lim shi quan's art portfolio

8/2/2019 Lim Shi Quan's Art Portfolio

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SUTD PORTFOLIO

These are a few snap shots from

a comic that I am working on. It

is a story about a young boy

from a borderline abusive family

who fabricates an imaginary

friend, only to find out later that

he is far from imaginary.


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I would like to share these comic excerpts partially because I

think that it was an interesting deviation from regular art that one

tends to do, and also from what others conventionally consider

art, yet it is undeniably; art. I feel that it showcases a certain

degree of design prowess, as comics are not simply talking heads,

but the onus is on the artist to integrate an ambience into the

drawing in a manner that makes the story come alive. As can be

seen from the snapshots, I actually did not put much facial or

bodily detail; despite the fact that I feel that detailed portraits are

my stronger suit. Instead by using only black and white imageryand focusing on atmosphere, I think the story truly came alive

much more than I had anticipated.


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This painting demonstrates the dramatic effect that

can be obtained by combining streaks of different

colour, and also that a vibrant background does not

necessarily have to detract from the appeal of the

focal point. The two halves of the painting aim to

evoke different emotions in the viewer despite the

similar design; relying solely on the difference of the

colour schemes do so.


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These two pieces were actually

birthday cards from separate

years for my grandfather. The

two artworks illustrate versatilityin design and art

conceptualisation. Drawing

animals is something that is

difficult to do from memory, and

both pieces required a certain

amount of research to find

appropriate designs that I could

adapt. I designed the Bull

Terrier card in recognition of my

Grandfathers love for that

breed. The Koi card was

designed to appeal to his

traditional Chinese upbringing

as they are commonly used to

represent prosperity.


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The year that I painted this, my family

had taken a vacation to France, and the

Monet impressionist paintings at the

Musee de Orsay had quite a profound

impact on me. In the same trip, we also

spent a great deal of time outdoors,

mainly in Provence. There, I was againdeeply influence by the dream-like

forests and scenery. This painting is an

integration of the two great

impressions that France left upon me.

The picture loosely depicts my sister

and me during one of the outdoor

strolls where we separated from my

parents.

The painting was my attempt at

replicating the impressionist effect. By

using the simplest shapes and playing

with colours, one is able to effectively

depict the scene. That was the effect

that I was experimenting with in this

piece.


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We visited Venice in the year that I painted the piece below, and the architecture there

was unlike anywhere else in the world. Venice is a miracle of engineering as the architects

were able to construct the entire city on marshland. The citys sole mode of transportation was

by boat or rustic Gondolas in the more narrow water alleys. The concept was completely novel,

and I was inspired to paint a scene from one of the nights where my family took a stroll by one

of the many piers that substituted walkways.

The painting experiments with the effects of dim lighting by using variants of the same

colour; in this case it was different shades of blue. It also explores the effect of moonlight

spilling into the water, which I had always imagined to be very surreal and so I attempted to

convey that feeling in the painting.

lim shi quan's art portfolio

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