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Gum Sangkhamee

"My name is Wanphen Sangkhamee and my nickname is 'Gum'. I was born in southern Thailand in 1968, the oldest of four children. When I was ten, my family moved to Bangkok for business. I finished a degree in advertising, journalism and communication in 1990. My first job was working in an advertising agency for five years. Personally, I don't like the big city lifestyle – it's very busy, full of traffic and I feel this is not right for me. I move to the provinces in 1996 and married Khun Sakorn, who is also an artist.

"I've liked to paint since I was young. When I had free time, I used a pencil for sketching on paper. When I moved out of the city, I starting to learn about art on my own and opened a small gallery in 1996. Every morning from 8 a.m. to midday it's my time for painting and discovering new styles. I want to stay with nature themes.

"I like to look for methods to create paintings in my own style, different from that of other artists. My style is calm and happy. For me, art is like a toy and I want to make it myself – it's like playing but I must concentrate on it too.

"I'm happy to have left the capital and a job to work on my own in a small, tranquil town. Some people told me it was a stupid idea, and that I'd miss life's comforts. But I love nature and wanted to find myself. And now that I know what I want, I want to do it better and better. Today I love being here. I'm happy to create my works and I don't wish for anything more.

“I discovered Novica through Rungsak Dokbua, a Novica featured artist. I think Novica is a center where artists and art lovers can contact one another and exchange something wonderful. It's called art."