EXPERIENCING the onset of the monsoon in Pulau Perhentian Kecil remains a vivid memory for me. The entire island was deserted as the resorts had closed for business during this wet spell. But my friend, who owns Mira Beach Resort, made special arrangements for me to visit the island during the brief lull in the season.
On our third morning there, the weather suddenly changed rapidly right before my eyes. The clouds became a deep, dark blue while the blue-green sea churned up strong waves towards the shore.
In the distance, the colours of the sky bled into the sea and you could no longer discern the skyline. It was a rare sight as the morning sea around the island is usually calm and still. This rapid change in weather is the kind of scene you only get when you are on an island during the onset of the monsoon.
I would have loved to continue my stay there but due to dwindling food supplies, we had to return to the mainland. Perhaps one day, I will be able to be a Robinson Crusoe on Perhentian Kecil during the entire monsoon season and paint the big waves coming ashore!
This sketch was done quickly with watercolours on a 18x25cm water colour paper. I used viridian green, cobalt, Prussian and cerulean blues, yellow ochre and Indian red.
My Tengkujuh exhibition at Artelier Gallery in Publika, which ends tomorrow, displays the paintings and sketches of my four-year experience of the monsoon season.