EDITOR'S NOTE
My two girls have recently started showing a real aptitude for art, both at school and at home. And, frankly, it has me baffled.
I mean, it has to come from somewhere, right? The only quality art I produced when young – or ever, really – was when I accidently Jackson Pollocked my breakfast onto the kitchen floor as a toddler.
I suppose their skills may have been handed down from my lovely wife. But I am hesitantly (perilously?) going to suggest that perhaps that isn’t the case either.
I did try to be good at art as a child. I gave it a red hot crack. Eventually, my Dad handed me a giant paintbrush when we were on the farm where I grew up and said, “Okay, Picasso, since you’re not getting too far with that canvas, I want you to go down to the cowshed and paint the wooden fences with sump oil.”
I’d like to think I brought a nice Cubist touch to those fences. Anyway, I love art, so I’m over the moon that my daughters are loving it too. My only wish is that they would paint or draw something I could relate to a bit better – like Test cricketers or beer labels.
This issue of the magazine is festooned with artists – we’ve got painters, sculptors, photographers and more. We go inside their houses and studios, see some of their amazing work, and discover which corners of Hong Kong they escape to for inspiration.
Fittingly for summer, there’s also an island theme running through the issue – from a profile of a Lantau school near the beach, to chats with people who live on Cheng Chau and Peng Chau. We also find out which island peaks you can leap off if you want to try your hand at paragliding!
While teachers and students do the big reset before the next academic year begins, we also bring you all the news and updates from a bunch of international schools across HK.
Along with that, we have plenty of useful health advice, furniture recommendations, things to do in your downtime, the chance to win great prizes, and more.
Oh, and if you’re a foodie, we interview some of the city’s best chefs, and we test out a bunch of superb pizza places.
Mmm … pizza. You know, I think I’ve sold myself short on the artistic merit thing. When it comes to the art of eating pizza, I’m a maestro!
Enjoy the summer!