Penang artist unearths his unique talent in palette knife painting

BALIK PULAU, July 1 (Bernama) -- Penang artist Koh Teng Huat has come on a long journey until he unearthed his latent talent in art more than a decade ago.

A latecomer in art, self-taught Koh, 59, has worked as an insurance agent, journalist, sales representative, branch manager, newspaper agent and businessman until he found his true calling.

Koh who was born and raised in Balik Pulau said that during his schooling years, he liked art classes but his family could not afford the tools for him to pursue his deep interest further.

“Hence, after Form Six, I left my hometown in search of jobs and had worked in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Batu Pahat and Johor Bahru. However, all my previous jobs were not involved in art,” he told Bernama when met at his gallery here recently.

Koh whose alma mater was Han Chiang High School in George Town said that in 2004 he felt that he should return to his hometown as his ageing parents required more of his attention then.

“At that time, I feel that my parents are getting old and I need to look after them...so I decided to return to Balik Pulau to look after them and spend more time with my family,’ he said

His exposure to the art domain occurred by chance when he encountered a group of visiting artists from Kuala Lumpur in Balik Pulau during the durian season in 2009.

Koh who is also the founder of the Balik Pulau Art Society said the group of artists was in Balik Pulau for painting while enjoying the local durian.

“During that time, I try to observe their painting with brushed and oil colours...I also talked to them and learned techniques in painting,” he said.

When the artists left, Koh said they also left behind their painting tools such as brushes, oil colours and palette knives, which he took as he wanted to try out his first-ever painting after over 26 years.

“From there I tried to use the palette knife mixing with oil colours...the result, my first painting colours were yellow and muddy which made it looked like a landslide,” he said.

Koh said from then onwards, he feel that palette knife painting is more suitable for his lifestyle which is an easy-going and natural lover.

Since then, he has produced several series of art including scenes of Balik Pulau such as fishing villages, padi fields, streetscapes of Penang, and local cultural festivals and events.

He has also travelled to many countries like New Zealand, Australia, China, England, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore to participate in the art exhibitions.

His penchant for using the swashbuckling style of palette knife painting has since become his forte for the past 13 years and his artworks have been sold in the local auction while his name was featured in the book 310 Malaysian Artists (published in August 2015).

However, Koh said that now he is focusing on using his art to secure funds for charity organisations to help the less fortunate, especially after the pandemic COVID-19.

He added that before the pandemic, he had donated more than 20 paintings to many schools for children with special needs and raised more than RM300,000 for charity.

“I still remember that one of my paintings was auctioned off for RM120,000 in Johor Bahru, the highest amount for sale to help the charity," he recalled.

-- BERNAMA