JAYSON YEOH, Malaysia

Born in 1963 in the Malaysian state of Kedah, Jayson Yeoh is a self-taught watercolor artist. His passion and love for art started at young age. His artistic and self-exploration journey was bittersweet and full of ups and downs. However, his persistency and perseverance brought him to what and who he is currently.

Reminiscing the past, he was once in a dilemma of choosing his own life career – to be an art educator or an artist. After due diligence and consideration, he decided to choose the former due to life’s demands and expectations.

Therefore, YS Art Centre was formally established by him in 1991. Being in the industry for two decades, he had received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Education Bureau of Shanghai , Hangzhou and Beijing, China and many other institutions for his excellence in teaching art.

Although he had been active in the art education industry for many years, his enthusiasm and passion for artistic endeavours were still burning in his heart. In recent years, he gradually eased himself from the hectic schedule of teaching and took time out to paint or do outdoor landscaping and sharpen his skills. Shifting from being an educator to an artist, he still felt that being an artist or painter is still his forte. Besides that, he also enjoys travelling and painting as such activities allow him to understand better the culture and customs of the locals.

His artworks have been selected for numerous exhibitions and competitions in both local and international juried exhibitions. In 1994, he won the Honorable Mention Award in the National Youth Open Watercolour Competition organised by the Malaysia Teo Chew Association. In 2006, his work was selected for the National ‘Enchanting Colourful’ Watercolor Open.  His artwork ‘Serenity’ won him the Second Place Founders Award in the 2013 International Watermedia ‘Legacy’ Exhibition in The Pikes Peak Watercolor Society, USA. Among his best achievements include ‘The Wittnauer Watch Award’ -87th Annual Open Juried Exhibition by The Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor 2012 and the ‘Award of Distinction’ by the Missouri International Annual Open Juried Exhibition 2013.

In 2014, another of his artworks won the Artist Merit Award at the International Annual Open Exhibition by the Missouri Watercolor Society, USA and he has recently been awarded with the Signature Status by the MOWS.

He is currently a member of the Contemporary Malaysian Watercolorists Association (CMWA) , Singapore Watercolour Society (SWS) and the Penang Watercolour Society (PWCS).

Jayson Yeoh has actively participated in numerous exhibitions all over the world. He was one of  invited guest of honor in ‘The 3rd GNWP China , Shanghai Exhibition’ and ‘The World Watermedia Exposition’ ,Thailand 2014.  

His works are in the collections of Citi Bank Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Roland Folger (President & CEO of Mercedes- Benz) and Mr.Lim It Leang (The Art  Brush Studio-Langkawi).

Despite his list of achievements, he never rests on his laurels and constantly strives to pursue greater heights and achievements in the art of watercolour painting.

Sound of harmony, 38x56 cm, watercolor

DENISE ATHANAS AWS, NWS, WHS, AAA

My interest in the arts goes back to my school and college years. I started painting when many years ago I moved to Syracuse, NY. There started a love affair with painting that has become more intense as time goes on.

I am a frequent participant of seminars and workshops presented by internationally recognized artists some of whom I regard as mentors and have become a source of inspiration to me. Finally and most importantly, I keep painting, constantly experimenting and exploring new venues, materials, surfaces, ideas and techniques. I strive to have the viewer of my art see “me” in my work as when I was growing up in Ethiopia and Greece as in my school years in the Sudan and Great Britain and here in the US as a wife and a mother. These  experiences, I believe are reflected in my work - the bold strokes, smooth curves, sharp angles complemented with bright strong colors.

In addition to the American Watercolor Society (AWS) and National Watercolor Society (NWS) I have earned signature status in Watercolor-USA Honor Society(WHS), Watercolor Society of Alabama(WSA), Georgia Watercolor Society (GWS), International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA-NF), International Society of Acrylic Painters (ISAP), San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS), Missouri Watercolor Society (MOWS), Philadelphia Watercolor Society(PWCS), Pennsylvania Watercolor Society (PWS), Pittsburgh Watercolor Society(PWS), Texas Watercolor Society (TWS-PS), Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS), Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society (RMNWS), California Watercolor Association (CWA),  Southern Watercolor Society (SW), Illinois Watercolor Society(IWS), South Carolina Watermedia Society(SCWS), Western Colorado Watercolor Society (WCWS) and Mississippi Watercolor Society(MSWS). I am also an elected member of the National Association of Women Artists(NAWA) and Allied Artists  of America (AAA).

Cirque du Soleil, watercolor