Interview by Rui Pastorin
Art has long been a part of Chelsia Ng Cheok Ieng’s life. Since she was a small child to now being a 17-year-old Form 5 student, Ng has continued to learn and create through drawing and painting, having a continuous passion that has also become one of her sources of calm.
A self-motivated youngster who likes learning about different types of artforms including ballet and music, the talented artist, who was interviewed by The Young Post at our newspaper’s editorial office on Thursday, said she started taking lessons under seasoned local artist Io Fong when she was just six years old. And what started off as just attending classes quickly became something she enjoys greatly.
Chelsia, who studies at Sacred Heart Canossian College (English Section), said that the lessons started off with her learning to create works through using oil pastels before eventually moving on to sketching, colour pencil sketching and then drawing with technical pens*.
Now, she mainly works with watercolours, a medium that she has a preference for due to its fluid and transparent feel, while also noting that she likes the process behind it along with seeing colours change and mix together. In terms of what she likes to paint, architecture is a subject that she enjoys the most, with inspiration often coming from looking at pictures.
While she continues to take group classes with Io, Chelsia also has the chance of using her skills in school, where she has had the opportunity to create works for certain classes and homework. An example she gave of this was for an assignment in one of her classes where students had to draw something related to Macau’s heritage, with Chelsia choosing to take on A-Ma Temple as her subject.
While discussing this particular work, for which she used technical pens and, she noted, mistakes could not simply just be erased, Chelsia pointed out the importance of patience. She emphasised this as being quite significant when creating something, adding: “When you put in more time, you can do the work”.
Moreover, Chelsia said that she likes to take the time to paint something for herself each week, usually taking around an hour to paint if time allows it. To her, being able to create something is what she loves most about art, saying that she feels relaxed and happy when she paints or draws, while a feeling of satisfaction comes whenever she completes a piece. And with over 10 years of being engaged in art, she has created many works over time, saying: “I’ve never stopped”.
Her passion for art is something that she wants to continue, but she also said she would prefer to keep it as a part of her life rather than pursuing it as a career or joining activities such as competitions. And when asked why, the young artist pointed out that she wants to keep both the enjoyment and love that she has for the craft she is engaged in, rather than finding stress in a hobby she thoroughly enjoys. “Since it’s just for interest, I don’t want to put any stress on myself in doing this”.
The youngster said hopes to continue drawing and painting down the line, particularly finding more inspiration from architecture that she likes.
*A technical pen is a type of pen designed for technical and architectural illustration. Technical pen drawing emphasises accuracy and detail, making it a preferred choice for professionals in technical fields. -Source: Poe
This photo provided by Chelsia’s mother shows the young student relaxing.
Chelsia Ng Cheok Ieng poses with some of her favourite works after the interview with The Young Post at The Macau Post Daily’s editorial office in the city centre. -Photos: Rui Pastorin
