News

Wednesday April 19, 2006

More to tea than just drinking

Story by MICHAEL LOH

MALACCA: Using Chinese tea as his medium, 55-year-old artist Soh Mok Tan paints scenes of Malacca River that bring out the rustic charm of the place.

Soh: I hope students can be inspired by this.
He makes the tea by rinsing tea leaves to produce different shades according to his needs.

“I’ve fallen in love with Malacca River and like to drink tea.

“These two form a beautiful combination,” said Soh.

A retired art teacher who moved from Malacca to Sungai Buloh, Selangor, to stay with his son, Soh decided to put his talent to good use.

His contribution to art has received the support of the Malacca government and members of public.

Using the tea, Soh has come up with several masterpieces featuring different parts of Malacca River in conjunction with the third anniversary of Malacca's Historic City declaration.

He hoped his pictures would promote Malacca and the river's beauty.

Melaka River and Kampung Morten.
Last April, also in conjunction with the city day declaration, Soh used broken pieces of old window glasses to paint Malacca River. He featured the first phase of the Malacca river beautification project, that had given the waterway a new look, in his artwork.

Spending time using different mediums to paint the river scenery does not satisfy Soh.

His love for art has inspired him to paint other historical Malacca monuments such as the A'Famosa fort.

Melaka River near Dewan Hang Tuah.
Using a kitchen knife and a penknife, Soh carved a figure of the fort on his wife’s old chopping board.

Soh has used different techniques in his paintings.

One of the techniques is putting colours on a drawing block and pressing it with his hands to churn out unique shades.

“This is real art, with broken and uneven lines," he said.

Soh's tea painting of Malacca River near OCBC bank.
“I hope students can be inspired by this and learn the simplicity of art,” he added.

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