NN Gallery presents Thoughts On Life II, a solo exhibition featuring 50 new paintings by Eston Tan.

They are insightful portraits and landscapes in oil and watercolour as well as charcoal drawings. The exhibition is his second solo at the gallery.

Tan, who hails from Penang, is a graduate of the Malaysia Institute of Art. He is an Impressionist painter who is well-versed in classical painting techniques. He began drawing in charcoal, before progressing to watercolours and eventually oil.

Tan finds inspiration for his paintings from his travels to Bali in Indonesia as well as China.

He has also travelled around Malaysia to places such as Penang, Malacca, Cameron Highlands and Janda Baik in Bentong, Pahang.

His oil paintings utilise a thick impasto technique of layerings. They lend a rich and velvety quality to his works. His charcoal studies, not unlike his watercolour works, are equally accomplished.

Giving much thought to detail with a wonderful interplay of light and shadows, the charcoal works allude to a time and place of contemplation.

Tan captures the simple things in life such as the ubiquitous corner shop, children playing with a do-it-yourself telephone made from two old stringed cans and a fisherman returning from a day at sea.

His scenic landscapes, rich in green and golden hues, capture the wooden stilt houses of traditional kampungs.

In his acclaimed painting Mother And Child, he pays homage to the innocence and simplicity of the Orang Asli.

Painting aboriginal life is a favourite subject matter of Tan and he gives it a uniquely Malaysian touch. His subjects’ strong facial expressions reflect their purity and sensuality.

The exhibition will be officiated on July 9 at 3pm.

NN Gallery is at Jalan Sulaiman 1, Taman Ampang Hilir, Ampang, Selangor.

It is open from 10am to 6pm from Mondays to Saturdays and closed on Sundays and public holidays. Call 03-4270-6588.