By Muhammad Basir Roslan
KUALA LUMPUR: While most artists spend a lifetime honing their drawing skills with their dominant hand, one exceptionally talented artist has taken his art forms to a whole new level.
Besides his ambidextrous skills, he has also mastered the technique of creating his portraits and drawings by manoeuvring brushes and other tools with his hands, mouth and feet, simultaneously.
Visual arts teacher Mohd Saiful Baharom Shah, 40, better known as Cikgu Saiful, does not fall into the disabled (OKU) category but he is able to create mesmerising pieces of art, leaving you awe-struck, with his mouth and foot painting.
Mouth and foot painting is a technique that is mostly used by artists who through illness, accident or congenital disability have no use of their hands. His enthralling artworks depict the OKU struggles in life.
The gifted artist from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Tajul Ariffin, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, has touched the hearts of millions after posting a TikTok video of him drawing portraits using his hands, feet and mouth last year.
Inspiration from OKU
Sharing his journey, Cikgu Saiful said he was inspired by the talents of OKU artists who can still produce amazing artworks despite their physical disabilities.
For him, if a disabled can go through the complexities of drawing using other parts of the body that are not dominant, he sees no reason why able-bodied people can’t do the same.
“As humans, we are gifted with natural talents. Take for example OKU artists, they originally could not draw with their feet, but due to their disabled hands, they are forced to learn to paint with their feet to earn a livelihood.
“This has been a wake-up call for me as these blind artists can produce some of the most beautiful and intricate artwork in the face of the adversity that they face.
“I hope that it can also inspire others to look at adversity in any field as a surmountable obstacle. We all have hidden talents, it’s just a matter of taking the next step of honing them,” said Cikgu Saiful, who resides at Taman Chandan Puteri 3, Kuala Kangsar, Perak when contacted by Bernama recently.
Practice makes perfect
The father of six, aged four to 14 years said, he sets aside two to three hours each day to painstakingly draw using the non-dominant parts of his body to enhance his artistic technique.
“My right hand is dominant and hence I started to draw using my left hand, both feet and mouth in 2020 given that the COVID-19 pandemic had just started and most of our time were spent at home due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) with nearly all institutions closed, including schools.
“When talking about difficulties, drawing using the left foot is no mean feat. The easiest is the right hand, followed by the mouth, left hand, right foot and lastly the left foot.
“Honestly, it is rather difficult to acquire skills using the feet as it involves good hold and control on the pencil, which requires the development of intrinsic strength and in-hand manipulation skills. The mouth technique is much easier as we can just hold the pencil tightly in the mouth or between the teeth,” he explained.
Practice makes perfect for Cikgu Saiful, as he took almost six months before he gained enough confidence to share his unique talents on TikTok.
“Initially, I only sharpened my skills by producing caricatures of iconic cartoon character Doraemon as it is much easier to sketch and can strengthen my pencil grasp. Once I’ve acquired this skill, I then proceeded to sketch the portrait of individuals and popular local artistes such as the late Sudirman and Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza including international icons as well as soccer stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“These are the highlights of my artworks, inspiring me to share on my TikTok account, which became viral with many orders received from fans for my artworks.
“I am extremely grateful that my efforts have paid off, providing me with an alternative income to support my big family,” said Cikgu Saiful, who can produce five art pieces at a time.
To make the magic happen, he uses his right and left hands and adds difficulty to his multi-tasking by alternating with his mouth and feet.
Hands full
Cikgu Saiful said he can generate sales of between RM500 to RM1,000 a month, depending on the type of drawings and the number of orders received.
Among the hot items include his A4-sized individual portrait using the pencil, which fetches a price of RM50 per unit.
However, orders for portraits using coloured pencils are priced around RM100 with photo frame, which usually takes one or two days to complete.
“Since my video became viral on TikTok, scores of people started to make orders for my drawings, with my hands full as I can only sketch or paint after my working hours as a teacher. However, many were willing to wait.
“The most expensive of my artwork was an A2-sized coloured portrait that was sold to a newly-wed couple in Perak recently, costing RM600.
“Besides that, I have also completed a A1-sized portrait for five large families. For the A1 or A2 sized drawing, the price fetched RM300 to RM600 and would usually take a week or a month to complete as it is a large sized artwork, and it is rather complex and intricate,” he added. The price of an art piece sized A3 using a pencil and with a frame is priced RM150, while for coloured artwork, it costs RM250 and takes less than a week to finish.
Cikgu Saiful has also started receiving many orders in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year as most of them are family portraits.
“An artwork will be ready based on first come, first serve basis, but rest assured, the artwork is of high quality despite the short time taken to produce it,” he said adding that those interested in making orders can visit my Facebook and TikTok accounts under Saiful Thaqif. – BERNAMA
