Year of the Dragon

Totally unplanned, this artwork came to life as a result of being in the moment, present to one of the participant of my 'Being an Artist' two-day art workshop.

The participant was in the midst of painting her very first artwork, and as such, was rather tentative as one would be as a first timer. In particular, she was squeezing very small amounts of paint out of her paint tubes, and applying it delicately to her canvas. It was a time consuming effort.

I suggested she double or triple the amount of paint she squeezed out of the tube onto her palette but my invitation remained unanswered. Thus, I decided to model it. It picked up a canvas, a palette and I splashed copious amount of paint on it, then painted this artwork in the same style my participant was.

Magic happened. Modelling it gave permission to my participant to squeeze more paint out of the tube and apply more paint onto the canvas, transforming the experience.

So the initial title I had in mind for this artwork was 'Daring to Squeeze'. Then, as I varnished it, I saw a dragon in it, a week away from Chinese New Year, ushering the Year of the Dragon, hence it final title.

This unexpected artwork is dedicated to F., the said participant. Thank you for this serendipitous creation.