They brought the kids, and before long the little ones were laughing and running around the studio.
The parents were surprised.
“They’re so comfortable here, like they’re home”, they remarked. “You have something special here.”
What’s special, I thought. Just a simple place… but how nice to see them happy! I hoped they’d be happy with the painting, too. I didn’t try to make it special. I just wished for something good.
The commission was to paint dad’s portrait based on his photos, and I focused on what I believed truly mattered – his happiness. They showed me many happy photos, and there was one which looked almost suitable for reference. Almost. Handsome face, flattering light, professionally captured (no distortion), but the most crucial element was missing. It didn’t have that natural joy.
None of the photos were perfect. No exact reference to paint from. I had to paint from imagination.
Ok, actually I didn’t have to. I could have invited him to the studio for a live study. Even easier: take an actual photo reference with my oh-so-pro camera.
But there’s a word in Hokkien called “gey-kiang”. Means: act tough.
So I looked at that handsome photo, and dreamt about us meeting up and discussing how to fix our receding hairlines. I dreamt like this for several days. I dreamt so much, I saw strands of hair floating before my eyes. Definitely not his. Never mind whose. Should be enough on the floor to make a new brush.
I dillied and dallied. Finally, I plucked enough courage to start painting.
An underpainting first with umber. Don’t jump all in with the colours. Don’t gey-kiang. (Like I’m not already)
Luckily, it went much smoother than expected. Very quick (2 hours). Very happy. I think I got his natural smile. I think.
Better confirm before painting further. Why not? He’s in Singapore!
We finally met in the studio. Seeing him for the first time – in person – it was as if he jumped straight out of my dreams, though I didn’t imagine him to be 5 heads taller than I. He loved the portrayal, but we didn’t just see paintings. We had a nice chat. We talked many things. We didn’t talk about hair.
I was happy.
Even happier than before, because I enjoyed painting this gentleman even more. Not as a job, but for someone real.
So back here, a few weeks later, him with the family to collect the painting. It was a very happy day.
The beautiful wife loved it. “You captured his smile. His happiness.”
And the little one added, “Perfect!”
“NICOLAS”, 51×40.8cm, oil on linen
