A special place worth sharing.

Randy: Today, I'd like to tell you about a wonderful acquaintance we've made here who happens to be based out of a great place to go for art supplies of just about any kind, especially drawing and painting. It's a family-owned and operated shop in the Chinatown area of Kuala Lumpur, run by Mr Yap and his family, all of whom have intimate knowledge and information regarding the supplies they sell. We look forward to every visit to Venus Art, because when we go there, we will not be treated like a wallet with legs, but as friends.

Personally, I have been to a good number of art stores here in KL, almost all of which are corporate franchises with employees who are there solely for the paycheck, and have neither an interest in what they sell, nor in doing anything more than what they are forced to do to keep their jobs. The most commonly heard response from the staff at these establishments is "I don't know". (EK: Once in a while, we'll come across a staff member with more initiative who would help out a little more, but these occurrences tend to be few and far in between) Before we discovered Venus Art, we ventured into one of these establishments looking for some simple drawing supplies, and spent well over an hour walking up and down aisle after aisle of current trend products trying to find a handful of items which none of the sales staff could help point us toward.

After several attempts to get the attention of the employees, and asking questions, describing the items we were looking for, we asked to see the manager; "I don't know" had gotten a bit old. To my surprise, even the manager was unable to direct us to most of these common items, and although she was very polite in her reiteration of "I don't know", we left the shop without many of the things we went for in the first place. As we walked out, we both agreed we felt a distinct sense that we had wasted more time than what we got from the visit was worth.

Then, we discovered Venus Art, and life improved in a matter of minutes. The service was amazing, Mr Yap and his daughter both had knowledge of everything we asked for, including uncommon items that're usually special-order only, even in the US. During the conversation, I forgot I was in a store owned by a stranger. The whole visit was much more like going to see an artist friend and borrowing some supplies from them. The stock was much more artist-oriented than any of the other stores we'd visited, and much less of the trendy-cool-in-fashion stuff that's advertised as being able to turn anyone into Picasso himself.

We piled items into our little basket with the excitement of two kids on Christmas morning, and before I knew it, we had twice as much as we'd gone to get in the first place. As I got to the register, Mr Yap's daughter began to total us up. It was then that I realized how much we had put into the basket, and I prepared myself for a four-digit total, assuming that the prices would be akin to what was being charged in the franchise stores, only higher given the much better quality of the products.

At that point, I noticed that there were several drawings pasted on the wall behind her. One particularly striking piece was a sketch of the Eiffel Tower. The simplicity of the design suggested it was a child's drawing, and as I looked at it, I felt the mental shift that defines masterpiece works, where one loses their own perceptions and is transported behind the eyes of the artist, seeing what they saw as they created it.
Whoever had sketched the piece wasn't bound by the rules of perfection and accuracy, and had firmly translated perception that even included mood onto the surface of the paper.

I asked about the drawing, and was told the owner's granddaughter had done it a few years before, when she was about eight years of age. The very same girl now stared up at me from a chair behind the counter where she was drawing, smiling broadly at my compliments on her sketch. She told me that she had done it "a long time ago", but made no attempt whatsoever to explain any of the "imperfections" that most adult artists, including myself, seem to find in anything they do. She was happy and satisfied with her work in a way all too uncommon in older artists; and rightly so.

And then the total came, to my shock, to much less than what I had expected it would be. Top quality supplies, great service, friendly conversation with fellow artists, and now this: it was like a dream from which I'd hate waking from. I had found my art supplier, made new friends, and found a shop I could recommend to just about anyone. I have since sent many people there, and every one of them returns with a similar feeling to mine the day I first walked into their shop.

Professionally and personally, we both recommend checking them out -- it's an experience you won't regret. Venus Art is at no 90, Jalan Petaling, 50000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-2072 8807.
Venus Art is closed on Sunday.

And while you're there, remember to tell the Yaps hi from Randy and Ee Koon!