The Art of Khik Weng Keat

  Marine Mobile Homes , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 18" X 24" Several marine animals have hard shells as a means of protection. These shells are usually made of calcium carbonate, which is the same material that makes up the bones of most animals. The shells were once thought to be the "mobile homes" of these animals where they could hide inside, but these shells are actually more than what they seem. A sea turtle's shell is made of bone and is covered with a hard layer of keratin, which is a material which also makes up the hair and fingernails of mammals. The turtle shell is made of two pieces, the top layer which is called the carapace, and the bottom part is called a plastron. They are fused on each side by a structure called a bridge. The carapace is made of smaller individual pieces called scutes, which are similar to scales. Hitching a ride on the turtle's back in the painting is a periwinkle snail, which is feeding on parasites on the turtle's shell...

  Seahorsing Around , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 18" X 18" The fish in the painting are members of the  Syngnathidae family which covers seahorses, sea dragons and pipefishes. The family's name is derived from the Greek words for "fused jaw", which refers to the family's long snouts and small mouths. Fish of this family are commonly found in tropical and temperate waters worldwide. They do not have pelvic fins and had thick plates of bony armor which make their bodies rigid. This fish family is also known for its unique parental strategy: after the females lay eggs, the males then fertilize and carry the eggs until they hatch.  The 54 species of seahorses belong to the genus Hippocampus . The species shown in the top left of the painting is a spotted or yellow seahorse ( Hippocampus kuda ). It is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific region, where they can be found in various shallow-water habitats such as estuaries, lagoons, harbors, and coastal seagrass bed...

  Prosperous Abundance , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 18" X 24" An ancient Chinese tale tells of a huge school of Koi fish swimming upstream the Yellow River in China. Gaining strength by fighting against the current, the school swam through the river until they reached a waterfall at the end of the river. Many of the fish turned back, but the remaining Koi continued swimming against the waterfall and attempted to reach the top of the waterfall by leaping all the way. After a hundred years of jumping, one Koi finally reached the top of the waterfall, where it was noticed by the gods at the Dragon Gate for its perseverance and determination and they turned it into a golden dragon, the image of power and strength. According to Feng Shui, fish represents wealth and prosperity because the actual word in Chinese for fish (魚 yú) also translates to “abundance” (裕 yù).  Because of the dragon legend, Koi fish are known as symbols of strength and perseverance, as seen in their determin...

  Auspicious Stripes , acrylic on canvas, 2022. 20" X 16" The artist welcomes 2022, the Year of the Tiger, with a painting based on his original concept of making maximalist illustrations of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The two tigers' colors are based on the color of the tigers in the original drawing. According to Chinese culture, the tiger is revered as the king of the beasts. The tiger represents the greatest earthly power, as well as protection over human life. It chases away the so-called "three disasters": fire, thieves and ghosts. Ancient Chinese people also believed that tigers turned white after they have lived for five centuries (500 years) and that tigers could live for an entire millennium (1000 years). There is a group of five tigers of different colors in Chinese mythology which maintain the balance of energy in the cosmos, preventing the universe from falling into chaos. Lucky colors for people who are born in the year of the tiger include ...

  Scaly Success Story , acrylic on canvas, 2021. 24" X 18" Reptiles are animals which have dry, scaly skin and lay their eggs on dry land. They were considered as one of the animal kingdom's greatest success stories as they had evolved to adapt to extreme climates and conditions. There are about 6,560 species of reptile, which are divided into main groups including crocodilians, lizards, snakes and chelonians (turtles and tortoises). Saltwater Crocodile The saltwater crocodile ( Crocodylus porosus ) is the largest crocodilian, measuring up to 6 meters or more in length. A powerful ambush predator, its jaws had the strongest bite of any living animal. Unlike most crocodiles, the saltwater crocodile also inhabits brackish and salt water habitats like mangrove swamps, river deltas and even open beaches. It can be found from eastern India to Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Reticulated Python The reticulated python ( Malayopython reticulatus ) is a massive snake commonl...

  Polychrome Parrotdise , acrylic on canvas, 2021. 20" X 30" There are roughly 398 living species of parrot in the world today, inhabiting mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The greatest diversity of parrots are from the Southern Hemisphere, mostly from South America and Australasia. Many parrots are vividly-colored, and some are multi-colored. Parrots are among the most intelligent birds, and the ability of some species to mimic human speech increases their popularity as pets. The scarlet macaw ( Ara macao ) has red, yellow and blue feathers. Its range extends from southeastern Mexico to northern and central South America (including Brazil). It is the national bird of the Central American country of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-gold macaw, scarlet macaws are popular birds in aviculture as a result of their striking plumage. The scarlet macaw can live up to 75 or even 90 years in captivity, although a more typical lifespan is 40 to...

  Poultry Galore , acrylic on canvas, 2021. 30" X 20" Poultry is defined as domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, meat or feathers. The most typical poultry birds include chickens, ducks and turkeys. The chicken breed featured in the painting is the Brahma chicken, known for its heavily-feathered legs and surprisingly large size which made it one of the world's largest chicken breeds. The Brahma breed was first developed in the United States from the crossbreeding of birds imported from China and Southeast Asia and was the principal breed raised for meat in America from the 1850s until the 1930s. Brahma chickens grow very large, with roosters recorded weighing 8 kg (18 lb) and hens 6 kg (13 lb).  Brahmas come in three color varieties: light, dark and golden buff. The hen in the painting is of the light variant, while the rooster is of the dark-golden buff variety. The chicks of the breed also reflect the color difference, with some chicks displaying dark or mi...

  Grace and Balance , acrylic on canvas, 2021. 30" X 24" Flamingos are a symbol of seemingly effortless grace and balance. These pink, long-legged birds are usually depicted as standing on one leg for a very long time even while sleeping, making them a symbol of balance. Not only are flamingos symbols of beauty, they are also symbols of something beyond beauty, and that is elegance. While beauty may be a product of nature, elegance is a product of design. Flamingoes are known for their graceful motions during flight. They are also symbols of vibrance because of their spectacular bright pink color. While they are born gray, as they grow up, they become shades of pink, hot pink, and sometimes reddish orange. This is due to the abundance of beta carotene in their diet, which is mainly comprised of algae, larvae, and crustaceans. In fact, the name "flamingo" is derived from their vibrant color. It means “flame-colored” in Spanish and Portuguese. Other water birds presen...

Some of the artist's paintings are being featured at the Malaysian Art Ecosystem Festival (MAEF) 2021 at the Putra World Trade Center in KL! The exhibition takes place from 3 to 5 December 2021. Some of his featured paintings include  G7: You Can Count on Us and The Mollusc Throne .

The Watering Hole,  acrylic on canvas, 2021. 30" X 24" The painting depicts a large group of African animals gathering to drink at a watering hole. The overall composition of the animals' activity in the painting is based on the idea of the "waterhole truce" put forward by author Rudyard Kipling (author of The Jungle Book ), where animals observe a sort of truce around watering holes and prey animals do not have to be on guard from predators in the vicinity, as they share the watering hole.  The African animals featured are elephants, giraffes, lions, zebra, rhinoceros, impala, ostriches, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, baboons, cheetah, leopard, warthog, meerkat, aardvark, hippos, crocodile, shoebill and red-billed hornbill. Flamingoes and storks frequent African waterholes as well. Giraffes spread their legs when drinking to increase their stability when lowering their head down. Predators like lions normally use watering holes as prey gathering sites before hunting...

 FANTASTIC BESTIARY "Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them." — Ishir⁠ō Honda Minotaur Half Man, Half Bull , acrylic on canvas, 2021 The word minotaur derives from the Ancient Greek Minotauros , a compound of the name Minos and the noun tauros  "bull", translated as "(the) Bull of Minos". This monster had the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete....