The Art of Khik Weng Keat

Know Your Position , acrylic on canvas, 2023. 30" X 24" The painting depicts a food web of the ocean, and every creature in this painting has a role to play in this complex food web based on their trophic level, which is their position in the food web. Producers Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. There are two types: zooplankton and phytoplankton. Phytoplankton or plant plankton serve as the chief producer in the oceans. They are mostly green due to having chloroplasts, which enables them to carry out photosynthesis. They drift in the ocean's surface to take in sunlight. Low-level consumers Zooplankton or animal plankton comprise of various types of small animals such as fish fry, small invertebrates and their larvae. They usually feed on phytoplankton, which are generally smaller. Corals get their food from algae living in their tissues or by capturing and digesting prey, especially plankton. Most reef-building corals hav...

 ANCIENT AQUARIUM The oceans of our planet were formed long before humans, dinosaurs and even life itself existed: around 3.8 billion years ago. Life began appearing on Earth around 3.77 billion years ago and they have evolved in Earth's oceans throughout the course of billions of years. The world's oceans have foreseen the evolution of life in a myriad of shapes and forms throughout the Phanerozoic eon, and despite the various mass extinctions that occur, the struggle for survival continues there. Ancient Aquarium , acrylic on canvas, 2021. Set of 9, each piece 8" X 8"  Orthocones Giant Orthocone , acrylic on canvas, 2021 Orthocones are a group of cephalopods (a family which also includes squid and cuttlefish) which are known for their straight shells, a characteristic where the family name came from. Orthocones lived from the late Cambrian to the late Triassic (509 to 201 million years ago), but were very common during the early Paleozoic era, especially in the Ordo...

 BEWILDERING BIODIVERSITY Biodiversity is defined as the variety of biological life in the world or in a particular ecosystem. A high level of biodiversity is said to be beneficial to the environment, as both flora and fauna interact with each other in a constant arms race for survival, with these struggles being essential for the balance of life on Earth.  Bewildering Biodiversity , acrylic on canvas, 2020. Set of 9, each piece 10" X 10"  Unicorn Grassland Unicorn, acrylic on canvas, 2020 The unicorn is a mysterious animal. Many people believe that unicorns resemble horses with a single horn emerging from its forehead. It also may have originated from sightings of horned herbivorous mammals which usually have two horns with one of them broken, making it look as it it had one horn on its head. Lion Lions in grassland, acrylic on canvas, 2020 In ancient times, lions were thought to be the “kings of the jungle”. However, lions do not live in dense forests but prefer open gr...

JAWS OF THE DEEP Sharks are some of the most powerful predators in the ocean depths. They come in a wide variety of unique shapes and sizes and engaged in various ecological niches. Although their reputation in the media was notorious for their depiction as mindless eating machines, sharks are actually some of the most misunderstood sea creatures, and not all sharks are predators of large prey. Jaws of the Deep , acrylic on canvas, 2020. Set of 9, each piece 12" X 8.5"  Whale Shark Whale Shark, acrylic on canvas, 2020. 12" x 8.5" The whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) is the largest fish in the sea and the largest shark. The world’s largest sharks are actually gentle filter feeders which feed on plankton and have very tiny teeth. The painting itself is inspired by the animated film Finding Dory, which featured a whale shark named Destiny that was kept in a public aquarium. The painting also contains other animals from the film including Blue Tangs ( Paracanthurus hepat...

PAST AND PRESENT CONQUERORS [SOLD] Dinosaurs and sharks have captivated our imaginations when we are children, and they were made popular in feature films such as Jaws and Jurassic World . These unique animals were some of the most successful animals of their times. However, sharks are older than dinosaurs and have survived several mass extinction events, including the one the dinosaurs did not survive: the end-Cretaceous extinction event. Stegosaurus Stegosaurus for Kids, acrylic on canvas, 2020 Stegosaurus (“roofed lizard”) is a plated, plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period. The individual in the painting is said to be a juvenile because of its body proportions and its size compared to the two-legged dinosaurs, Nanosaurus , nearby. These dinosaurs gather near a pond where small fish are seen. Velociraptor Juvenile Velociraptor , acrylic on canvas, 2020 Velociraptor (“fast thief”) lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period. The landscape it lived in primarily c...