SOMETIMES IT’S necessary to take a long step back to move yourself forward and that’s exactly what artist Phattharakorn Sing-Thong decided to do when he quit Thailand’s art scene seven years ago.

Now he’s making a return and doing it in style with not one but two major exhibitions – “Deeper in Still Life-World-Life” in Bangkok and “Colours Amidst the Gloom” in Lamphun.

Both shows reflect Phattharakorn’s turning point, offering the viewer a glimpse into a mind inspired by nature and brushstrokes that underline his newfound maturity.

The exhibition “Deeper in Still Life-World-Life” at Bangkok’s Numthong Gallery features a collection of monochrome abstract canvases plus a few paintings in white, red and black. By contrast, “Colours Amidst the Gloom” showing at the cosy cafe-cum-art space Temple House Lamphun in the northern city is more relaxed, offering colourful landscapes in a semi-abstract style.

Phattharakorn Sing-Thong with some of his works 

“I started to paint again slightly more than two years ago after stopping completely in 2010,” Phattharakorn, who is in his 40s, tells The Nation. “It’s taken me all this time to discover what I really want out of my life. It wasn’t that I hadn’t tasted success. Quite the contrary in fact: I’d enjoyed healthy sales of my work since I started drawing and my last two exhibitions at Koi Art Gallery and Numthong were a financial success.”

Needing a complete change of both life and pace, Phattharakorn debunked to Lamphun province, a small province in the north of Thailand close to Chiang Mai and the place where his wife was born and raised.

Six hundred of Phattharakorn’s paintings are being displayed at Temple House Lamphun until mid August, with the exhibits being changed every week. 

“In Lamphun, the life is slow. The people are friendly and share close relationships. As you’d expect, it’s short on resources like art supplies but the natural beauty is inspiring and encourages creation. I learned how to paint with my soul, changing my style from realistic to abstract and drawing on the nature that’s part of my everyday life here,” he says.

Phattharakorn was born and raised in the northeast province of Ubon Ratchathani. He graduated with a certificate in art from Ubon Ratchathani Vocational College then headed north to work towards a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Chiang Mai University.

His formal training paid off and it wasn’t long before his drawings and paintings were receiving praise. Soon too, he was attracting the attention of Bangkok’s art galleries, among them Koi and Numthong, and finding buyers for all his exhibited works.

And, he says today, therein lay the discomfort that led to his seven-year hiatus.

“For the first 10 years of my professional career, I focused on realistic art. I preferred realistic art because it demanded such a high level of perfection,” he explains.

“I even went as far as to cut my paintings into pieces when I made a mistake. Every detail had to be absolutely perfect.

“The problems started when the galleries started to suggest the kind of paintings I should be doing to achieve commercial success. I followed their advice but I also found I was far less challenged in my work. That led me to question my life and in the end I decided to quit.”

Phattharakorn started to paint again two years ago, using watercolour and acrylics paints along with the other art equipment he could find in his adopted hometown.

“The limited resources were not a problem and I quickly found I could paint without expensive gear just by using what I was feeling inside and the inspiring nature around me. I don’t have a studio at home but rent space in a longan orchard. I walk to work every day in my natural studio and paint surrounded by longan farmers taking care of their fruit. Some days I face the rain but I don’t stop painting. And when the paint dries, it has created a new texture. This is nature’s way and it’s how I work today,” he says.

Phattharakorn  showcases 20 of the works at Bangkok’s Numthong Gallery

Since taking up his brush again, Phattharakorn has created more than 600 paintings that to him represent the real art of nature. They vary between abstracts and semi-abstracts but all reflect his growth as an artist.

Six hundred of these works are being displayed at Temple House Lamphun through August 15. The space will change the exhibits – usually 50 paintings at any one time –every week.

Twenty of Phattharakorn’s works have been selected for the show at Numthong Gallery, which continues until June 29.

“Each exhibition has a different theme but both present real life through nature,” he says.

LOOKING AHEAD IN ABSTRACT

“Deeper in Still Life-World-Life” is at Numthong Gallery, Bangkok on Soi Ari off Phaholyothin Road (BTS: Ari) through June 29. The gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

“Colours Amidst the Gloom” is at Temple House Lamphun at 102 Intayongyos road, Muang District, Lamphun, though August 15. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 7am to 7pm.