Khalil Ibrahim strays from his usual painting hunting ground of Kelantan and Terengganu to visit Pantai Kundu, off the coast of Malacca, in this portrait of a fisherman looking more like an urban dweller clad in a jersey with blue stripes instead of torn t-shirts they are often seen with. There is a cheery mood about the fisherman looking well and contented, the blue skies matched by the blue stripes on the jersey, and even the fishing boats are painted in bright colours. It’s been said that one can even go night fishing in the kelong (offshore platform built by fishermen). A southpaw, Khalil Ibrahim is truly one of Malaysia’s most gifted artists who worked excellently in watercolours, acrylic, batik, oil, pastels and pen, and was also adept at figures, landscapes, still-life and abstracts. Although he won a Pahang State scholarship to study for his National Diploma of Design in Fine Arts at St Martin’s School of Art and Design in London, 1963 (postgraduate 1965), he never had to work to repay but instead turned fulltime in September 1966 on his return. In 1970, he held a solo in Indonesia – the first Malaysian to have done so, and was given a double solo at the Samat Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. He was also a co-founder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society.