By dint of hard work, one triumphs over adversity and all the obstacles therein. While Awang Damit Ahmad's life in impoverished Kuala Penyu was no bed of roses, having to help his father till padi fields and go fishing in the rough seas, it was no tragedy either. Making do with primitive tools, overcoming the harsh land and sea and buffeting the vagaries of weather had toughened the character. Yet the memories of the early struggles are bitter-sweet. This lies at the world view of Awang Damit's seminal art series, Essence Of Culture (E.O.C., Intipati Budaya), with his own semantics of intrinsic symbolisms often couched by earthy colours. E.O.C. spanned 1985 to 1995. The saga of Awang Damit Ahmad from fisherman-farmer to Telekoms technician to taking up Art at age 27 is a fairy-tale of grit, determination and natural talent. After studies at the Mara Institute of Technology, emerging as a Top Student, he studied up to his Masters at the Catholic University in Washington, and returning to teach at UiTM until his retirement with the rank of Associate Professor in May 2011. His huge potential was attested by the string of awards: the Major Award in Salon Malaysia III, the Minor Award in the Bakat Muda Sezaman (1984), 2nd Prize in the Malaysian Bank Association art competition (1988), and the Gold Award in the Ecorea Jeonbuk Biennale and the Olympic Fine Art in London, both in 2012. He first represented Malaysia in the Contemporary Paintings of Malaysia exhibition at the Asia-Pacific Museum in Pasadena in 1988. In 2022, his E.O.C. (Perjalanan Malam, 1989) and E.O.C. (Ingatan Waktu Kecil, 1985) were sold for RM212,800 and RM218,400, in the Henry Butcher Art Auction November edition and July edition, respectively. In the Henry Butcher March 2021 Art Auction, his E.O.C. (Apa Khabar Ledang, 1992) was sold for RM224,000.