The hard life of fishermen was something close to artist M. Zain’s heart, for he had experienced it himself. This magical oil beachscape shows his deft handling of colours and play of light, and here a brilliant composition of a distant light from a strategic cloudburst against an azure sky, framed by the mood-inducing slanting long trunks of the coconut trees, shunting part of a ramshackled hutment of the fishermen to the far right. Now you know why he was a favourite painting partner of Khalil Ibrahim. Though little is known about M. Zain Idris, he was a rare State artist appointed by the Terengganu State Government. The Chief Minister afforded him a studio and residence in Kuala Terengganu, complete with a stipend. As an artist, he was driven by a wanderlust, and often travelled outside the State to paint, Kelantan and even as far as Kuala Lumpur. Dubbed the Fisherman Artist, Zain had become a fulltime artist after he was discovered by the pioneer gallerist, art critic cum promoter Frank Sullivan, who even gave him a solo at his Samat Art Gallery. Sullivan was then Press Secretary to Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya’s first prime minister. He had joint exhibition with Kasim Abas at the Equatorial Hotel KL in 1984, and at the Shangri-La Hotel KL in 1987.