The Art of Angela Suet Yee Pong (龐雪儀書畫集)

 

 

龐雪儀女士（1956年7月26日－2021年6月19日）是一位頗有成就的業餘書畫家。

雪儀畢業於香港中文大學，在香港中學教了14年國文科，又完成了教育碩士學位。 她在1993年移居澳洲雪梨，在TAFE 進修幼兒發展及教育科並獲得證書。在接下來的 22年她致力幼兒教育的工作。

雪儀一生熱愛藝術，在香港時她學習古箏演奏，也喜歡參加各類的文化活動，如到大會堂欣賞音樂節目等。移居雪梨後，雪儀對國畫發生了濃厚的興趣，她跟隨舒偉敏老師學習中國水墨畫。後來她追隨甄婉瑜老師進修傳統山水畫和書法，有幸得甄老師個別教授書畫長達十多年之久。

雪儀喜歡旅行寫生。她特別喜歡中國的錦繡河山，曾遊黃山、長江、桂林等地。每逢回國旅遊，她都購買大量書畫、文具回澳。

雪儀參加了澳大利亞中國書畫研究院2010年、2014年和其他的展覽。她非常勤奮，創作了許多精美的書畫作品。

雪儀有兩位姐姐和三個弟弟。可惜因病毒疫情封關，他們無法來雪梨參加她的喪禮。

Angela Suet Yee Pong 龐雪儀 (26 July 1956 – 19 June 2021) was an accomplished artist of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

Angela graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and taught Chinese Literature and Language in high schools for 14 years in Hong Kong.  During the same period, she completed a Master Degree in Education.  After migrating to Sydney in 1993, she studied Early Childhood Development and attained a Certificate of Child Care at TAFE.  For the next 22 years, she dedicated herself as a child care worker.

Angela played the guzheng (古箏 Chinese zither) and enjoyed going to concerts and other cultural activities in Hong Kong. While in Sydney, Angela pursued Chinese painting and calligraphy.  She studied Chinese brush painting with Ms Shu Weimin (舒偉敏老師) and had a long association and private lessons for traditional landscape painting and calligraphy with Ms Zhen Wanyu (甄宛瑜老師).  

Angela enjoyed travelling especially to China.  She loved painting the magnificent landscapes of high mountains and Yangtze River.  She also liked to buy painting and calligraphy books in China.  

Angela participated in the 2010, 2014 and other exhibitions of the Australian Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Institution (澳大利亞中國書畫研究院).  She was very diligent and produced a lot of fine paintings and calligraphy pieces.  

Angela had two sisters and three brothers in Hong Kong.  Unfortunately they could not travel to Sydney to attend her funeral due to border closure because of the COVID pandemic. 

 

我怎樣認識龐雪儀女士

她在2014年參加我在中華文化中心(卓士活)的短期山水畫班，非常勤𡚒好學。在我的 2014年和2016年在中華文化中心舉辦的個人書畫展覧期間，雪儀也前來參觀。 在 2018 Willoughby Arts Centre 的開放日再次見到她, 看我即席揮毫，她與我切磋國畫技法，十分投契。

在 2020年12月18日我突然接到雪儀的電話，她想送我兩大包新的上等宣紙，因為她不再寫畫了。她說她已患上末期癌症，所有醫療方法都試過，但亦無效，醫生預測她只有幾個月的生命。我深感震驚和悲痛。我立即去探望她，她很週到，不用我上樓梯，而是把宣紙帶到樓下。她亦提到她將會把她的美術書籍送給我。

2021年4月29日，雪儀致電給我，告訴我她的健康狀況迅速惡化，她只能多活一個月左右。她想將她的畫作、書籍和文具贈送給我。我卻之不恭，接受了她的好意，萬分感謝。雪儀當時已入住 Greenwich Hospital，但她還可以告假離開醫院回家辦事 ， 我約好在5月3日下午到她的家 , 她的兩位朋友 Jen 和 Liza 也在場 ， 並幫助我將東西搬到樓下去 。 我暫時看管她的書画作品，希望將來能把它們流傳下去。

在2021年5月5日到 Greenwich Hospital 探望雪儀之前，我並不知道她的背景。我們聊了很久，才知道她在香港時是一位國文老師，在雪梨任職幼兒教育工作。她於去年退休治病。雪儀告訴我她曾在醫院收到一件毛織的帽子， 是一名義工的手工藝，她戴上了後很窩心、很溫馨、很感動。所以她將餘下的日子編織毛帽子，將愛心傳送給別人。

推廣中國書畫是我的理想和願望，雪儀和我都特別敬佩歴代的傳統山水畫大師，例如五代十國時代的巨然，元代的黄公望、倪鑽，明代的沈周等等。我們都喜愛臨摹他們的作品。她和我們亦熱衷學習隸書如石門頌及西狹頌等。我猜可能是 因為大家的興趣相同，她將画作送給我。 得到雪儀惠贈書籍及書畫作品，對我的學習及教學十分有幫助。我亦和她提及日後會將作品給大家觀賞，所以我將她的作品放在網頁上，可讓大家分享及懷念。

雪儀十分堅強，在最後的幾個月內，她勇敢面對生命的終結。她是一位名乎其實的佛教徒，平靜地、恭敬地生活，真讓我們深受感動！她還安慰我們不用難過。

她很幸運能得到朋友們的愛護和悉心的照料，特別是陪伴她到最後的 Jen 和 Ada, 兩位好朋友真是功德無量。

讓大家為雪儀唸經迥向，願她離苦得樂，往生淨土。

How I came to know Angela

I first met Angela when she attended my class in Chinese landscape painting at the Chinese Cultural Centre at Chatswood in 2014.  It was a short course.  She visited me during my solo exhibitions in 2014 and 2016 at the Centre. In 2018 Angela visited me again at the Willoughby Workshop Arts Centre Open Day when I demonstrated Chinese brush painting to visitors.  

Quite unexpectedly, I received a phone call from Angela on 18 December 2020 telling me that she would like to give away two new packs of fine rice paper as she was not going to paint any more.  She told me that she suffered from terminal cancer and the doctor predicted that she just had a few more months of life.  I was deeply shocked and saddened.  I immediately went to see her and she took the rice paper down to my car saving me climbing up the stairs to her apartment. Angela was so considerate. She mentioned that she would also give me all her art books later on.

On 29 April 2021, Angela rang me saying that she would just have about a month to live as her health had deteriorated rapidly.  She asked me to take care of her paintings, books and stationery.  I gratefully accepted her kind offer and am prepared to temporarily take care of her fine art possessions and later pass them on. At that time, Angela had already been admitted to Greenwich Hospital, but she could seek permission to leave the hospital and go home to manage her business. I arranged to meet her in her home in the afternoon of 3 May. I also met her two friends Jen and Liza there and they kindly offered me assistance to take the books down to my car.

Before I went to visit her on 5 May 2021 at the Greenwich Hospital, I did not know about Angela’s background.  We had a long chat and I came to know that she was a school teacher in Hong Kong and a child care worker in Sydney. She retired last year as she had to undergo cancer treatments.  Instead of painting, Angela spent her last few months knitting woollen beanies for unknown recipients in hospitals as this can bring warmth to others.  She told me when she first received her beanie from an unknown maker, she was so moved by the maker’s generosity and she would like to pass on this loving care to others.  By the same token, Angela would also cherish the hope that her love of Chinese painting and Calligraphy would also be passed on.

Promoting Chinese brush painting is my passion and for that, Angela and I had a good rapport for our mutual interests.  We both learned from the old masters of traditional landscape painting and were both keen about clerical scripts in Chinese calligraphy. I guess that this is the reason why Angela passed her works and books to me. I felt privileged to have been asked to take care of her paintings.  Angela and I discussed about showing her works to her friends. I think putting her fine works on this webpage is a good way to share with her family and friends.  This way, perhaps some of her work may find new appreciative owners.

I was deeply touched by how calm Angela faced the last few months of her life. Angela was a devoted Buddhist. She was the one who comforted her friends.  She was blessed with the faithful friendship of her friends, in particular Jen and Ada, who accompanied her till the end. 

We sadly miss Angela. May she rest in eternal peace!

 

 

Landscape paintings

 

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Studies of trees, rocks and waves

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Flower Paintings

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Animal Paintings

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Calligraphy

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Chinese Traditional Decorative Knotting 中國結

Angela was also interested in Chinese traditional decorative knotting 中國結. It is a decorative handcraft art that has a long history of more than one thousand years.  A Chinese knot is tied and woven from a single length of cord into designs of varying complexity.  Chinese knot tassel decorations for the Chinese New Year are popular. 

Small decorative objects such as fish, shrimps,  tortoises, butterflies, sandals, fan, etc are highly attractive and artistic.

 

Angela was good at painting, calligraphy, Chinese knotting and other handcrafts.  She was indeed a highly gifted and an adorable person.  She will be remembered and her legacy lives on. 

 

Acknowledgments 鳴謝

感謝 甄宛瑜教授對雪儀的書畫啟蒙和悉心教導。

Thank you Professor Wanyu Zhen for inspiring and teaching Angela calligraphy and landscape painting.

I would also like to thank Professor David Post most sincerely for keeping four of Angela’s fine flower paintings and making a substantial donation to Willoughby Art Centre, Sydney Australia in honour of Angela. His great generosity is deeply appreciated.

 

 

Bibliography

 

The Collection of Calligraphy and Paintings by Wanyu Zhen and Students. Published by Australian Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Institution, October, 2014

Teachers and Students Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition by Australian Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Institution, July, 2014