MELINDA WONG SOK HUA does not conform to any rules or order in her illustration, sketches, and acrylic paintings. She is not confined to any specific style or medium when it comes to her expression of art.
Her illustrations, sketches and acrylic paintings on canvas are bright with colours, unconventional and unsystematic, but are able to capture the viewer’s attention.
“Art is fun. Artists are not limited to any rules as we have the freedom to draw what we want, and how we want, without having the need for it to be realistic,” explained Wong.
The subjects for illustrations range from modern figures of women, patterns, food, vegetables and even cats.
“I don’t have a main subject or focus because I just draw what I feel. One day, I could be combing my cats’ fur, and then I would be drawing my cats. The next day, I could be tending to my veggie garden, and then I would draw fruits or vegetables that I like,” she said.
“I don’t have a specific style that most creative artists have. I am open to all sorts of art styles as I am not able to settle upon a single one,” said the 32-year-old Wong, who has an Instagram page called @messyvoices.
“The name MessyVoices is because there are many ‘voices’ (styles) that I would like to paint or draw, and I do it in an unorganised and random way,” she explained.
Creative characters
Apart from drawing art and illustration on eclectic subjects, Wong – who has a diploma in advertising and design – does amazing sketches with coloured pencils, and expresses her vision through abstract painting using acrylic on canvas. She also came up with her own characters, called Miss Pau and The Cat-eapi Sarong.
“Miss Pau is a pau (Chinese bun) wearing a cheongsam (Chinese traditional wear), holding dim sum. As a Chinese, I love to eat pau and dim sum, hence, the character was born,” she said.
The Cat-eapi Sarong is a character based on her three cats, which she claimed never get along with each other.
Wong used to draw in sketchbooks and paint in acrylic on canvas, before drawing on a digital tablet or an iPad.
“I love creating textured abstracts from acrylics on canvas, because I like to run my fingers over the textured bumps and uneven surfaces.
“After I bought an iPad, it made drawing and illustrating so much easier as it opened up a library of colours and effects, and is definitely portable. Furthermore, digital drawings can be easily converted into files to be printed in a high resolution.”
At times, she would turn on a cooking show on TV, and draw on the iPad at the same time. “I like the noisy background and a comfy pillow.”
Aside from creating digital art to be printed on tote bags and t-shirts, Wong also sews dolls from recycled fabric sample pieces, and paints on smooth rocks to be used as paperweights.
Journey into art
Wong’s love for art began at an early age and her story is simply adorable, funny and relatable to many.
“When I was very young and while I was in kindergarten, I used to scribble on the walls of my house with a pencil, which I hid under my pillow. My mum was furious but eventually, she saw my talent and bought me paper and colour pencils,” said Wong.
Her artworks are sold on Malaysia’s Creative United, Printcious and Redbubble online platforms.
In the future, Wong, who works as an assistant marketing manager, hopes to design patterns.
“I am very interested in pattern making. I hope one day, I would be able to make my own patterns printed on fabric to be turned into clothes, bags, home and living accessories such as curtains, pillows, tea towels and more,” she said.
