Art & Science with Eizreen Eizuddin

Can Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Newton’s discovery of gravity be on the same stage?

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is an iconic image not only in art history but also in the mathematical world since the calculations of the area of a circle and the area of a square can be found in Da Vinci’s drawing where he placed a man firmly at the centre of a circle and a square. This finding should be sufficient enough to prove that the abstract, colourful and at times logic-bending world of art is correlated with that of science however, many people are still sceptical by the relationship and tend to strictly separate one from the other. Is Vermeer’s captivating painting of Girl with the Pearl Earring truly different than Einstein’s theory of relativity and distinctive like water and oil or are they relative to each other like yin and yang. This issue may invoke a relentless almost endless debate hence, we decided to focus on a miniscule scope; can a person who commits her education mainly in the lab also has time to experiment with illustrations?

Eizreen Eizuddin is a 19 year old illustrator from Sungai Petani, Kedah and she is now pursuing her studies in Diploma in Science at Sultan Idris Education University in Tanjung Malim, Perak. She hopes to have a science-related career probably one that majors in Biology since the study of life is her favourite subject. After her classes, Eizreen paints during her free time and reads preferably horror and fantasy novels in leisure. We managed to interview Eizreen on her experience of balancing her interests in art and science.

1) When did you start drawing or venturing into art?

I started venturing into art when I was little, probably when I was in kindergarten. My mother once said to me that I was born with a natural flair of painting and drawing because unlike any other kids back then, I was a 5 year old girl who would spend her time alone with crayons, drawing blocks and coloured pencils.

2) What are your preferred tools to make art?

In making art, I use acrylics and watercolour but mostly I prefer using acrylics. And in every stroke of my paintbrushes on the canvas, when I’m using acrylics, it gives me the feeling of satisfaction and joy. I’ve never tried using oil paint yet since the technique of using oil paint can be kind of complicated. But I do hope I could learn how to paint an oil painting one day.

3) What would you recommend amateur illustrators to use (tools)?

If you’re an amateur illustrator who had just started to venture into arts or a beginner, I would suggest using watercolour or coloured pencils. These two art tools are the easiest to use.

4) What or who inspires your art?

My mom. My mom is an artist too and she mostly paints abstract acrylic paintings and scenery. She taught me a lot of stuff related to arts like paint-mixing technique and stuff. Without her, I would never be a good illustrator. Besides her, I would go for Anna Bond as my inspiration. She’s a great illustrator from Florida and I love her floral acrylic paintings. She even makes her own products like fabrics, notebooks, bags etc by using her own designs!

5) How could you find the time to be creative and also focus on your studies?

Whenever there is a free time, which means when I have no lab reports or assignments to be worried about, I would take that time to enhance my painting skills.

6) Have you ever faced comments which stereotype that a Science student should not be doing art or vice versa?

I often face comments like “You’re so good in art. Why don’t you take an art course instead of science?” and “You’re so creative. You should become an artist one day and make a fortune just by selling your art.” Frankly speaking, sometimes I feel offended by their comments. They’re making me feel like I’ve chosen the wrong path (by taking science course instead of art). But it doesn’t matter anyway. Their comments somehow motivate me to study harder and get a good science-related career thus, proving to them that I still can be a biologist and an artist at the same time. Right?

7) Do you have any advice for artists out there?

Let your imagination run wild and keep painting whatever that comes to mind. Just make it, don’t worry about anyone liking it. You make art because you love making it, not to impress people.

“Art is beauty that comes from the heart;it comes in the heat of the moment; art expresses your personality through vision and imagination; it is a priceless keepsake inside of you and it never wants to hide.”

Eizreen is adamant to focus on her studies in science and develop her art skills and bridging the two fields harmoniously. Fans of her work can order hand-made floral paintings through her Instagram account, @.

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Featured image and pictures courtesy of Eizreen Eizuddin.