A nostalgic scene that may seem like a distant past for city-dwellers, Ismail Mat Hussin captures this domestic kampung life accustomed to those who grew up in rural Malaysia. Featuring a trio of Malay women — two of them sitting on a pangkin, a woman with an infant on her lap is having a conversation with another woman who is holding a tray of kueh — while the other woman sitting further back is occupied with her chores. A self-trained artist, Ismail Mat Hussin excelled in portraying life in East coast Malaysia through batik painting. His interest in art was sparked during his time attending weekly art painting classes under Nik Mahmood at Padang Garong Malay School in Kota Bharu from 1954 to 1955. He became a full-time artist in 1968 until he started work as a graphic designer cum illustrator with Syarikat Percetakan Dian in Kota Bharu from 1979 to 1991. He held a Grade V in violin, which enabled him to work as a part-time musician with Radio-Televisyen Malaysia in Kota Bharu from 1965 to 1967. A member of Angkatan Pelukis Semenanjung (APS) Kelantan Chapter and Persatuan Senilukis Kelantan (PESENI), he was also a protege of the prolific figurative artist, Khalil Ibrahim. In March 2019, one of his batik paintings broke the auction record selling for RM140,000 at Henry Butcher Malaysian and Southeast Asian art auction.