Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
I’m Sophia Ng, and I am Malaysia’s first live wedding painter. As a ‘live performer’, I attend weddings and paint the scene within 4-6 hours and the thing is – I didn’t even study art, yet I work as an artist now! I studied Psychology and came a long way to becoming the artist I am today. But as far as I could remember, art has always been the thing I wanted to do.
Back in school, there was the cita-cita (ambitions) column where you had to write what your ambition was, and for me, it has always been arts-related. Of course, a lot of Asian parents don’t support children going into the creative field. So I didn’t go, but my heart was still there. I tried going for a normal office job with a regular 9-5 for a year and life was miserable!
So I decided I needed to do something arts-related but then I had no degree – so how?
I decided to teach art privately, for several years. It started as a part-time job during university and then became my full-time job at an international school where I was a homeroom teacher who taught art. After a few years, I was scouted to start a new ‘Studio Art Academy’, a place where anyone can learn art from all ages, where the youngest was 3, and the oldest was 76 years old.
I was the principal/manager, until the MCO (movement control order), when the business couldn’t sustain itself and thought it was time for me to take charge of my own life to do what I wanted to do.
Instead of hoping and working for someone else’s company, I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur.
During MCO I decided I needed to do something, I went for a 4 months course called Youth Art Entrepreneur at Balai Seni Negara where they teach the A-Zs of business and how to apply our creativity and use our art to make money. They made us register our business with SSM (Companies Commission of Malaysia), and put our idea into action. It’s been about a year since the course and this is where I am right now!
Everyone had already done paintings, so what was different?
I got this idea from American painter Watch Maggie Paint on TikTok. I saw the viral video and thought it was cool, and then realised that there was none in Malaysia, or in Asia for that matter. I was thinking, why was there none? Is it because of the different Malay, Indian, and Chinese, cultural weddings with all their different customs and processes?
When I started my business, I just wanted it to be art related and paint. Whatever it was going to be – it had to be about painting. Everyone had already done paintings, so what was different? I’m at the age where my friends are getting married, and I asked them if they would want to try this (live wedding painting), and they said yes!
I didn’t get one (live painting) for my own wedding but ended up painting it myself after. One of my biggest regrets was that my mom was not there, so the beauty of this was to be able to include them in the painting for those who couldn’t make it – even pets can be painted.
When they received the paintings, some clients actually teared up when they got to see that their deceased loved ones (who couldn’t be there) were in the paintings. It is also good entertainment for the guests to show their relatives and a conversation starter. I consider myself a “live performer” because, as I am painting, people come to see me and talk to me. And they would come again and again to check up on my progress.
Due to time constraints, I will only be able to capture a brief impression of the wedding background and the bride and groom, so I tell my clients upfront to not expect over-realistic details.
How I Started
I don’t ever remember not painting. I probably painted when I first discovered it at kindergarten (K2), when I won a colouring competition and realised that ‘Hey, I am good at art, I am better than everyone!’ That is where it solidified my interest in it.
I was never professionally trained in art. My art school was Youtube, Tumblr, Pinterest – and lots of practice. Anyone can learn anything as long as they have the passion to learn.
I run into a lot of people who want to pursue their passions but can’t afford to. Because I couldn’t establish a business model, it held me back. Being the first to do this business, having this was a lightbulb moment for me; and fortunately, I get to paint.
I don’t have a lavish lifestyle but want to be able to pay bills and without worrying about it, I can securely pay the bills and solely focus on my passion.
I won’t be able to enjoy my passion if I am constantly worrying about money.
The prices of the paintings range from RM1,600 – 2,500 depending on the size of the painting. It will include 5 guests by default. The biggest canvas size costs RM3,000.
How It Works
I would first have a virtual conversation with the couple before the wedding to discuss any specific requirements, etc. In the course of the wedding, I spend around 5 to 6 hours finishing the painting, showing it to the couple, taking it home, touching it up as necessary, varnishing and coating it, wiring the back, and, if they choose, framing it. I get back to them after two weeks.
Since I adore dogs, I relish the opportunity to paint them. The strangest request I’ve received so far was to paint 26 family members from both sides of the family in the painting. I told them no, it would be best to shoot photos instead because the composition wouldn’t look well with so many people in it. On another occasion, there was a painting depicting three married couples who were all siblings! And I know that I have to work harder to get it right when I paint departed loved ones. It matters to the couple.
I work on 1-2 weddings every weekend, and when it gets too much, I’ve also hired freelancers. I’ve worked across the entire Klang valley as well as Bali, Singapore, Thailand, Kuching, Sabah, and Johor.
In the beginning, I started with lots of Indian clients. The crowd was very supportive and shared my work, and it blew up from there. In the first few months, I did a lot of Indian weddings, then Malay crowds, and now more Chinese. Chinese clients were the rarest as they are most sceptical, thinking that ‘ah, she cannot do it.’
Most of them want me to capture the painting’s climax, which varies depending on ethnicity: for Indians, it’s the moment of the wedding where they are walking together hand in hand; for Muslims, it’s the nikah scene; and for a Chinese wedding, it’s a backdrop with people walking in with the pelamin (wedding stage). I don’t have many church weddings, which makes it harder because they are usually extremely brief and don’t let paintings be done inside. Chinese weddings typically take place in hotels and gardens because the tea ceremony is not “Grammable.”
Morning weddings pose the largest obstacle; there was one occasion when I had to be there at 6am. The hardest wedding I had ever done was keeping myself awake during the traditional ceremony, with lots of music and loud noises while also being weary, fatigued, and needing to concentrate. And the humidity made things difficult.
More Than Just An An Artist
I want people to see me as an ‘art-preneur’, that I am more than an artist. My friends would say ‘Ah so nice ah, you only work on the weekends’. I have to do more than that. My marketing, client management, client servicing, and accounting – I do it all alone. It’s more than just being an artist, I don’t just paint.
I have a creative mind, but at the same time, I also have an entrepreneurial mind. Growing up, I came from a poor family of food stall hawkers. I always work part-time at university, and starting from the age of 12, my parents made me help out at the stall, for pocket money. That’s a value my parents taught me. You have to work for the money, as it will not fall from the sky.
My hope for the future is to establish this as a trend and a necessary ‘service’, as much as you would employ photographers, you would also hire live wedding painters. I want to increase the hiring of artists and provide employment opportunities for them in Malaysia. There are many painters in Malaysia but no opportunities. Malaysians have conservative views on art, and liberals tend to value it more, and artists must be careful of the things they produce.
My advice for future art-preneurs: Take your chances, don’t procrastinate and go for it… If you have an idea, don’t ever wait for the time. The time is never going to come. The time is when you say it’s going to come.
Know anyone with an interesting story to share? Drop us an email at hello@inreallife.my, and we may feature the story!
For more stories like this, read:
We Were Three Uni Students Who Became Accidental Food Entrepreneurs. This is Our Story.
4 Inspiring Lessons We Can Learn from These Malaysian Entrepreneurs
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