A special talent
Talented Glenn Phua brings buildings and streets to life
Pathlight School's Glenn Phua spent close to90 hours working on three separate line drawings of NUS' campuses. Glenn, a talented 18-year-old who has made a mark with his detailed drawings, completed the distinctive artworks as part of a project between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Pathlight School.
This year, NUS celebrates its 110th year of founding together with Singapore's Golden Jubilee. In keeping with the anniversary theme of "Because We Care, the University is looking to actively continue its long tradition of contributing, and making a difference, to society. One of the projects initiated by NUS' Office of Corporate Relations (OCR) focuses on working with social enterprises such as Pathlight School on gifts development, and opportunities to showcase Pathlight student talent to the wider community.
Pathlight School is the first autism-focused school in Singapore that offers Singapore's mainstream academic curriculum together with life readiness skills. It caters to students with autism and related disorders, aged 7 to 18 years old, who are cognitively able to access mainstream academic curriculum but require additional support such as smaller class sizes, special accommodations and teaching staff trained in autism.
Pathlight recommended that OCR work with Glenn on a series of line drawings which were ultimately used in the University's online and printed 2014 year-end greeting cards.
Glenn's drawings were of University Town's Education Resource Centre, Bukit Timah Campus and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS). He spent an average of 20 to 30 hours on each drawing, and found the drawing of Duke-NUS most challenging. This is because many straight lines were required to create the facade of the building.
Two of Glenn's paintings (left and right) were used in NUS' greeting cards
"As parents, we're very proud of Glenn's drawings of NUS, and it is a double blessing that NUS' 110th anniversary coincides with SG50, said Glenn's father, Mr Kelvin Phua. As a testimony of pride, the walls of their apartment are lined with drawings of buildings and street scenes, brought to life by Glenn with his trusty set of black markers.
Glenn (right) shares a tender moment with his parents, Mr and Mrs Phua
Glenn was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. However, his parents were determined not to let the disorder impede his special talent. At age seven, Glenn started drawing cartoon characters such as the Simpsons as well as Charlie Brown. He later progressed to more intricate designs including bottles, vessels and street scenes. He is perhaps best known for his drawings of street scenes. Glenn's distinctive style is captured in the confident bold strokes of a black ink marker. Unlike some artists, Glenn doesn't sketch out his drawings out in pencil first'he draws them on the spot with his black ink marker.
Mr Phua said he first started taking notice of his son's artistic skills when he won first prize at the 2010 UBS Formula 1 art competition at age 14. Since then, Glenn's artwork has been featured on various platforms, including the Singapore Arts Festival's Kids Arts Village in 2011; the invitation card for the MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund's Annual Dinner 2011; and on the Ministry of National Development's year-end greeting card in 2013. Glenn's work has also been presented as a gift to Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2011, and to Sri Lanka's former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa in 2012.
Glenn is enrolled in Pathlight's Artist Development Programme, which allows selected Pathlight students to hone their artistic skills under the tutelage of professional artists. To further promote special needs students with artistic talent, the Autism Resource Centre (the parent charity of Pathlight School) will establish an art gallery with artists-in-residence at a community space located along Redhill Road. Slated to open in late 2015, Glenn will be one of the artists-in-residence.
When asked about what he wants to be when he grows up, Glenn said: "I want to be a famous artist.
With a talent so special, it will only be a matter of time.
