THE ARTIST

It took me a while before I feel empowered enough to say that I am an artist. I was identifying myself more with the career & business I left behind.

These days, I am happy to simply say I’m this person. This is the work I’ve chosen to keep doing everyday. I show up in the studio daily, and just keep painting.

Hello, I’m Elaine.
I am an intuitive
visionary painter.

"The act of painting is not separate from the act of living. It is the same act. It is how I feel being alive."
-- ELAINE WONG

Read on⬇️

01

Intention, somatic flow and then the visual framing & structuring.

THE PROCESS

A painting can begin with an intention, a colour I’m drawn to, a mark that feels right, or an insight that starts to form. I listen to my intuition, allowing whatever needs to come out to be expressed onto the canvas. Very often, I find my process quite somatic. It can be a private way of letting out grief, joy, chaotic feelings or emotions that don’t have words yet. I don’t always know where the painting is going, but I’ve learned to trust it as I go.

My artistic perspective takes over after the raw expression is complete. I would refine, layer and look for balance in the work. I start to bring the initial somatic release into fine art, blending structure, visual grace and harmony between the shadows and light.

I will constantly be balancing what I want to freely express, the initial urge of expression, with something that I can finally show.

My pieces are my inner reflections with symbolism and dreamscapes: the appearance of animal symbols, the silhouettes of women, flowers, chaotic lines, and asemic writings. Mysticism is present in my art, and at times it is meditative insights, whimsy, or energetic movements.

"I believe painting is a form of prayer. Prayers done with your hands in solitude, where no one is watching."
-- ON THE PRACTICE
Based in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. Working from a home studio. Two garden patios. One cat. A partner who builds things from wood. This is the life the paintings come from.

02

THE PATH

I didn't transform into a painter overnight. I just stopped treating it like a side project.

Maybe many would say my story begins with courage: the woman who left a corporate career to follow her calling. It’s probably an interesting story, but the reality of it is actually more mundane.

I love painting. So, I was already doing what I love doing all the time - painting in hotel rooms, in between work projects, late at night after work, on my vacations. Thus, leaving corporate wasn’t really the bravery act, but if I stayed in corporate, it might be the end of my soul.

I grew up in Kedah, Malaysia, and built an early career in IT project work. My life revolved around hotels, system installations, and constant travel around the world. On paper, I had a good career and a fairly conventional life (15 yrs in IT, including 4 years in Germany). Life looked good from the outside. But there was always a sense that something was missing.

Painting was always there in the background. Wherever I was, I would unpack my little set of paints and find some time to paint. In 2010, I entered a 30-day painting challenge on impulse, taking a month off work to paint every day. I ended up with more than 40 pieces, which eventually became my first little solo show. After that, I didn’t make any big declarations. Painting continued to be part of my life, and over the years, it became less of a side thing and more of a life I wanted to build.

03

THE LEAP & THE RETURN

Work eventually brought me to Munich, Germany, for 4 years as a software consultant. At the same time, there was this other side of my life that stayed mostly hidden. I painted whenever I could - evenings, weekends, in between everything else.

In 2015, I held a solo show, The Cats Are Out, at a gallery in Munich. I organised and funded it myself, inviting colleagues and bosses who had only known one version of me. It was the first time I stopped hiding one life from the other. The relief was enormous.

Then, I quit my job that same year. When you’ve been sitting with a decision for a long time, the actual step doesn’t feel dramatic.

After traveling through Europe and spending time in Romania with my friend, I returned to Malaysia. Coming home didn’t feel like going backwards. It was the first time I actually chose a place because I wanted to belong to it, not because it was next on the schedule.

04

THE TURNING POINT IN ART

In 2019, I broke my left leg. For a period, I couldn’t move the way I was used to, and everything slowed down.

Before the injury, the way I painted was tight and controlled. The shift in pace forced me to paint differently: with less precision, more flowy, and more surrender. Out of that period came a more spacious, liberated way of creating, leading to my exhibition Resurrected: A Radiant Awakening.

Since 2017, meditation has also been a steady anchor. After some time, I noticed my practice shifted from just making visual art to understanding the inner workings of vision, emotions and somatic embodiment. That curiosity actually led me to dive into guiding others - through workshops, private sessions and longer retreats. Eventually, my focus changed from making art for people to making art with people.

05

9 YEARS OF THE HATCHERY PLACE

For 9 years, I co-built and ran a creative coliving space called The Hatchery Place.
It became a big part of my life.

In 2016, I co-founded a creative coliving space called The Hatchery Place.

For nine years, it was a major part of my life - demanding, generous, and full of community. I learned what it meant to hold space for other people’s creative lives, though over time I realised I was putting so much energy outward that I was postponing going fully into my own work.

We closed the space in 2025. Letting it go meant loosening an identity I had lived inside for a long time. But even before it ended, a new door had opened. In 2023, I opened my home studio to receive people in a quieter, more personal way. Painting was one of the things that remained constant as everything else in my life shifted.

06

NOW, A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIVING

These days, in my 50s, I live a much slower life.

Today, I define myself as an intuitive visionary artist. My work (whether it’s a painting, a piece of merchandise, or the space I create for a solo retreat) focuses on expressing what I’m observing, or what’s happening around and inside me, rather than just hitting a production quota.

I’m not a fan of the hype that usually accompanies creative or wellness work. You won’t find me trying to sell you a "transformation" or asking you to "unleash" your potential. I prefer a slow, organic pace. I run my studio as a sacred space for guests to paint, think, and breathe.

Most of my days are simple. Some days I’m in the studio for hours. Some days I step away and just live life. Outside of painting, I spend time in the garden, meditate, go for walks, or be in nature.

My focus is centred at The Intuitive Art Hideaway, my home studio and sanctuary in Subang Jaya. This is where I paint and where I receive people for quiet art stays, one-to-one sessions, or small circles. This decade has taught me a lot about presence, and it’s something I value deeply in both my own practice and the time I spend with others.

Most of the people I work with find their way to me because they are looking for something that feels authentic and human. If you are curious about my work, the paintings I create, or the intimate gatherings I host in my studio, you are in the right place. I’m glad you’re here.

"Black cats have been there from the start. I chose them at first for their symbolism and simplicity. Somehow, they stayed, growing into a long-running series you can find at thatblackcat.com."
— ON THE CATS
Current Bodies of Work:

- That Black Cat series
- The Intuitive Works (expressive canvas paintings)
- Studio Stories (in development)
In The Intuitive Art Hideaway Studio 
ARTIST STATEMENT

My work is an act of self-determinism.
It is also an act of observing.

Meditation has taught me to be still enough to notice what arises, and I bring that same attention into my painting.

My practice honours two movements on the canvas: first, letting the raw, unfiltered feelings pour out, and second, bringing my artist’s eye to refine those marks into something balanced and whole.

Colour, symbolism, asemic writing and intuitive mark-making are how I give form to things that are difficult to put into words. Patterns, animals, botanicals, and feminine archetypes often appear along the way.

I am interested in what happens when we stop managing our inner life and start painting it instead. Shadow as teacher, darkness as material. The wound is not something to be fixed; rather, it is to be made visible. Sometimes, simply seeing it changes something. My paintings are offered as quiet invitations asking for neither agreement nor interpretation, only presence.

07

EXHIBITION RECORD & PRESS

EXHIBITIONS & PAST PARTICIPATIONS

2022 Live Painting at Langkawi International Art Tourism, Langkawi Island (Group)
2020 Liberty: An Exhibition of Expression  — KL City Art Gallery (Duo)
2020 The Intuitive Spirit — Ampang Community Gallery (Solo Pop-Up)
2019 Resurrected: A Radiant Awakening — Tin Alley, Ipoh (Solo + Live Painting)
2018 I Can Care by Celcom Art Exhibition, in support of animal welfare, Kuala Lumpur (Group)
2018 The POD / EuGrow — Kuala Lumpur (Solo)
2018 Love & Care Charity Art Exhibition — Kuala Lumpur (Group)
2017 3Belas (KL Biennale) — National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (Group)
2016 Once Upon A Midnight — Minut Init Art Social, Petaling Jaya (Group)
2015 Deer's Friends Market, Kuala Lumpur (Art Bazaar)
2015 The Cats Are Out — Werkstatt-Galerie, Munich (Solo)
2012 Random hangings at Fingerprints Kreativ, Munich (Shop)
2011 In Between Midnights — Small Talk With The Moon, Petaling Jaya (Solo)
2010 Art For Grabs — Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur (Bazaar)

PRESS & INTERVIEWS

Media kit & offers portfolio→ Download PDF

Coming from a long career in tech & hospitality before stepping fully into the studio, I bring a thoughtful combination of structure, clarity, and deep intention to my practice.
You’re in very good hands here.

Take your time exploring my site. Read about how the work comes together behind closed doors, and if a piece touches something in you, feel free to bring it into your space. I truly believe that art is not meant to just fill a wall, it's meant to be lived alongside.

xo, Elaine