Artist adds batik elements

Visionary craftsman: Dr Cheah’s works are on display at Starhill Gallery this month. The left painting was just sold for RM50,000.

KUALA LUMPUR: Inter­nationally-renowned Chinese ink artist and calligrapher Prof Dr Cheah Thien Soong, known for infusing Western and Malaysian influences into his ink wash paintings, has added batik elements to his latest production – a series of black-ink lotus pond paintings.

And two of these paintings were snapped up on the first day of his July 7-24 exhibition – one by a housewife with a Masters degree in fine arts, and the other by an artist-cum-collector. While one fetched RM50,000, the other netted RM40,000.