Thursday, May 17 2012
| Birdmen of Penang |
| Wednesday, 28 July 2010 11:23 |
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By Ooi Kok Chuen.
THE bird population in terms of species and numbers is dwindling in Penang. Choo Beng Teong attributes the falling numbers to the destruction of bird habitats through rampant development. “There is a tremendous loss of good birding areas in and around Penang, and there are hardly any good birds to see in Penang Hill now,” Dr Neoh says. “Since 2006, some 80% of the Nibong trees have been lost to the construction of a new road across Air Itam Dalam in Sungai Dua, while Pedu Lake (a man-made lake in Kedah) is now totally inaccessible due to the construction of a highway that is used by hardly 10 cars in an hour!”  Another reason could be pollution. Birds are also getting bad press from the highly pathogenic H1N1 influenza virus. Vast domesticated fowl populations throughout the world have been decimated, where humans infected have fallen ill or died. Certainly, the virus has reduced birds’ egg production.This is cause for grave concern. What the authorities urgently need to do is enforce environment-friendly policies to conserve and enhance Penang’s natural resources, both land and marine, and to sustain biodiversity. But while hoping for that to happen, Beng Teong has done his part by planting trees in his garden to help attract birds to his doorstep. This is more to help sustain bird life and create healthier environs than for art.  “Since I started planting trees, many common birds have been attracted to my garden, with some even making their nests there. I hope that more people will plant trees in their gardens. This will lure birds back to the neighbourhood,” he says.Certainly, more greenery everywhere will also help nullify the effects of the heat wave that the country has been afflicted with lately, with spikes in temperature even hitting 35°C! A 2006 bird checklist of Penang estimated the presence of 397 species, compared to the national figure of 720. The 2,562-hectare Penang National Park hosts some 165 species, while on the mainland in Seberang Perai, the five-acre Penang Bird Park boasts some 300 species. For popular birding spots and the species that can be seen there, go to bluebonnet.at.infoseek.co.jp/birdingmalay-e.htm.  One of the earliest books on Malayan birds was A Company of Birds (1959) by cinema magnate, ornithologist-photographer Datuk Loke Wan Tho (1915–1964). The Birds of Asia (1849–1883) by ornithologist-publisher John Gould (1804–1881) had Malaysia-endemic birds such as the Asian palm swift, the Indian Roller, the Copper-throated Sunbird, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Banded and Mangrove Pitta and the White-Breasted Waterhen.Despite the comparatively larger number of birds that can be found in Penang, at least on paper, Beng Teong regularly ventures outside the state for bird-watching. His favourite haunts include Fraser’s Hill, Maxwell Hill and Cameron Highlands for montane forest birds, and Kuala Gula, Kuala Sepetang and Byram Estate in Nibong Tebal for mangrove forest birds. For general forest birds, he goes to Ulu Paip in Kulim, Taman Negara, and Sandakan. Some new places are best kept secret for the bird watcher’s own selfish reasons and to discourage poachers.  Beng Teong used to “hunt with packs” but prefers to go solo nowadays. Even his wife, Moy Siew Ting, who is also an artist and part-time art teacher, does not follow him on his ornithological pursuits. Siew Ting specialises in flowers and butterflies and also paints images of old buildings.Like the birds, Beng Teong is a creature of habit. Call him an odd bird, if you like. After all these years, he still paints only in water- colours. He takes plenty of photographs – surreptitiously, of course – to recompose and re-present with a play of technique, ambient setting, story-telling and with a subtle National Geographic-like fact book style. Even then, he can’t – and won’t – paint a certain species if he hasn’t seen it for himself. Certainly photographs by others of birds, however rare the species, do not inspire him to paint either. When he does spot some rarer species such as the Rufous-collared Kingfisher (Actenoides concretus) and the Blue-bended Kingfisher, the excitement is palpable and would be reflected in his painting, with all the telling details. He does not do paintings on the spot for the simple reason that birds, such as the passerines, are not going to perch and pose for the artist to get every detail of its plumage and dainty streaks of colours.  Birds are no actors. “You can’t get much action from birds,” concedes Beng Teong; thus, the need to create a scene, so to speak, in order to make the painting more interesting and distinguish it from a boring nature study.Bird painting is an art in its own right. While there are those who have a more morbid interest in using taxidermised specimens for their paintings, there is nothing like the intrepid bird-watcher forfeiting creature comforts to go to inaccessible and inhospitable terrains just to get a peek at rare birds. Armed with a camera with long zoom, Beng Teong ventures into known bird sanctuaries to find them in their natural habitat and catch them in their vulnerable moods – at play, feeding or hunting. He feels the need to make his paintings more animated by altering the composition with the birds in their habitats amidst different vegetation or by adding an elaborate branch or two or showing them in a waterfall alcove. His image is likely to be a montage of photographs. But Beng Teong is a stickler for accuracy. He is meticulous in showing off the birds with their physique, plumages, posture, grace, mannerisms, habits and colours. “Some birds have very unique colours and you need to get the colours just right on your palette,” he adds. One hallmark of a Beng Teong painting is the background areas that he leaves white or blank for greater contrast and to enhance the quality of his main subjects. Beng Teong first made his presence felt when he won a prize in the Penang Pesta art competition in 1993. From 1985 to 1987, he took up a graphic design course at Universiti Sains Malaysia and a commercial art course at the Sain Academy of Art in Penang. While Beng Teong is a “Lone Ranger” when he goes trekking in jungles or manoeuvring through mangrove swamps to watch birds, such activities are a family affair for Dr Neoh. His whole family is also into bird-watching and bird photography, so it’s great for bonding, too. None of his family members is into painting yet though. Dr Neoh has 41 years of experience painting birds and his objects are mainly those found in Malaysia, although he has gone bird-watching in Thailand. He started painting in watercolours (Plaka watercolours on Cotman paper) but had, since February 1996, switched to acrylic on paper as well as canvas. “Acrylic dries faster. I can work fast with it and also do large paintings for large birds in a panoramic background. Also, acrylic lasts longer and does not get affected by the discolouration of paper or canvas over time,” Dr Neoh says, divulging that he only paints at night and on weekends. He also finds acrylic a more versatile and permanent medium that gives off greater brilliance and a stronger three-dimensional effect with application of thicker coats of paint. Dr Neoh is most fascinated by the wing patterns of birds in flight, and this shows in his works where the creatures are mostly shown in flight amidst plants, flowers and fruits. “They are completely different, both on the surface and the underside. I find it very challenging to be able to capture these patterns and colours accurately, and do it in an artistic way as well.” He confides that painting is therapeutic. It also helps to sharpen his powers of observation as a surgeon, whose work needs precision and decisiveness. Switching from scalpel to brush improves his dexterity and skills, he adds. Dr Neoh has published some of his paintings on calendars as a record and hopes one day to produce a book on endemic bird species based on his paintings. He held a solo of his paintings called Wings of Colour ‘94 at The Art Gallery, Penang, from Aug 21 to Sept 4, 1994. Bird artists can be counted on one’s fingers. It is a niche field that demands loads of patience and research as well as expensive equipment, and travel to the distant and inaccessible habitats. As a rule, a bird painting takes a longer time to execute and complete than one would imagine. Besides Beng Teong and Dr Neoh, others from Penang smitten by the avian painting virus are businessman James Neoh Hang Peng, Tan Peng Hooi and one-time “Birdman” Ong Soo Keat, who is reportedly more into angling now. Elsewhere, other well-known dedicated “birdies” include publisher/illustrator/cartoonist Jaafar Taib (acrylic and oil on canvas), Teh Yew Kiang (watercolour, charcoal/acrylic on canvas) and Yap Hong Ngee (Chinese brush painting). In his heyday, Soo Keat was also a stamp designer; he did the Protected Wildlife of Malaysia – Series 3 (November 1987) and the Malaysian Turtles Series (November 1990). Beng Teong also has a 1995 stamp series on turtles to his name, with the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) on two 30-sen stamps. Wildlife artists are a rare breed and if nothing is done to preserve the habitats, bird artists in Penang particularly may disappear along with their feathered friends to other more salubrious environs. Young artists may not wish to involve themselves in time-consuming painting of absent subjects. Ooi Kok Chuen has been writing on the art scene at home and abroad for 28 years. ** Reproduced with permission. This article first appeared in the June 2010 issue of the Penang Economic Monthly. This 11-year old magazine published by the Socio-economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) is being overhauled and commercialised. This endeavour is in response to the growing insight among Penangites and Penang lovers that the downward trend in the state's fortunes cannot be succesfully reversed unless they themselves get seriously involved. The goal is to inspire positive action among readers towards attaining a "Penang Renaissance". Comments (0)
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The battle for habitat between man and bird is an ancient one, and sadly, man is winning. In Penang, rare birds are getting rarer, and few would notice it as clearly and as early as meticulous painters of birds. There are a few left in Penang, and they are calling for action to be taken, not only by the government but by every Penangite, to entice birds to make the state their first home.
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