Cambodian artist creates love and peace

Written by Mom Kunthear and Eleanor Ainge Roy

Thursday, 30 April 2009 Phnom Penh Post

PHOTOS SUPPLIED Nasy Radet likes to draw peaceful scenes. "Orphan Smiles", a new exhibition by 22-year-old Cambodian artist Nasy Radet, is to open this Friday with a free barbecue and drinks at Equinox Bar and Cafe. This will be Nasy Radet's first exhibition, with 40 pencil drawings portraying poor or orphaned children from the provinces as well as various temple scenes. The profits of the exhibition will go towards schooling supplies for poor children in rural areas. Nasy Radet, an untrained artist, is nervous about her first exhibition but keen for critical feedback to improve her skills. "I like to draw pictures that are related to feelings, love and temples. When I draw pictures, I have to be feeling calm and quiet within myself. Sometimes I don't eat all day because I am so absorbed in my work. I am always very happy when I am drawing pictures," she said. The young artist first began drawing when she was 10 years old, and early on did not consider developing her talent into a full-time career. "As a child, drawing was no more than just an amusement for me," she said. Nasy Radet thinks her talent is natural and may have been inherited from her mother, who is also an artist. However, despite the family lineage, she doesn't wish to be an artist forever - only as long as she is able to use her artwork to help Cambodia's rural poor. "I will not draw pictures forever, but in the meantime I will not abandon it. I don't want it to become something I do just for money. I want to always do it for pleasure...and because I love it," she said.