Senses of Malaysia – July 18, 2019

art

A

s a child, Kamwei Fong would spend time

scribbling before going off to kindergarten,

often with whatever he could get his

hands on. Scrap paper, walls, and even

furniture saw all kinds of adornment

with pen and pencil; something most

children would be subject to some kind

of discipline when caught in this innocent act of domestic

vandalism. Fong’s mother however, saw something worth

cultivating in the hobbies of her four year old. Fong fondly

remembers his mother getting good quality art materials for

him, and sitting beside him every time he drew.

It set a strong foundation for Fong, and art became a lifelong

pursuit. Fong can’t pinpoint exactly when he decided to become

an artist, but art has always revolved around him. From art

classes in high school to a diploma in an art/design college, Fong

spent almost a good two decades in design consultancies and

international advertising agencies before going full-time into

artistry in 2018.

While he has an impressive (and extensive!) background in the

more formal creative industry as a consultant, branding and

advertising designer, along with other art-related creations, Fong

has happily settled into doing art full time.

He is known to his followers on Instagram for his signature

‘Furry Thing’ cats, being adorable feline characters drawn

intricately with strokes of a gel pen, giving his creations a fluffy

appearance with painstaking effort. It may take a few long-time,

die-hard fans to remember his dabbling in equally adorable

ceramic creatures as well under his branding Bo&Friends,

where a cute goldfish named Bo is his happiness

personified.

His tools are simple 0.05pt and 0.1pt

archival micro pigment ink fine line

pens, and his patience. The ‘Furry

Thing’ artworks demand steadiness

and calm (therapeutic, Fong professes),

but also quite delicate. A single tiny

mistake of a fur stroke going the wrong

way and the entire piece could be ruined,

and the flow broken. Even his petite ceramic pieces

require much attention to detail while in motion, as anything

Shady and Sketchy

Cats Paint a Picture

of Adorable Appeal

KAMWEI FONG JOINS WRITERSARAH ANNE LEE

IN FEATURING HIS PAINSTAKINGLY INKED FURRY

THINGS SERIES AND CERAMIC ADVENTURES

Fong Kam Wei