. When Heng was in his 30s, he had toured a quarter of the world. He has left his footprints in France, Holland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan and India. He likes to travel and study the way people live besides observing the ways of the world.

The main theme in Heng’s paintings and sculptures is the beauty of life – centring on the human form – though he views life as imperfect. He wants to reveal the beauty regardless of the subjects. Knowing that life is not perfect drives him to show its beauty. He also attempts to display the hopefulness of youth in his works. In his "New Generation Series", the main characters are children, but they are faceless and without skin colour as he thinks that all lives are equal regardless of nationalities and races.

Heng said, "An artist’s thoughts, character and interests are naturally displayed in his works." His paintings and sculptures exhibit his suave outlook and his delightful attitude.

When facing with a blank canvas, Heng doesn’t know where his imagination would lead him. "I may plan at the beginning of a piece of work," he said, "but once started, the idea or plan may change, according to time and ideas. Sometimes the end product can be vastly different from what I had planned at the beginning."

Heng’s works follow his fancies. He refuses to let himself trapped in a box. He elaborates of his portrait painting process: "Sometimes I begin with the nose, sometimes the mouth and other times, the body. I let my inner feelings guide me. Sometimes it goes on smoothly and other times I become indecisive. It is not necessarily that I paint a known person better. I lived with a cousin sister in Singapore for three years. I painted her portrait several times, but none of them was satisfactory."

Heng, however, does not believe in getting inspiration before he begins his work. Instead, inspiration comes when he begins working. Sitting idly waiting for inspiration doesn’t work for him.

Mother and Son (sculpture)

He doesn’t throw away unfinished or defective works. He even goes on to sign his name and date the works. His habit is, "Hold on, I will continue another day." He will also continue working on his series of works. When he begins a new series, it will have a reflection of work from the previous series. Hence, his series of works are continuous, believing that garnering more experiences in life would let him improve his words further. Although he accumulates the series, his new works are always different – you cannot divorce an artist from his old works.

Traces of the old hidden in the new series sometimes become a new creation. Heng finds this a delightful creative experience. Among his works lies some unfinished ones. But these will be completed someday. In his "New Generation Series" in oil, blank spaces exist for a purpose – the new generation contains many unknown factors and limitless possibilities. The blank spaces may one day be filled with other themes. Armed with a brush and painting knife, Heng has many opportunities to "perfect himself". He likes to use the same theme in creating a painting and a sculpture and finds that additional ideas in an oil painting can be utilised in a sculpture.

Environmental protection and humanity are his main themes in his creative works over the years. However, no matter on what themes or subjects he chooses, he desires to express beauty in all his works.

Some people described his works in his early years as realistic. Later they find his works impressionistic or "beautiful". But Heng does not like his works to be categorised into any of the schools or groups. "Put them in ‘Freedom School’," he said suavely. "Modern people demand modern paintings. There are no schools for these paintings."

Heng continues to flourish in his art career. He said," When you can still paint, better do it!" He treasures time. He said, "I am like a beach in the afternoon as opposed to the morning beach which is smooth and without footprints. The afternoon beach is full of footprints and when I stamp my foot down, I want to ensure that my footsteps are stronger than others, so that they will last longer than the others."

[Courtesy April 2011 Cosmic]