2016年，年底，为第四本诗集《得不到你时得到你》的每一首诗作绘制插画后，深受朋友鼓励，说画得又快又好又有个性，这才惊觉自己原来仿似有那么一丁点的绘画天分（如果朋友的话可信）。
于是，在2017年2月至5月期间，到距离工作地点不远的新加坡南洋艺术学院，连续报读了三门短期课程：“童书绘画技巧”（八堂课）、“儿童绘本制作”（四堂课）、“西方绘画：油画”（八堂课）。
记得2017年2月2日是平生第一堂非学校美术课，这门“童书绘画技巧”课的导师是新加坡著名插画家余广达先生。课上，我们学用粉彩上色。虽然从幼儿园到高中，都有美术课，不过从未用过这种颜料，色调竟是如此轻柔，一下就爱上了，涂色的时候，心跳快得不行，好像随时会冲出身体一样。
课程都是在晚上7点到10点进行，回到裕廊西“陋室”已经相当晚了。不过，上完第一堂课的那晚，我却彻夜难眠，亢奋不已，这对“睡货”如我而言极不对劲。尽管躺在床上，一直苦口婆心地规劝自己明天还得早起工作，但就是怎么都睡不着。
素来没有失眠问题（只有昏睡问题），于是开始知道，自己的灵魂好像
被画笔召唤了，它是属于画画的。
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完成Raphael Koh老师的油画课后，紧接着，又在2017年6月，报读了为期一年（2017年6月27日至2018年5月22日），每周二晚上7点到10点的水墨画文凭课程。除了就读马来西亚新山宽柔中学时的初中三美术老师，即林英杰老师教过一次水墨画金鱼之外，就从未碰过水墨画了。有点不安，万一不喜欢水墨画，如何撑得了一年？
这门水墨画课导师是南洋艺术学院的全职高级讲师蔡宝龙先生，他也是诗人、作家。在第一堂课上，蔡老师传授握笔姿势，然后要我们在宣纸上画出一道道线条，画完横线，再画纵线，仿佛形成一张密网后，方休。结果，就这样被水墨画“网”住了。蔡老师对我这些“鬼画线”
赞不绝口，而我一头雾水，完全不解笔下这些线条的出众之处。学着学着，发现写意派水墨的挥洒自如，相当符合自己的秉性。在画画的世界里，可以享用无穷无尽的自由。过程中，我全情投入，从忘我到无我，内心澄静无瑕，再无尘事；仿佛说飞就飞，说游就游，画纸上的主宰。
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不知不觉，为期一年的水墨画课转眼即逝，承蒙蔡老师与评审老师不嫌弃我独特的“野生画风”，竟然考了个A，而且在日常练画中也累积了数百幅画。
越愁越画，越画越愁，明知是一种恶性循环，还是一头热地飞扑过去。火的好，非蛾类不会知晓。
从写诗到作画，每样作品都是我的心迹，每道线条都是我的心轨。
由衷感谢蔡宝龙老师一年来包容我的“不按画理作画”，我总是在完成指定临摹画后，就画些有的没的，不时竟还获得蔡老师的连连嘉许，他甚至在我来不及反应前，就率性地从桌上拿起画作贴堂表扬。何德何能，深得“纵容”。谢谢蔡老师为这本野生画集赐序，蓬荜生辉。
我还要感谢另一位赐序人，母亲李淑娴女士优良的绘画基因。她曾言自己不是当护士，就是当画家。她最终虽然选择了护士一职应付生计，不过其画功至今仍是一流，记得小时候还常为我的作业画画呢。现在周末有时会与她一起画画，享受岁月的静好，情感的流淌。
这本中英双语画集能顺利出版，初中结识的张珮瑜同学的友情襄助令人感动。2017年考获香港中文大学翻译硕士文凭的她，尽管工作忙碌，仍细心地将画集的华文内容译成英文，得好好请她吃好几顿饭才行（19年友谊万岁！）。此外，非常感谢远在澳洲布里斯本的哥哥郭伟良先生与嫂子张詠媜女士拨冗校对英文内容，难为他们这辈子有那么“野”的妹妹了！华文内容方面，则要感谢我在而立之年有幸结缘的新朋友仇莉莲编辑，辛苦她“抛夫弃女”数小时为我校对了。我也要感谢曹蓉女士对我的艺文创作事业一贯的鼎力支持。
最后，当然要感谢来自马来西亚马六甲的作家、书画爱好者叶欢玲女士，愿意从一堆杂草中，挑选相对好的草，为这本集子的选画工作付出了宝贵的时间。还好有奇妙的缘分，终究让我们在2018年3月相遇了。
没想到这一生，可以出版一册画集。人生就是这样，充满着无数的“没想到”，就看我们敢不敢“想”，够不够“野”，不野不生。
郭诗玲
2018年7月4日
新加坡裕廊西豪宅第二层多功能小陋室
（画室/书房/出版办事处/卧房/乱草岗）
After I drew an illustration for each of my poems in my fourth published book, Gaining While Losing at the end of year 2016, I have been deeply encouraged by my friends, complimenting that my illustrations have quick, simple lines with unique characters. It makes me realise that I do have a little talent in paintings (if friends’ compliments are trustworthy).
Consequently, between February and May 2017, I enrolled in some short courses at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore. The school is near my work place. The courses I took are Children’s Book Illustration (8 classes), Create Your Own Children’s Picture Book (4 classes) and Western Painting: Oil (8 classes).
I remember 2nd February 2017 was my first non-school fines art class. The Children’s Book Illustration course was taught by Mr. Patrick Yee, a famous illustrator in Singapore. We learnt to paint with pastels. Although there are arts classes from kindergarten to high school, I have never used this kind of art medium. The colour was so soft that I fell in love with it. When I painted with pastels, my heart was pounding fast, and I was full of excitement.
The courses were held from 7pm to 10pm, and it was very late when I reached my humble home in Jurong West. I love to sleep. However, after the first lesson, I could not fall asleep. I was too excited! Surely something has gone wrong for a person who treasures sleeping hours like me. Although lying in bed, I have been painstakingly reminding myself that I must get up early to work the next morning, but I just cannot sleep. For a person who never has problem with insomnia (only with the problem
of lethargy), I began to realise that my soul seemed to be summoned by the painting pens – my soul belongs to painting.
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After completing the oil painting course taught by Mr. Raphael Koh, I continued to enrol a one-year course for Certificate of Chinese Painting on every Tuesday 7pm, to 10pm (from 27th June 2017 to 22th May 2018).
Apart from my only Chinese painting of gold fish taught by my Year 3 Art teacher, Mr. Lin Ying Jie at Foon Yew High School in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, I have never drawn anything with ink. I was uncertain about this enrolment. How am I going to survive if I find myself dislike Chinese paintings?
The course was taught by Mr. Chua Poh Leng, a full-time senior lecturer in NAFA. He is also a poet and writer. In the first lesson, Mr. Chua taught the posture of holding the ink brush, and asked us to draw lines on the rice paper, horizontally and then vertically, as if forming a dense net. As a result,
I am “trapped” in the net. Mr. Chua always praises me for my “scribbly drawings”. I am confused. It is completely out of my comprehension what are the outstanding features of the lines I have drawn.
After some time of learning, I find the spontaneous style of the Chinese painting is so free flowing and it matches my characteristics perfectly. I enjoy endless freedom from the world of drawing. When I am drawing, I am fully engaged in what I am doing. I lost track of time, become selfless, and
my mind is calm and tranquil. I become the master of the drawing paper, as if I am flying or swimming as I wish.
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Time flies, the one-year course has ended. Thanks to the Mr. Chua and judges who appreciated my unique and unconventional, wild drawing style, I got an A for my result. I have also accumulated hundreds of drawings in my daily practice.
“The more you pain, the more you paint, the more you paint, the more you pain”. Even though it is a vicious circle, I still fly into the flame like a moth. If you are not a moth, you have no idea how attractive a flame is.
From writing poetry to painting, every piece of my work is the imprints of my heart, every line is a track of my thoughts.
Thanks to Mr. Chua for accepting my “outlandish” drawing style in the past whole year. I always started a free-style drawing after I finished the assigned topic. Occasionally, my outlandish drawings received his compliments, and were posted for appreciation in the classroom. How can I be so connived! It is also my great honour to have him writing the preface of this “Untamed Heart” publication, adding a luster lent to my humble book.
Besides, I would like to thank another preface writer, my mum, Ms. Sharon Lee Soo Har, whom I inherited the drawing genes from. She once said if she was not a nurse, she would be an artist. Although she chooses nurse as a job because of livelihood, but her drawing skills are still top-notch.
I remember she used to helped with my school art assignments. Nowadays, I sometimes paint with her on weekends, enjoying the quietness of time and companionship.
I am very grateful to have my high school friend, Ms. Teo Pei Yu for helping on the translation, so that my Chinese-English bilingual painting work can be successfully published. She obtained her Master of Arts in Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong last year. I thank her
for carefully translated the Chinese content into English. I must treat her many meals in return (Thanks to our 19-year friendship!) I would also like to thank my big brother Mr. Jonathan Quek Wei Lian and my sister-in-law Ms. Chong Ying Ching who stay far away in Brisbane, for editing and
proofreading the English translations. I am sorry for them to have this maverick sister. Another special thanks go to Ms. Ruth Cao for her support, and my friend, Ms. Kiew Li Lian for her Chinese proofreading.
Finally, I would also like to thank the painting selector, Ms. Yap Huan Lin, a writer and arts amateur from Malacca, Malaysia, for willing to spend her precious time to pick “a relatively good bunch of grass from a pile of weeds” for this publication. It is a miraculous blessing for us to know each other
in March 2018.
I had never dreamt of publishing an art work in my life time. This is life, full of countless “unexpected”. It all depends on whether we dare to “dream” and dare to have an “untamed heart”.
Quek See Ling
4th July 2018
Jurong West, Singapore
