Getting to the heart of art
Erum Adnan studied art in college, but has not stopped learning and growing as an artist.
As an artist, Erum Adnan has to make decisions about her topics, the tools and materials she uses and where to display her art. Mrs Adnan tells us how information literacy helps her.
Q: How do you pick your themes?
A: I am the sort of person who creates art about whatever inspires me. For example, I have a series of paintings about women's lives - their problems and challenges - in Pakistan, where I grew up. I love bringing the richness of Pakistani culture into these paintings.
Another example is about our Botanical Gardens here in Singapore. I love the amazing variety of orchid species so much that I make collages of the flowers. Whether it is about Pakistani women or orchids, gathering accurate information helps me to understand my topics.
Q: In your early days, how did you know how to create art?
A: Books and teaching aids are very useful as you are starting off. During my O levels, I used Stella Mackie step-by-step books on still life, landscape and portraits.
Then, I studied at the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts in Karachi, Pakistan, and in the United Kingdom. When I was in college, I learnt a lot about different art media, tools, forms and styles. And then, I kept learning as I did my art.
When I was in college, I had an assignment where I had to create art in a way that I had never done before. I saw a pile of my mother's magazines at home and decided to use the pages. I ripped them into tiny bits of paper, sorted them by colour and then stuck them onto paper to create a collage. It worked - everyone loved the effect.
Q. How do you keep improving?
A: First of all, I experiment on my own. Secondly, nowadays, the internet is a great source. I look up my favourite artists' works - like Monet, Manet and Rubens - and study their techniques.
Last year, two of my paintings were displayed at the Affordable Art Fair (the largest art fair in Singapore). Instead of staying near my own paintings, I spent five days walking around the fair, soaking in the incredible work in different forms and styles. There is so much to learn by observing the work of other artists.
Q: How do you find out where to display and sell your art?
A: It is not easy for beginning artists to get their art shown in galleries or exhibitions.
Being a relatively new artist in Singapore, I am still building my contacts with galleries. When I do solo exhibitions, I invite a few gallery owners to see my work.
Galleries often specialise in certain themes or even artists. A good way to locate reputed art galleries is to use the internet and then visit them to see what they are really like.
Q: How do people choose what art to buy?
A: There is a lot to learn about art buyers. I observe what people buy at art fairs. The year before last, Korean art sold very quickly at the Affordable Art Fair. So did Australian aboriginal art pieces. But, last year, neither of these did as well as art that was very abstract. The harder it was to tell what the painting was about, the faster it seemed to sell!
The gallery that showed my art chose two of my flower paintings to display. No one bought those two paintings although they were bright, happy pictures. But, at another exhibition, I had displayed a set of my paintings about terrible floods in Pakistan. I thought people wouldn't want to buy such sad scenes. To my surprise, they sold very quickly! That is the way it is with art buyers: you can't always predict who will buy what.
I may notice what will sell easily but I don't let that influence my work. Some artists paint what people like or what art galleries will accept. I know that if I did that, I would be able to sell my art more easily. But, I am the sort of artist who must go with my own feelings and desires to create art.
Learning from MRS ADNAN
Art is very subjective. It is a matter of taste, not fixed rules or formulas. For an artist like Erum Adnan, information literacy means mixing information, ideas and inspiration in ways that feel right.
A super site to visit:
SURE CLUB is a fun-filled programme for you to learn about information literacy. To find out more, visit http://sure.nl.sg/students/.
As an artist, Erum Adnan has to make decisions about her topics, the tools and materials she uses and where to display her art. Mrs Adnan tells us how information literacy helps her.
Q: How do you pick your themes?
A: I am the sort of person who creates art about whatever inspires me. For example, I have a series of paintings about women's lives - their problems and challenges - in Pakistan, where I grew up. I love bringing the richness of Pakistani culture into these paintings.
Another example is about our Botanical Gardens here in Singapore. I love the amazing variety of orchid species so much that I make collages of the flowers. Whether it is about Pakistani women or orchids, gathering accurate information helps me to understand my topics.
Q: In your early days, how did you know how to create art?
A: Books and teaching aids are very useful as you are starting off. During my O levels, I used Stella Mackie step-by-step books on still life, landscape and portraits.
Then, I studied at the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts in Karachi, Pakistan, and in the United Kingdom. When I was in college, I learnt a lot about different art media, tools, forms and styles. And then, I kept learning as I did my art.
When I was in college, I had an assignment where I had to create art in a way that I had never done before. I saw a pile of my mother's magazines at home and decided to use the pages. I ripped them into tiny bits of paper, sorted them by colour and then stuck them onto paper to create a collage. It worked - everyone loved the effect.
Q. How do you keep improving?
A: First of all, I experiment on my own. Secondly, nowadays, the internet is a great source. I look up my favourite artists' works - like Monet, Manet and Rubens - and study their techniques.
Last year, two of my paintings were displayed at the Affordable Art Fair (the largest art fair in Singapore). Instead of staying near my own paintings, I spent five days walking around the fair, soaking in the incredible work in different forms and styles. There is so much to learn by observing the work of other artists.
Q: How do you find out where to display and sell your art?
A: It is not easy for beginning artists to get their art shown in galleries or exhibitions.
Being a relatively new artist in Singapore, I am still building my contacts with galleries. When I do solo exhibitions, I invite a few gallery owners to see my work.
Galleries often specialise in certain themes or even artists. A good way to locate reputed art galleries is to use the internet and then visit them to see what they are really like.
Q: How do people choose what art to buy?
A: There is a lot to learn about art buyers. I observe what people buy at art fairs. The year before last, Korean art sold very quickly at the Affordable Art Fair. So did Australian aboriginal art pieces. But, last year, neither of these did as well as art that was very abstract. The harder it was to tell what the painting was about, the faster it seemed to sell!
The gallery that showed my art chose two of my flower paintings to display. No one bought those two paintings although they were bright, happy pictures. But, at another exhibition, I had displayed a set of my paintings about terrible floods in Pakistan. I thought people wouldn't want to buy such sad scenes. To my surprise, they sold very quickly! That is the way it is with art buyers: you can't always predict who will buy what.
I may notice what will sell easily but I don't let that influence my work. Some artists paint what people like or what art galleries will accept. I know that if I did that, I would be able to sell my art more easily. But, I am the sort of artist who must go with my own feelings and desires to create art.
Learning from MRS ADNAN
Art is very subjective. It is a matter of taste, not fixed rules or formulas. For an artist like Erum Adnan, information literacy means mixing information, ideas and inspiration in ways that feel right.
- Guide books are a good way to learn the basics, Mrs Adnan says.
- She uses new media to learn about old masters - artists from past centuries whose works are still admired as masterpieces.
- Tastes keep changing. So, Mrs Adnan goes around looking at other artists' work for inspiration. She also keeps track of what galleries and art buyers like.
A super site to visit:
SURE CLUB is a fun-filled programme for you to learn about information literacy. To find out more, visit http://sure.nl.sg/students/.