My Story
My art journey began shortly after my graduation from the School of Art, Design & Media of Nanyang Technological University majoring in Product Design. At that time I did not want a 9-5 job and I was searching for ideas during my last semester in school. At that time, I undertook an elective course, Watermedia Landscape Painting, that focuses on using watercolor to paint paintings. I immediately fell in love with the medium (I first tried it at the age of 12 but never took a formal class afterwards). By the end of the class, I scored the highest grade I have ever scored in my university life and I decided to jump right in to become a full-time watercolor artist.
Things were tough at the beginning and with the guidance of my mentor Ng Woon Lam who was also my instructor for the class, I managed to get a few achievements in some international juried shows and sold some paintings during my exhibitions. Finally in 2016, my painting Good Morning, NYC! was selected by the prestigious American Watercolor Society (AWS) and was awarded the Jan Gary and William D. Gorman Award in the show. I was the youngest Singaporean to have received an award in this Society. Below is a picture of me receiving my award from President Antonio Masi.
Since 2014, I have also been traveling extensively to capture new sights and also did some urban sketching in many countries, collecting many sketches that I was proud of and you can view them under "Urban Sketching Prints". The experience of living in a foreign country and traveling in an unfamiliar place was both exhilarating and frightening at the same time. For example, I have been to places like India, Morocco and Turkey where some places were rather unsafe but they provided great material for my art and sketches. These were the most memorable places and I am thankful that I had the privilege of visiting these exotic places and bringing back some of my memories from there to be shared with everyone else.
Since 2017, I have also been teaching watercolor painting and urban sketching and have helped hundreds of students improve on their art techniques both online and offline. I believe that art has the power to change people's lives just as how it has changed mine, adding colors and vibrancy to our lives and helping us to tap into our creative sides and make something beautiful that we can all cherish. My art journey has now taken another turn as I embark on this journey, sharing my art with you on this platform and adding value to your lives when you decide to purchase and own a piece of my heartfelt creations.
I do hope you would enjoy browsing my website and and be amazed at how art can change your lives! Hope to talk to you again soon and feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions!
Sincerely Yours,
Kwan Yuen Tam, AWS
Singapore Artist