Preface

By Tracy Lee Stum

www.tracyleestum.com

 

Witnessing the evolution of an artist is always a fascinating and revealing gift, rare to the average person. The artist follows the course of one’s desires in understanding the world around her and then endeavors to communicate these observations through a visual means, often requiring courage, vision and focus. It’s this unswerving determination, along with the struggles, the discoveries, the commitment and the absolute joy experienced when confronted with the searchfor originality and authenticity that provide rewards which may be described as life altering and often life affirming to the practitioner.

 

In witnessing the maturation of Sonia Kwok’s artistic development over the last 7 years I have been offered a glimpse of hope and triumph. Her determination in capturing life’s fleeting gems through her watercolors is matched by the virtuosity of her approach to painting and life. Her brush sings with confidence, her palette blazes with vibrance and her ability to capture the spirit of her subject matter is one that surely taps into the effulgence of intuitive / emotional confidence.

Sonia Kwok’s work has been a revelation of her own personal investigative journey, which surely lays bare the essence of her love for beauty and elegance reflected in the world around her. Her figures and scenes both entice and invite us to consider our ordinary lives in a most whimsical manner. Glimpses of luxury, style, femininity, form and gesture - all evident to Sonia - beckon us to feel the light and ease of grace with delight. We are deliberately beckoned back to a world of glamour from a bygone era. A female violinist looks toward her music stand, while a breeze shuffles through the sheet music - is she merely playing a song or manifesting this atmospheric animation? A model walks away from us sheathed in frothy blue confection - is she inviting us to follow or giving us a glimpse into the mysteries of the feminine? Iconic images from her travels, such as the Eiffel Tower, show up in her works - assigned significance as easily as a bicycle parked next to a flower shop. Particularly appealing are her lyrical landscapes and cosmopolitan scenes, which bring to life the ‘joie de vivre’ of each locale she selects. One only needs to imagine sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe in a world filled with romance and ease.

Both delicate and light filled, Sonia creates works that suggest an idealistic world imbued with playfulness, dazzling color, chivalry and sensitivity is at hand. All we need do is stroll down her imagined avenues and discover, through her eyes, the beauty she so adeptly beholds.’