When Kean Onn See took a painting class several years ago, he didn’t expect it would unlock a whole new career.

‘I started painting in my mid-30s, after my partner gave me a four-day oil painting class for my birthday,’ he explains. ‘I was working as a web developer/engineer at the time.’

It wasn’t until he came across the book The Woodblock Painting of Cressida Campbell that he got really invested. The beautiful attention to detail in Cressida’s careful woodblock carvings and paintings was something to behold.

‘I was spellbound,’ Kean says. ‘I started experimenting with carving on wood panels and immediately fell in love with the process.’

Before long, woodblock paintings became his preferred medium. Kean started submitting his work to art competitions around Australia, earning recognition as a finalist in several categories, and in 2021, he left his web development job to pursue art full time.

‘I don’t have an exact answer of how I found my style. I think the style found me in a way,’ Kean says of his intricate works which — like Cressida’s — range from still-life compositions to panoramic landscapes he captures on walks in nature.

‘Growing up in Malaysia as a child there wasn’t any access to art at all. However, by chance I came across a coloured illustration book of Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki Delivery Service in a book shop, and it was gold.’

His work draws inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away, and echoes ‘the quiet and timeless compositions’ of traditional Japanese woodblock print. Only he’s using the centuries-old practice to capture everything from familiar pantry icons to idyllic interior views, layered with lifelike details.

It takes many hours of planning and sketching on paper before Kean even draws his design onto plywood to painstakingly carve each line out by hand. It’s incredibly laborious, and there’s not much room for error. But it’s clear he adores the challenge.

‘As gruelling as the carving and painting can be, I find the stage that requires the most effort is the composition process. Everything that follows will build on the result of this stage,’ he says.

‘The best part of my work is definitely the last stage of the painting. When the process is coming toward the end with all the preparation and problem solving during the process have come together — it is a terrific feeling.’

Kean says when he first went full-time, he initially gave himself a three year test-run to see how his practice would develop. Since then, he’s been shortlisted in the prestigious Archibald Prize, appeared in several exhibitions, and now, he’s given himself permission to continue his art journey indefinitely.

‘I am not sure where this is going to lead me in the future, but I am very excited by how far I have come.’