Born in 1975 in Grik, Ngdawiyah Ismail (known as Gie), knew that when she grew up she wanted to be a painter and a storyteller. It all started when she saw her mom’s handwriting in Jawi (an old Malay-style of spelling and handwriting) and she wanted to interpret it in painting.
“My mom has the best and the most beautiful Jawi-writing I’ve ever seen. I love the calligraphy and also painting,” said the 40-year-old lady.
She started her work as a painter at the early age of 15 when she won first prize in a portrait drawing competition (state level), drawing portraits for her friends and teachers. Together with Darul Ridzuan Society of Painters, her paintings have been shown in numerous events and art exhibitions.
In 2014, Ngdawiyah joined Fai Zakaria, another established painter and entered the Europe Art Tour where she managed to sell three of her paintings. Through the strong support she received from various clubs including Perak state, Ngdawiyah has traveled to Austria, Switzerland, England and France. When asked about her most memorable trip, without hesitation, she would love to visit Austria again.
“Austria is a country that appreciates art. One of my favourite musician, Beethoven was born here. I had an opportunity to visit his house and the whole trip gave me chills,” said Gie who planned one day to hold her own art/music tour with other legendary musicians such as Kenny G and Maksim Mrvica.
Interested to see Ngdawiyah’s work? Be sure to visit her first solo exhibition at Impiana Hotel which began on October 1 and ends November 30.
Ili Aqilah
