Khalil Ibrahim’s abstracts in his batik are different from the more elaborate and tangled-knot links or unions in oil on canvas in the 1960s after Opus. The batiks are more minimal, with a smaller and subdued palette and an uncanny dominance of orange. The geometry suggests some kind of Australian Dreaming metaphor but is more meditative. The sometimes rough scraggly lines on one or two sides are reminiscent of the Colour Field of Morris Louis. Khalil experimented with batik from the late 1968 until the early 1980s. His batik combines the traditional and the contemporary. Such was the popularity of batik art that he gave demonstrations all over the world including in Australia, Singapore, Paris (Maisons et Jardins) and Germany (Cologne) in the early years. It was something he picked up by himself in Kelantan and from helpful tips by a supplier of batik dyes. He was able to infuse figuratives into his repertoire. While he did play on the cracked and crinkled effects prevalent in batik paintings, he also dabbled with using cut newspapers to shape textures as collage. Although this collage technique was first developed by Seah Kim Joo, who is now in Singapore, Khalil was working independently and separately. He had also done portraits on batik. The top three prices fetched for his batik work was achieved at the KLAS auction with a premium of RM132,000 for East Coast Series (1973) in the Jan 19, 2014 auction, RM123,200 for Nude Movement (1983) in the Sept 28, 2014 auction, and RM100,800 for Movement In Red (1971) in the March 22, 2015 auction. One of the best southpaws in Malaysian art, Khalil Ibrahim was sent on a Pahang government scholarship to study art at the St Martin’s School of Art and Design in London in 1959-64, for his National Diploma in Design. He was already 30 when he graduated. He spent another year for his post-graduate in 1965. After a very brief teaching stint on his return, he was released from his bond, and he decided to turn full time, and he has been painting fulltime since 1966. In 1970, he was given his first solo at the Samat Art Gallery, of his batiks and watercolours, and he also had a solo exhibition in Indonesia that year. Khalil was a co-founder of the Malaysian Watercolour Society and rose to vice-president once. His two main exhibitions so far were Khalil Ibrahim: The Art Journey in Petaling Jaya (2015), and Khalil Ibrahim: A Continued Dialogue at Galeri Petronas in 2004.