To be Fair

Sensing Senses

I was being approached by a fine dining restaurant to do a series of work for them. It all happened on the night when Joyce, one of my best friends, whose birthday is just a day later than mine, decided to celebrate our birthday together. Through all the years that we knew each other, we have always put off or cancelled the dinner date for the better of emergency system rescue operation ( her ), client submission deadline (me ) or just simply too exhausted ( us ). Since I am out of the grind mill, I have been tasked to make it happen for the two of us this year.

Senses is a western fine-dining restaurant that is posh cosmopolitan and yet have an air of childlike mischief. It is like inviting the head of State to dinner and admist the heavily guarded security guards, the topic of our supposedly serious conversation turns out to be the prank we did to our mates during our childhood days.

While I was trying to scoop the last drop of “duck soup” (it has a fancy name that I forgot) from my gingerly lifted soup bowl, Kelly the chef de Cuisine (English. Restaurant Manager) came to check on us at our table. I was surprised to see someone so pretty (and slim) and down-to-earth to be managing such an exquisite restaurant. The waiter must have told her that it was both our birthday. Kelly was delighted that we came and Joyce could not stop herself from announcing to the world that I was officially a lady of leisure. Jumping promptly to my own defense, I declared that I am very busy with my hobbies now.

Kelly : “What do you do?”
ME: “ A couple of oil”
Kelly, “Really? I like the texture of oil. What do you think I should get for this restaurant?”
ME: “Something sensual, cosmopolitan, but not over the top…not Ken Dome”
Kelly: “Yeh, definitely not. You think you can create something for me?”
ME: “ Me ? Well….er……..ok……..”
Kelly: “Fine. Show me some of your work next week.”

She turned around and disappeared in a jiffy to her kitchen again. I drove home that night completely high despite not tasted a single drop of alcohol.

So here I am back in Senses again 5 days later with 4 of my pieces and a small cheap looking soft cover Kodak photo book. I brought along Desert Symphony I, Walking up the Aisle, and Midnight gardener. The Kedai Runcit piece was screaming and kicking to tag along. Hence I succumbed and and allowed it to come along though I knew it would not fit very well. The restaurant was sending off their last lunch guest and Kelly was with someone when I arrived. I waited at the bar with 4 of my odd sized paintings leaning across several bar stools, like a Bohemian mother and her 4 unruly children, completely out of place but with obvious mischievous intention. While I was engrossed with studying a chef working his pasta dough at the kitchen table, Kelly popped up from nowhere , but with another chef behind her.

Kelly: “ Hi, Wendy ! How are you ?”, smiling and extending a warm handshake
ME: “May I introduce to you four of my work.” I told her their names.
Kelly: “They are beautiful.” She was very fond of Walking up the Aisle. She turned around and looked at the gentleman behind her.
Kelly: “Hey Mike, what do you think? I like them.”
Mike was quiet, thinking.

“Hey Wendy are you selling this ?” said Kelly while looking through my album.
She is looking at the Morning Walk, one of my treasured pieces
ME: “ Errr…… not really…”
Kelly: “I like this one.”

I guess Mike must be the sous chef (English. Assistant Restaurant Manager). Gosh, they are all so young and slim. I think I am in the wrong line. Now back to Mike. In his checked black and white pants and white shirt, and with a little knife at his right arm pocket, Mike was squinting his eyes and his lips drooped. Mike spoke with a funny continental accent.

“I was looking at something with lines."
Mike continues: “ You know, a dash of red here, a little bit of blue there…”
" You know.... here in the middle, there is some stroke like this...."
" ...but not like this..."

Kelly looked at me, “You know what he is talking about?”
ME: “No, Ma'am”

Mike came back with a small piece of paper from his kitchen, apparently frustrated with our inability to read the great mind. From his left arm pocket, out flashed a pen and he started to draw a few lines on that tiny square of paper. Before we realized, we were standing at various spots in the restaurant and discussing what will be good. I began to catch a glimpse of he was looking for and I agreed that something too explicit will not be good for the funky atmosphere. Something Paul Klee, may be.

Mike: “ You know..this is not for a cozy sit down place….is for the fast pace.... city folks who is in and out of here within 45 minutes. They have some good food, enjoy and they are out.”
Mike continued , almost like speaking to himself: “I am so glad that they finally decided to decorate these walls. It is just too plain”
Mike: “I want to let the guest have something to look at before the meal is served. To enjoy…..”

Suddenly something clicked.
ME: “You need something more abstract.... fluid lines... Must have red. Red invokes appetite."
Kelly looked at me and looked at the blank wall again, and me again. Then in a deep thought.
ME: “I might have something for you. There is a piece that I have in mind. Be back in an hour”
Kelly: “Ok. Let’s shape the style first.”

I drove back to my studio which is just 15 minutes away and rampaged for a piece that my teacher was going to throw away. He had some spare colors the other day. On a recycled canvas, he started to mop concentric circles of blue and red and orange using crumpled old Chinese newspaper. However before I got out to fetch this so called accidental child, Kelly asked again if I would sell the Morning Walk to her. I told her I will think about it.

When I was back again in an hour, the staff at the restaurant were excited to see me.
“Hey you are back.”
“Are they going to buy your paintings?”
“The other day another artist came with what you call.... women’s bodies”
“The concept tak gel lah”

Kelly was busy in another discussion with yet another chef wearing a flat top white hat. Mike came to greet me. I showed him the newspaper mopped painting of concentric circles. He looked at it, “Noooo.. plain background. Solid color. One color …then a little dash of color here….I think I have two at home. I will bring them to show Kelly tomorrow”

To tell the truth, I was very amused by this frustration and yet impressed by his commitment to make his restaurant perfect. Hence we both decided that we shall contact each other again while giving ourselves some time to think of the concept.

As for Morning Walk, and a lot of my other treasured paintings, I might sell them one day or may be sooner, at the art exhibition that is coming in one or two month’s time. May be after I complete my current series, I shall work on the jungle series again. May be...that will depend on my mood then.

The picture in this blog is a closed up shot of the hardened paints on my easel frame.

posted by Vegie @ 9:05 AM