Light floods in through the opened shutters into the once dark room. Summer sunshine and birdsong dispersing the gloom. She can feel her heart beat as she leans forward from the dark into the light. As she inhales the fresh summer air, fragrant with scent of the lush foliage, a weight lifts from her mind..
The forest in Bangladesh is an impressive labyrinth of colours and textures, shrouded in myth and inhabited by beasts it is both protective and dangerous. The midday sun is startling in its brightness but in the lush green of the forest there is shelter under the canopy from the raw heat of the day. Two ladies sashaying along back from their daily journey into the forest, oblivious of the heat, only glowing with life and laughter…
The mood radiating from the buildings, constantly changing in the late summer evening light.
How many sunsets have they seen?
Two boys peeking out of a large bay window across the park.
Watching through the trees towards the majestic church spire.
Waiting…
For someone to return.
It was early morning when she and I visited the Bandstand in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
It was a beautiful morning with a crisp blue sky, but
somehow the light didn’t echo the moment in time that I wanted to capture.
A sunrise or sunset seemed more appropriate. The fleeting, beautiful transition of light and colour, seemed to resonate more closely with me, reflecting the time of change in life.
This young lady with her shy smile and her converse trainers, transitioning from girlhood and womanhood, experiencing the same excitement and anxieties that we all do at that age.
Removing her trainers and resting her leg on the balustrade she adopts a more womanly pose whilst still holding on to a treasured stuffed toy piglet as a link to simpler times.
I wanted to pass her some re-assurance, to show her the safety in stepping up. Enable her to enjoy the precious things you can find in briefest of moments that allow you to look back fondly, whilst bravely moving forwards.
Cuba’s countryside gem, Viñales, is the heart of tobacco country, where 95% of the worlds Cuban cigars originate and the best of the best is kept by the farmers for their own pleasure. I was swept away by the beauty of the moment when I met this cool tobacco farmer. He had a powerful vitality, and a sharp-eyed confidence. An energy born from the land he grew up in. I could see in his eyes the strength of his determination. He deftly rolled a cigar in his hands from his own special stock and dipped the end in honey to sweeten the taste. Passing us a sample of what proved to be the smoothest smoking cigar any of us had tried…
One of my precious pieces of work is now on the market. I have mixed emotions when I part with a painting I have created. On one hand it is a warm feeling to think that someone else enjoys my work enough to want to own it. On the other hand, there is a sense of loss.
My work contains part of me and the process of creation is far from just mechanical. There are still links back to my consciousness and these are not so easy to severe. I am not the girl in the picture, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still connected…
Thanks to Fiona at Asian Palette for providing the space for my painting and for introducing me to some wonderful and interesting people. Please visit her gallery if you are in Singapore and get some free time. http://www.asianpalette.sg
Tsuyumi Miwa
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