ABOUT

Born in Taiping, Perak, in 1980, I grew up with the quiet rhythms of the Malaysian landscape. My family moved to Klang when I was eight, and I later studied advertising at Limkokwing University.

For more than sixteen years, painting remained something I carried quietly while I worked in advertising. Returning to it brought me back to watercolour, and to a different way of looking.

I am drawn to places that ask us to slow down. A river, a distant horizon, a patch of light, the space between trees. Often, it is something ordinary that holds my attention.

I paint these moments not simply to record a place, but to observe what happens within it. Colour, atmosphere, light and space become ways of expressing what is felt rather than what is seen.

Landscape remains at the centre of my practice. It gives me a place to look closely, simplify and listen. As the work evolves, I continue to explore different ways of seeing and making.

Watercolour remains an important part of this exploration, while other mediums offer different possibilities for colour, texture and thought.

For me, painting is a way of making space for stillness.

  • • Silence Within Thought 2026, Zhan Art Space, Kuala Lumpur
    • Mini Perspectives 2026, COEX Kilang Besi, Pulau Pinang
    • DAMAI 2024, Awegallery, Kuala Lumpur

  • • Muar-Melaka International Watercolour Charity Exhibition 2026
    • Breizh Aquarelle 2026 - France
    • CAT AIR Malaysia International Watercolour Festival 2025
    • CSPWC Member’s Exhibition 2023, Toronto
    • MWS Annual Show 2023, Awegallery
    • Klang Artist Society Annual Exhibition 2023, Soka Gakkai
    • Pennsylvania Watercolor Society International Juried Exhibition 2023
    • MOMENTS : Big Cities, Small Stories 2023
    • MWS Fresh Horizon 2023
    • MOMENTS : Discover Wanderlust 2022
    • IWS Nepal 2021
    • WATERCOLORium 2021 International Exhibition
    • 2021 Indonesia International Watercolor Online Exhibition
    • National Watercolor Society (NWS) Members Exhibition 2021
    • IWS Singapore International Watercolor Exhibition 2021
    • Japan International Watercolor Institute Exhibition 2020
    • KAH Merdeka Art Fest Exhibition 2020
    • IWS Exposition Internationale D’aquarelle - Albi France 2020

  • • Third Place in PWS International Juried Exhibition 2025
    • CSPWC Daniel Smith Product Award by Endeavours Think Play 2024
    • IMWA The 4th international Masters of Watercolour Youth Alliance 2023 – Third Prize
    • IMWA The 3rd international Masters of Watercolour Youth Alliance 2022 – Finalists
    • Top 20 in Aquarelle Exposition France-Pologne 2022
    • Merit Award in International Watercolour Master 2022
    • Nominees Award IWS Singapore International Watercolor Exhibition 2021
    • Honourable Award International Pyrenees Watercolour Exhibition France 2021

  • • Malaysian Watercolour Society
    • Klang Artist Society
    • Angkatan Pelukis Semalaysia
    • Pennsylvania Watercolor Society — Signature Member
    • Canadian Society Of Painters In Watercolour — Elected Member
    • Winsor & Newton, Malaysia

  • • Winsor & Newton — Malaysia Ambassador
    • Bao Hong Paper
    • Mossery

  • • Muar-Melaka International Watercolour Charity Exhibition 2026 – Guest Judge
    • My Art Studio The Golden Bear Award 2026 – Guest Judge
    • 37th Annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest - Guest Judge
    • BaoHong Malaysia Art Exhibition 2024
    • Colours of My Life - Ch’ng Beng Hin Solo Exhibition 2023

View or download my CV Here

Francis Lee Profile Photo