Picture of the Day: Kim Chong Hak's Flowers

Beautiful fantasy bouquet of flowers from Korean artist Kim Chong Hak

Next week is art week in Hong Kong with the massive show Art Basel on at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

His paintings are vivid and childlike, inspired by nature

It'll be interesting to see if buyers are still enthusiastic about parking their money in art or are having second thoughts and bursting the bubble.

Aside from the speculation, I like to see what's out there, what artists are doing, what mediums they are using, and yes how some pieces are so absurd that you wonder if they were made to dupe unsuspecting buyers?

Nevertheless, the above painting caught my eye. Korean artist Kim Chong Hak is 82 years old and still painting vigorously.

He has an over 50-year career in painting and it seems like he's not stopping anytime soon, which is why he is nicknamed the "Korean Picasso".

This giant long canvas is covered in brilliantly-coloured flowers -- apparently that's his thing, using quick brushstrokes to capture the essence of the them.

Kim once wrote in 2000:

Kim, now 82,  working in his studio

I look at the flowers over and over again, imprinting them in my mind, and then I draw them looking only at the canvas. I like the ones I draw fast. It doesn't work very well when going too slow, thinking too much... When drawn fast, details are weeded out and only the essence of the object remains.

So fantastic to see an artist boldly making his mark in his 80s and I can only hope that I can be just as active if I ever get there...!