26 Watercolor artist | APRIL 2020
COLORS DANCE IN BLOCKY SHAPES ACROSS A
CITYSCAPE, EBBING AND FLOWING VIA THE FLUID
STROKES OF MALAYSIAN WATERCOLOR ARTIST
JANSEN CHOW. HIS COLORFUL EMBRACE OF URBAN
SCENES ELICITS A SENSE OF JOIE DE VIVRE, WHILE
HIS CAREFREE BRUSHSTROKES LEND A DYNAMISM
TO A BUSY STREET OR BUSTLING MARKET.Longing for the Artist’s Life
Chow was born in Kuantan, Malaysia,
in 1970. His quest to be a watercolor
artist began at the age of 7, when he
won fi rst place in a painting competi-
tion at school. Chow’s prize—a box of
professional watercolors awarded by
the headmaster—sealed his fate, andABOVE
Early Morning
in Hong Kong
(watercolor on
paper, 22x30)LEFT
Milan in Early Winter
(watercolor on
paper, 22x30)he began to “long for an artist’s life.”
He was deeply attracted to an artistic
worldview and wanted to “join its cir-
cle and have art fi ll my life,” he says.
In pursuit of this goal, Chow gradu-
ated from Kuala Lumpur College of
Art, in 1991, and traveled to New
York City to further his studies at