When Straight Lines Set You Free: A Love Letter to Art (and Mondrian)
By Evelyn Chen

If you had told my younger self that I would one day be teaching kindergarteners about Piet Mondrian (peed mon-dree-an), she would have thought you were crazy. Art? In my household, that was practically a dirty word; right up there with “I want to be an artist” and “passion over profit.”

My parents had it all mapped out: doctor, engineer, IT specialist. Pick one, excel, make us proud at family gatherings. Art students? They occupied a peculiar social stratum, dismissed as academically lacklustre, their futures looking decidedly precarious. So, I did what any good Asian kid does: I buried my dreams of painting along the Seine or designing gorgeous clothes in some chic Parisian atelier.

But here’s the thing: I am kind of living that dream anyway, just differently. Can’t design the handbag? Buy it. Can’t sketch the perfect shoe? Procure! It’s not Paris, but my closet is a respectable consolation prize. My closet became a museum of everything I wasn’t allowed to be. I couldn’t be a designer, so I became their best customer, buying the courage I was too scared to put on a canvas myself.

Then MCO happened. Locked down with nothing but time and existential dread, I finally picked up a paintbrush. Half curiosity, half “let’s settle this once and for all”. I figured if I was terrible, well, maybe my parents had a point.

What I found shocked me: painting is intoxicating. There’s this weird, addictive focus that happens when the brush hits the canvas. The ‘doctor/engineer’ voices in my head finally shut up and the world just shrinks down to a single smudge of blue. It’s the only time my brain actually feels quiet. A blank canvas doesn’t judge or care about your life choices. It doesn’t care if you’re a doctor or a dreamer. It doesn’t care about your qualifications or your parents’ expectations. You pick the colours, you set the rules, you are completely in charge. That kind of autonomy? Absolutely liberating.

I am still annoyingly technical, still chasing “perfect-ish” like it’s a full-time job. Sometimes I wonder, if I had started younger, would my brushstrokes be more spontaneous?  Would I stop obsessing over whether that line is straight enough? I still catch myself holding my breath over a single line, treating a smudge of paint like a life-or-death surgical error. I am literally retraining my brain to realise that a wobbly border isn’t a failure; it’s just… a line.

This is why I am so zealous about art education now. Watching our students explore Mondrian’s deceptively simple grids of just primary colours and straight lines; they are learning something powerful: you can create magic with simple tools. You don’t need to be “talented” or “gifted.” You just need to start.

Art isn’t the easy subject for kids who can’t handle real academics. (Ugh, I hate that narrative) It is where they learn to make decisions, solve problems, express feelings they don’t have words for yet. It is therapy. It’s confidence without the performance.

So yes, I am that person now; the one who gets genuinely excited about kindergarten art projects. Because if I can discover this at my age, imagine what these kids will do with an entire lifetime ahead. They won’t spend decades wondering “what if.” They will just paint.

And honestly? That’s better than any Parisian studio. 😊xx

Words to learn

stratum– a layer or level within a social hierarchy or system

lacklustre– lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired

precarious– dangerously uncertain or unstable; risky

atelier– an artist’s workshop or studio

autonomy– independence or freedom; self-governance

intoxicating– exhilarating or thrilling to the point of euphoria

zealous– filled with passionate enthusiasm or fervour

narrative– a story or account of connected events; a particular way of presenting a situation

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The power of self-expression, autonomy and passion all begin with having the words to express them. At ILTI, we walk alongside learners of all ages, levels and needs; from kindergarteners exploring Mondrian to adults rediscovering their buried dreams. We help you discover the vocabulary to practise self-compassion during life’s “heavy lifting” and the communication skills to silence the inner critic and share your authentic voice with the world. Because claiming the life you deserve is easier when you have the language to lead it. Your English learning journey starts here. Call/WhatsApp: 010-395 3067 or email us at info@ilti.edu.my

Transform your English skills—one word at a time.