It was the Age of Innocence with Malaya just gaining Independence, on the back of an agrarian economy. Malaya was predominantly rural with vast open uninhabited land, where the people at large were left to eke a living in farms, estates and fishing in the rivers and sea. This rural scene of a boat bay under the canopy of a tree with overhanging branches is replete with the romance of yesteryears, when life was simple though harsh, and the happiness quotient was high. Pioneer artist-cartoonist-politician Abdullah Ariff’s rural landscapes reveal his affinity with land, especially the countryside. Using the top-down perspective, he was able to encompass more elements on the ground, through the interstices of the branches and leaves, with three idle sampan (boats) in view providing a cool respite from the open land on the left where the late-afternoon heat was palpable despite a soft overlapping colour veneer. That year in 1960, Abdullah had two roads in Penang named after him. It was also the Year of the 3 Agongs and the end of the Malayan Emergency. Art teacher, artist, advertising pioneer and politician – Abdullah Ariff was a Penang City Councillor, in the Jelutong district (1955-1957). A remarkable feat for a self-taught artist besides being one of only two locals accepted into the Penang Impressionists coterie, as an instructor. As an artist, he had solos in the United States, at two venues in Charlotte (1954) and the Malayan Embassy in Washington (1955). He was also featured in the Le Salon Society of French Artists exhibition in Paris. In 1955, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Art (FRSA) England. He taught Art at the Anglo-Chinese School (now Methodist Boy School) in Penang for six years before he quit to set up Ariff Advertising (1955). He also contributed cartoons for the Straits Echo (later renamed National Echo) newspaper (1945-1947).