A portrait of the artist

A portrait of the artist

Chusit Wijarnjoragij returns to Bangkok to follow in the footsteps of the great painters

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Chusit Wijarnjoragij has drawn on inspiration and advice from the greats in creating his first artwork since returning to Thailand. And with the finishing touches still to be applied, his portrait of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit has proven to be one of the most challenging of his career.

Chusit, whose good looks belie his 42 years, said the painting was 80% complete when Brunch visited his home studio in Bangkok last week. But he was happy to show the 61x79cm oil painting elegantly depicting a young Queen with a diamond-studded topknot and diamond earrings: it has already appeared on the cover of the popular women’s magazine Dichan. A prospective buyer has expressed interest.

The portrait is significant not only for being Chusit’s first since returning after international success, largely in New York, but it will also take pride of place at a retrospective exhibition planned for the coming months. “I am working with a collaborator on a project to exhibit my works in different settings,” Chusit said, declining to divulge further details until the official announcement.

Chusit chose the Queen to mark her birthday, which falls this week, and worked from an old photograph which lent itself to his preferred painting technique, the methods of the old masters learned at the New York Academy of Art.

“I always wanted to make a painting of this photograph,” he said. “But I thought I would not be able to do it. It requires advanced technique.”

Chusit said the complex technique he uses is the same as Dutch master Rembrandt used.

“I made the portrait by painting different layers and waiting for each layer to dry between sessions. I used a glazing technique to give dimensions to the portrait.”

Rembrandt, however, was not the only influence. Other influences came from closer to home: direct advice from Thai masters Thawan Duchanee and Chakrabhand Posayakrit, with the latter’s classical-style portraits heavily influencing Chusit in his early years as an artist.

It was none other than the late master Thawan, who was named National Artist in 2001, who suggested Chusit study the old masters more than a decade ago. This helped prompt Chusit’s studies and career in New York.

When Chusit learned Thawan planned a US visit, he took a collection of paintings and sought the older artist’s advice.

“Ajarn Thawan told me that in terms of the details of the painting, it is flawless,” he said. “But he wanted me to study the work of Rembrandt because he wished to see my works exude more power and gravitas like Rembrandt, who is the world’s greatest portrait painter. Ajarn Thawan suggested I study Rembrandt’s techniques to develop my work so that I will be recognised internationally.”

Chusit also recalled Thawan saying he would look forward to seeing the younger man’s success 30 years later, if he was still alive. “I prostrated myself before we parted,” he said.

Sadly, it would not come to pass: Thawan died last year.

“A master like Ajarn Thawan knows instantly what is missing in my work in just one click,” he said.

Words of wisdom from the celebrated artist, known for his work’s intense and expressive brushstrokes, inspired Chusit to study classical-style painting from the basics at the New York Academy of Art.

Even before then, Chusit had been recognised as one of Thailand’s leading portrait artists. By that time, he had been commissioned to paint several portraits and artworks for calendars. In 1999, his painting depicting Princess Suphankalaya, a figure from the mid 1500s, captured the public’s imagination. The painting was widely used in reference to the princess, who was believed to have been killed after Prince Naresuan, her younger brother, declared Ayutthaya’s independence from Burma.

“I started painting Princess Suphankalaya when I was a senior student at Silpakorn University. The painting became famous later when people were interested in Princess Suphankalaya’s life,” he said.

FOLLOWING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

During the first 10 years of his career, Chusit was heavily influenced by Chakrabhand. His realistic classical style expressing the aesthetics of female characters in Thai mythology mirrors the signature of Chakrabhand, who was named National Artist in 2000.

Chusit experimented with the old painting technique at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University. His first oil painting in the old European style shows a mythical female character from Thai mythology.

“I learned how to do the foundation and glaze different layers. I wondered then why it was so complicated,” Chusit said. It took him five years to finish the first painting using the ancient technique.

“But I was very proud of my work. I applied the European painting technique from the 14th century, similar to Da Vinci’s style. Once it was done, the professor gave me a thumb’s up.”

Chusit, however, chose to focus on Thai art during his college years. “I knew that if I had majored in the old style, I might not have been able to graduate because it takes so much time.”

After graduation, he went to Germany to attend a short course on painting techniques. He followed this with learning about porcelain sculpture in Bangkok. It was then he turned professional. He painted members of the royal family, including a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen which was his first to grace the cover of Dichan magazine.

STRIVING FOR MORE

Nonetheless, he said: “I always felt that there was something missing in my work.”  In 2007, Chusit went to the US to study English to prepare for art school. 

Chusit attended the art workshops of several ateliers before winning the top award in drawing in a competition marking American Artist magazine’s 70th anniversary.

His acceptance in the California Art Club paved the way for him to earn a scholarship for a master’s degree in painting at the New York Academy of Art in 2012. He had intended to study in California, where his brother lives, but “I was told that what I wanted to learn is available at only New York, it is the best painting school in the US”.

He learned the inside-out painting method, meaning he had to understand the subject from the inside.

Portrait painting became a study of basic human anatomy, helping the students understand muscular and skeletal structures. The students not only drew the physical appearance of a nude model but her skeleton inside and the muscles as the model moves her body.

“Portrait is not just about scaling to copy the image. You have to understand who the model is to make the audience connect with them,” he said.

At the New York Academy of Art, Chusit excelled at the old master’s technique after eight months studying the Rembrandt works up close at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an elective course. He recalled that he went to the museum every day with brushes and an easel to study Rembrandt’s works and techniques.

Chusit chose not to use modern colours but instead stuck to those available when Rembrandt was working in the 1600s. He also sifted through the old master’s treatment of light and shade.

At the end of the project, Chusit’s reproduction of Rembrandt’s Herman Doomer was selected as one of seven pieces in the Painting from the Past exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During the exhibition, Chusit’s reproduction was shown alongside the original, giving viewers the chance to see how close to identical they were. Art lovers cannot be easily fooled when they see such comparisons up close.

“You have to follow techniques and steps taken by Rembrandt to make the paintings look really identical to the original one,” he said. In his living room, Chusit has hung several artworks he produced in New York based on the old techniques, including a reproduction of Rembrandt’s Woman with a Pink and sketch work following the style of Leonardo da Vinci.

BACK TO BANGKOK

Chusit’s return to Bangkok has given him a chance to delve more fully into what he set out to achieve early in his career — Thai art using the methods of Western masters. This has led to his current project.

The portrait depicts Her Majesty’s facial features in Chusit’s most recognised style. Rembrandt’s technique is evident in the use of light and shadow to accentuate the diamond studded topknot adornment and diamond earrings against the darker background.

In Chusit’s studio, books showing Her Majesty the Queen’s old photographs and documentary material about traditional Thai dress and ornaments are close to hand.

Pointing to the portrait’s details, he said: “You have to be able to feel the blink of diamonds.

“It looks simple but making the diamond blink in the painting is difficult.”

Asked if his latest portrait of Her Majesty will be his masterpiece, Chusit said: “I put my heart and soul into all of my works. For me, they are all masterpieces that I made in different times.”

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