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𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎 𝚂𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚗

@c.sullivan.art

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Oil painter
Realism rooted in nature
Slow looking, careful painting
Artist & educator · KL

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Sometimes a painting is finished and still doesn’t look right to me. I repainted the background of my lucky cats so they’d sit better with the rest of the series. They look more harmonious on this golden color batik. Swipe to see how they looked before. Prints coming soon. #maneki_neko #slowlooking #malaysianbatik #studiolife taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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8 days ago

Here’s my month of September, all wrapped up! In thirty days I made twenty paintings, and four sketchbook drawings. Everything painted from life, most with Malaysian textile backgrounds. Some of these will be up for sale at #lemarchedenoelkl on 19 November. Thank you @stradaeasel for the nudge to keep looking.

#StradaEasel #NoticingKL #klinoilpaint taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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11 days ago

After so many consecutive studio days, I was so happy to be back in nature and at @rimbundahan again. I did an artist residency here in 2022, and visiting still feels a little like coming home.

Angela Hijjas started planting her old orchard property with native trees in 1990. Her first, a meranti tembaga, is now twenty metres tall. She is incredibly generous with her time, holding open days where she shares her garden and forest with the public. Today’s talk on forest culture, conservation and how to actually grow these trees was fascinating. She has 115 dipterocarp species growing here now.

I photographed many flowers in the garden. Inspiration! And only found the caterpillar on a ginger flower photo when editing this post. Some slow looking happens after the fact.

My last stop was to the Underground Gallery for Hijjas Kasturi’s at Ninety exhibition. The canvases are big, loose and bright, and I noticed many sold stickers too! Congratulations to Hijjas Kasturi on a wonderful show and his 90th birthday.

#NoticingKL #RimbunDahan #Dipterocarp taken in Rimbun Dahan by @c.sullivan.art

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15 days ago

Hazy first light over KL. The air quality wasn’t great that morning, but some of the bad haze mornings are the most colorful. Nice to get back to working on some bigger pieces that have been shelved for awhile!

Oil on canvas, 60 x 84 cm

#NoticingKL #kualalumpur #oilpainting taken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by @c.sullivan.art

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16 days ago

#inktober2026
Having just finished a month of intense oil painting with the Strada challenge, not sure I’ll manage to get this up every day but will give it a shot. My sketchbook practice definitely needs work. Need to try not to take every day too seriously and see where it goes. I’m thinking, Inktober but make it Insect? Insectober?🕷️🤔
I feel proud of myself just getting myself back into the studio today, when I actually just want to run away from it for a bit. 🤣 taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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18 days ago

Day 30 #stradaeasel

The last one! Nasi lemak is Malaysia’s national dish. Everyone has an opinion about the best place to buy it. The rice is cooked in coconut milk and pandan, which is where the name comes from. Nasi means rice and lemak means rich or creamy. It comes conveniently wrapped in eco friendly banana leaf. Inside the pyramid shaped package is spicy sambal, crispy ikan bilis (fried anchovies), peanuts, hard boiled egg and cucumber. The textile background is a handwoven ikat piece from @tanoticrafts.

This is my second time to do the challenge, and thirty days of painting from life has definitely taught me a few things. Having a plan, or theme - and a list of subjects is definitely helpful. The commitment is real! My fastest and loosest paintings are often my favorites. Every textile in my drawer has a story behind it. Giving myself no more than two sittings for each painting kept me from overworking them. Thank you @stradaeasel for the challenge. Really appreciate the likes and comments to all of you who followed along.

#nasilemak #allaprima #painteveryday #stradaeaselchallenge2026 taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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18 days ago

Day 29 #StradaEasel
Sepak takraw ball

We were visiting Penang when my children were little and walked past an old shopfront where a man was making rattan furniture. It was pretty interesting to watch him, so we stopped for a bit. He walked up to my kids and just gave them this ball. He was so kind! It’s used for sepak takraw, a game played with the feet. I’ve watched people play and it’s amazingly acrobatic. These days I think the balls they use for playing the game are mostly plastic, so this traditional rattan one feels extra special. We’ve kept it ever since. The textile backdrop is handmade and from the @komplekskrafkl here in town.

#sepaktakraw #rattan #oilpainting taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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19 days ago

Day 28 #StradaEasel
Mangosteen

Painted loose and fast - alla prima. Just tossed them down on a printed golden batik. Swipe to see my setup and messy palette. No time for process photos today. Two days to go.

#mangosteen #stilllifepainting #malaysianart taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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20 days ago

Day 27 #StradaEasel
Kamcheng (day 2)

Finished! Well, finished enough. My personal rule for this challenge is no more than two days per painting, so here it is. I painted the batik loosely and saved my fussing for the kamcheng. That gorgeous blue textile is from Ayu Batik Fashion of Kelantan, which I found at Kompleks Kraf KL. @kraftanganmalaysia

#KompleksKrafKL #KraftanganMalaysia taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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21 days ago

Day 25 #stradaeasel Today came from a morning sketchmeet with my friends from #sketchaboutkl. I’ve always wanted to paint this yellow shophouse strung with lanterns, and Merdeka 118 rising right behind it. I love the juxtaposition of old KL and new KL in one view. Pen and watercolour today was a nice break from my studio oils. And the ambiance of Chinatown was amazing. So many people stopped to look and chat.

#stradaeaselchallenge2026 #pleinair #NoticingKL taken in Kwai Chai Hong 鬼仔巷 by @c.sullivan.art

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23 days ago

Day 24 #stradaeasel

Rose syrup, made in Singapore since 1935. Here in Malaysia it is used in a fabulous dessert called ais kacang, and to make a few different drinks - but my absolute favourite is sirap bandung. It is a gorgeous color pink, sweet and refreshing. I have always thought the bottle is so pretty. Perhaps it has been the same design since they started producing it.
8 x 8 in. Oil on canvas
#studiolife #sirapbandung #alaprima taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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25 days ago

Day 23 #StradaEasel
Bunga raya, part 2 (finished)

I set the still life up again with fresh flowers, thanks to my neighbor Michael. Good thing his hibiscus is massive! Most of the work today was correcting values, and I added the idea of a pattern to the green textile behind. 🌺
8 x 8 oil on canvas
#studiolife #BungaRaya #OilPainting taken in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur by @c.sullivan.art

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a month ago