This Kelantan Barber Celebrates Leaders Of The Nation Through Art
The retired soldier continues to serve the country with the strokes of his brush.
By Melissa Alvina — 15 Sep 2023, 03:56 PM
A barbershop owner in Kelantan has continued showing his love for the country through art, long after his retirement as a soldier
According to Bernama, the 44-year-old patriot, Ridzwan Abdul Wahab, began painting after retiring from his dedicated service in 2010.
Transforming a modest corner of his barbershop in Kampung Bertam Baru into a dedicated art space, Ridzwan has produced up to 1,500 paintings while awaiting his customers.
Though he has been painting for some time now, it was only five years ago that he steered his focus towards sketching portraits of prime ministers
Ridzwan stated that he started painting the portrait of the Father of Independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and subsequently expanded his repertoire by painting other prime ministers.
While they were initially only for his personal collection, Ridzwan said there have been interested parties who are willing to buy them from him.
"I am proud to produce them (portraits) because they are all national leaders and it feels very close to my heart, so I will immortalise the faces of these leaders every time there is a new prime minister. So far, there are indeed customers who have made bookings," he told Bernama.
The barber-cum-artist also said he takes commissions, where he charges RM50 for a black-and-white painting and from RM100 to RM200 for a coloured painting
Ridzwan shared that he can complete a black-and-white painting in a day, but two to three days for coloured paintings, especially if they are larger.
He added that he uses pencils and pastels made from chalk on his paintings, and sells them with frames tailored to their respective sizes.
If you'd like to check out his work, check out the artist on his Facebook page.
