by Raynald C Rivera
Works of art are appreciated when perceived in their entirety by the beholder and for many artists art is synonymous with light, but there is one artist here whose paintings are best admired in the dark.
Meet glow painter Kharelly O Sakilan. Unlike other painters who use glow-in-the-dark paints as body paint for parties and fashion shows, Kharelly recently devised her own way of creating wall paintings out of the UV body paints taking the art medium to a new level.
“My friend, who works for a company which offers glow-in-the-dark products for home and garden accessories, gifts and party gadgets including glow paints, told me they were looking for an artist who could do glow painting for a client who would like to sample the product and she encouraged me to try,” she relates.
She finally accepted the offer in order to help her friend and at the same time for fun trying her hand again on painting because it had been her hobby even back in the Philippines, where she has been away for almost three years now.
After the client approved her proposal, she created the wall painting - her first ever using the medium- which she found was not that easy.
“Since the glow paint I was using was meant for the body thus easy to wash away, I thought of a technique experimenting on how to use it on the wall in such a way it would last for a long time, like any other painting.”
Kharelly has also showcased her skill in body painting in fashion shows and parties here, but compared to body painting, wall painting is much difficult to do since it is done on a bigger scale which involves a more complex process.
“It’s quite tiring and I had some adjustments to do but this is all part of the art and I have come to love and get used to.”
In just five days, during the Eid Al Fitr holidays, Kharelly was able to execute her proposal which the client liked so much.
“It was the first wall painting I have created using the medium. It was approximately 8sqm and depicts a party mood with people dancing and a DJ playing music.”
The painting which was done on a corner wall of a majlis was a big success that everyone who sees even just the photo of the painting wishes to have a glow painting on the wall of his or her house.
