Abdullah Ariff: Painting
Abdullah Ariff was one of the pioneers of water colour painting in Malaysia. He was born in 1904 in Penang and considered himself a pure Penangite, far removed from the Malays, with whom he identified, but felt a certain self-identity. The paintings of Abdullah Ariff tell a tale of his journey his life and works in art. Wxplore Abdullah Ariff’s biography and know all about him.
After passing Senior Cambridge in 1925, he joined his own school, Anglo-Chinese School of Penang as art teacher. In the mid 1930s, he was associated as a member of the “Penang Impressionist Society”, all Caucasian elite club of colonial origin, though Asians were not welcome there. Ariff’s service as art instructor was key factor for his being inducted. As an impressionist he felt obliged to adopt the quick touches of the brush strokes, often squeezing the paint directly from the tube, but the smudges of paint on the canvas and delaying process of the oil paint discouraged him from using this medium. During this time, he experimented with various mediums like linoleum print, oil paint and water colour. However, use of water colour suited him most and he earned his international fame in this medium. His favourite subjects were rural scenes and landscapes as well as plants and human figures.
One of his most famous paintings was ‘Counter Hall’ created in 1932.It was painted with oil on board. ‘Counter Hall’ was the earlier name of Jalan P. Ramlee. In 1932, it was a rural area with rare scenic beauty, beside the sea. The image shows a stormy scene of cloudy sky and a house beside a road leading to the sea. The artist has used a wide range of blending tones to show the sky, landscape and the “kampong” of this art work with large and quick brush strokes. The house and the coconut plant were created using dry on dry method. “Kampong” is a rural scene, very favourite among the Malays. Know all about Abdullah Ariff’s artworks and explore his paintings, his journey, his love of art through Abdullah Ariff’s biography.
Another one of his paintings was the portrait of an ‘Old Chinese lady’, a seamstress, seen with three umbrellas, so as to keep safe from hot weather. She has many torn clothes with her to serve the customers. This exquisite piece was created in water colour in wet on wet method.
Another important piece of his oeuvre was ‘Chinese Junk’, created in 1956. This is a representational art created in oil on canvas, which shows wind powered junks, a common scene in Malayan water, heading for the ports of the Nanyang region. This painting on oil shows four junks, skilfully painted, which shows the artist’s mastery over oil paints. The 1950s were the most creative period for the artist and he experimented with several methods which resulted in his solo exhibitions in America. ‘After the Torrential Downpour’ shows a beautiful landscape of a jungle, and ‘Bumi Yang Bahagia Lombong Bijih Timah Malaya’ or ‘Lovely Malaya Tin Mine Land’ shows a scene of a Tin mine which helps us to learn Malaysia’s tin mining history. Abdullah Ariff’s biography has the details on his paintings, the beautiful landscapes, his techniques, practices and his explorations. Explore the artworks of Abdullah Ariff.
Abdullah Ariff is considered the pioneer of Malaysia’s water colour painting along with Mun Sen. His style is more ‘European’ than Mun Sen and his landscapes are ‘more crowded’. His contribution towards the Malaysian art was acknowledged by the people of Malaysia by naming to streets in his name. Go through Abdullah Ariff’s biography and explore Abdullah Ariff’s pioneering works. The journey this prodigal painter took amazed all of his countrymen and his fame went way beyond the borders of Malaysia. You can know all about that having a look at Abdullah Ariff artworks.
