I was woken in tears of appreciation
This weekend I was woken to find this gift of a striking & lovingly detailed large painting, on handmade paper from India, with a heartfelt tear-jerking inscription on its back. It had been packaged up in the mail from the incredibly skilled Singapore artist Yuli (Margaret Ng) who is currently stuck in Hong Kong due to COVID-19.
It will be treasured for the rest of my living days since it’s a time capsule of highlights of my 40 years in showbiz in one fell swoop (“One Fell Swoop” being a nod to Shakespeares Macbeth)
I am blessed to have great & talented friends. 你真好。非常感谢！
About Margaret Ng (Yuli)
With her undeniable creativity, and constantly re-inventing herself, Margaret is an artist in the truest sense: compassionate, inspiring and supremely talented.
Influenced by life, color and travels, Singaporean Margaret Ng is self taught in visualizing the beauty surrounding us all. Inspired by real moments and visuals, her creativity explores her perceptions of color and movement primarily through watercolor, and often with mixed media, with an uncanny ability to incorporate shadow and light, resulting in sought after pieces throughout Asia.
She has a remarkable talent for capturing the essence of a moment that inspires her – using unique mediums and forms from tiled mosaics to handmade papers from India. From her brain to the tip of her brush, her creativity is both inspiring and maintains a distinctly Asian delicate nuance.
During her young childhood she was discouraged from exploring anything creative, however, in high school she secretly learnt basic skills from her art teacher, allowed to undertake this since it was an A-level subject. Now approaching mid life, with her own family grown-up, Margaret is re-inventing herself bringing her passion for visual art to reality.
Whilst living in Shanghai, she learnt basic techniques of Chinese GongBi art informally. Since then she has developed her now unique style.
Her watercolors capture places in time that draw you in. Her mixed media pieces overflow with a vitality of spirit. Her portraitures, typically in sketches or watercolor often showcase subtle vulnerabilities that photographs do not capture.
An avid hiker, foodie and market explorer, she finds inspirational beauty in the most obvious of places that are most typically overlooked by the average eye.
Her generosity is proven as she donated over 30 pieces of her art to the Heart to Heart charity in Shanghai to assist fundraising in paying for life-saving surgeries for young children.
Today, Margaret uses inspiration, provides inspiration and has become inspiration too many.
Here is a mere sampling of her work:
acrylic on canvas… sometimes the most regular street scenes intrigue her
the air of mystic and spiritual feeling so befit this place of worship.
Poverty does not stop children from having fun. They always make the best of any situation, live for now
Using leftover Chinese ink from her Chinese calligraphy practice, Margaret travelled to Anhui with Heart to Heart friend Karla Harriman and saw this image of life being so real, so raw , the work place is every where, it is also the home, the dining area…
Not wanting waste, another with leftover Chinese ink from her Chinese calligraphy practice of a countryside kitchen.
Margaret grew up in a fishing village in Singapore and her late father was a fisherman that did not encourage her pursuit of art…
scenes like this evokes special feelings for her… often it’s beauty is combined with sadness and loneliness.
Observe her skill in showcasing light and shadow… the movement
Her radiant smile, the colors she wore and yet behind all that sunburned skin we know her life is not a bed of roses… a mirror of Margaret’s soul.
Salt island in Hong Kong, abandoned…
yet it touches Margaret in a way that is both sad and beautiful..
The first Chinese ladies Margaret met in Myanmar when she traveled solo to get away from the madness of the bustling Chinese New Year, while avoiding feeling sorry that she did not have family to celebrate the holiday with. These women are so relaxed and happy, particularly how the lady boss treated her young underage staff. She was like a mother to them all… Margaret felt warm then.
Margarets dream-like place to visit.. painted from a photo, that captured her attention and yearning to be in that picture, invoking memories of her family fisherman life in Singapore, colors of the buildings and boats, movement of the ocean.
Please note:
The above is unofficial and written by me as a thank-you to this gifted artist. I encourage you to explore her work.
Learn more about Margaret Ng (Yuli) by following her on Facebook:
