Artecationista: Experimenting with visual arts using pointillism technique

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- Taking on something new, especially an endeavour that is different from one’s field of work that one has been involved in for decades, takes a tremendous amount of courage.

Mimi Salleh, Norsa’adah Ahmad, Haryanti (Yan) Yahaya, and Zalila Isa, who have each established themselves in the field of writing and the country's book industry, portrayed this bravery when they decided to venture into the field of visual art.

Guided by the country’s accomplished artist with extensive experience in fine art and book illustration, Emila Yusof, the four women poured in hours of effort into producing masterpieces using the pointillism technique starting last year.

Pointillism refers to a painting technique using tiny dots of various colours to create objects as desired by the artists.

Emila, 53, herself began to delve into the technique after being inspired by the artworks of French painter, Paul Signac, which were on display at the Albertina Museum while visiting Vienna in 2019.

When met recently, Emila said, under the Artecationista brand name, over 50 of their artworks would be displayed at the 2022 Nature Pointillism Exhibition from April 1-22 at GMBB, a creative community mall in Bukit Bintang here to be hosted by the Museum of Picture Book Art, Malaysia.

Norsa’adah, 43, who is a co-owner of an indie book publishing company, said initially she had doubts about her ability in painting, but with Emila’s guidance and encouragement from the other three women, she finally discovered the joy in painting using the pointillism technique, which had also helped her realise her potential.

Sharing similar views, Mimi, 48, who has created a name for herself as an author of picture books for children and articles on arts, said this latest venture helped her to see things from a wider perspective, adding that her confidence soared when she managed to finish each painting using the technique.

"(Producing paintings) using this technique helped me to learn to be patient because to complete the layers of colours takes time, sometimes days, but I feel satisfied when I saw the results," said Yan, 43, who started her career as an engineer before becoming a translator.

Zalila, 44, who is an editor, said the opportunity to collaborate with her favourite Malaysian artist, Emila, should not be missed, adding that she began to spend time to learn more about the technique with Emila’s guidance.

“Drawing is not just recording what you see and think in the form of paintings, as it also changes my perception of nature (especially). Now I look at the tree, its leaves and twigs, the various hues of greens more closely,” she said.

When asked about what she hoped to achieve through the exhibition, Emila said: “To give the idea to people that anybody without any art background can make art if they put their heart and mind into it.

“And that with daily practice, they can create their masterpieces that they never thought they could.”

-- BERNAMA