ANYHOW ARTIST

He's the man behind one of National Day Parade (NDP) 2010's most popular tote bags, which had lots of happy cartoon characters. Meet local artist Soh Ee-Shaun, who proves to be every bit as colourful as his work.

Think military and words like regimentation, rules and restrictions come up. So how did 2nd Sergeant (2SG) (NS) Soh, who described himself as "loud, colourful, funny and silly", survive his two-and-a-half years of National Service (NS)?

With a dash of humour.

He recalled: "I was drawing caricatures of all my commanders and creating comics out of them, so my buddies in the platoon and I had a good laugh!" He was an infantry specialist in 4th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (4 SIR) then.

Citing NS as one of the reasons he draws what he draws, 2SG (NS) Soh, now a platoon sergeant in 673 SIR, said: "While there is a fun side to NS, the notion of a military institution is regimental. Perhaps subconsciously I'm trying to break out from all those rules, so my work is like a reaction to all the things that I ve experienced."

His art, which he classifies as pop art (meaning popular art), has a whimsical feel and is characterised by bold colours, shapes and faces. Surrealist thinking is a major influence in his work, which often involves drawing spontaneously to derive inspiration from the unconscious mind.

"I find it instinctive for me to just draw without thinking...so I don't plan my work," he said.

Agent Orange (2009)

Rules of a rebel

Though a rebel in many ways, he still observes some rules in his art.

2SG (NS) Soh explained: "I tend not to use squares, and I often use oblong shapes, circles, balloon-like structures, and things like clouds and rainbows. That's the underlying form. And I like putting faces on the shapes and giving them character. It's something that makes me happy."

When asked which aspect of his personality is reflected in his work, he answered: "Humorous. Humour is a very important part of my life, and to me, life is supposed to be fun."

While the 30-year-old artist describes himself as "a person who tries not to take life so seriously", his work is taken seriously by many. For example, his achievements include being commissioned to design one of seven tote bags for NDP 2010, as well as to paint three wall murals for the Circle Line station at Bishan, a project which he considers a pretty big deal.

"Personally, it was a challenging project, and I mulled over it for some time... Now when I look at it, I'm quite happy. There are some things I wish I could fix, but then again, you can never have a perfect piece of work."

Pop art beyond fad

On what it is like being an artist in Singapore, 2SG (NS) Soh, who also teaches art modules as a facilitator at Republic Polytechnic, said: "It's tough if you survive purely on doing art, but there are artists like me who get by with teaching, conducting workshops and getting commissioned to do projects."

He added: "Initially, I thought that my work was just a fad because art is trendy and driven by style. Right now, I'm just happy that I'm still being approached by agencies to do projects."

His paintings, which can fetch from hundreds to a few thousand dollars, can be viewed on his website www.gardensilly.com, and can be purchased whenever he holds exhibitions.

To interested buyers, he said with a laugh: "I like my paintings, so I'm not in a big hurry to sell them!" He added as an afterthought: "Unless the price is really good."

Plastic Spoon Saviour (2010)

Kiddy Cats (2007)

Slave to Art (2009)

My Angry Mom (2009)