From caricature to watercolour

My sister, Frances Ku, became famous in Taiwan for her political cartoons which culminated in a book entitled “Memoirs of a Love Hate Relationship with Taiwan.” She became so good at drawing caricatures that she even made one of me (below).

Oil painting by Frances Ku

In 1999, I flew half-way around the world to sit for this painting to remind me of paradise. When the giant canvas arrived in London a few months later, I was speechless. She definitely could have covered my legs.

Frances Ku is multi-lingual and multi-talented. She performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto with orchestra while studying philosophy and classics at SUNY Albany. She won a scholarship to do her MA in International Relations at University of Chicago after which she worked briefly at a law office. But none of these credentials do justice to her ability to create, both in imagery and verbiage.

Since moving to Hawaii, she has reinvented herself as a watercolour artist and lately the pioneer of “Creative Healing” workshops. One day I hope to organise a joint concert and exhibition with Frances.

In the mean time, the closest I can get to collaborating with this talented sister of mine, is to commission a new work for our forthcoming house concert on 23 May 2010. Her watercolour collage represents a synthesis of music on different instruments in a festive environment.

The work itself was produced in Hawaii. How do we get it to the Netherlands?

We will hold a silent auction, patterned after the one I witnessed recently at the 80th anniversary gala dinner of the American Women’s Club of the Hague. The reserve (lowest) price is 60 euros for a single print. Each bid is in increments of 5 euros. It will be anonymous. At the end of the evening, we will close the auction. The highest bidder will be announced and the print will be delivered from Hawaii to the chosen destination.

Silent auction at the American Women's Club of the Hague 80th Anniversary

If Frances Ku were in the Netherlands, I can think of many ways to share her creativity. Last month in Taiwan (early April 2010), my father wanted to see her draw. We ripped out blank hotel stationery and gave to Frances. In no time at all, she sketched out our portraits in pencil.

There are still traces of her cartoonist days though.

Pencil caricature of Robert Bekkers by Frances Ku, April 2010

To be continued….

About these ads