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Lee Long Looi’s batik paintings are extremely rare and hardly known, although he has won the top prizes in the batik painting category for three times in a row since 1977 in the United States. The difference with his batik works are that they are also embellished with brushwork. In this piece, the two female figures are outlined in black and white for contrast, with the centre of attraction being the seated figure. As the title Let’s Get Ready suggests, the two damsels are preening themselves for a big function, a kenduri (feast) perhaps, in the village. As they are in natural surroundings, there is reason to believe the rustic conditions and temperament of the work. The women are also set in standard perceptions of beauty, with the sickle eyebrows, demure eyes and dainty hands.

Long Looi’s work contains elements of his Asian heritage and exhibits strong techniques derived from his Western teachings, put together resulting in a style that is uniquely his. Emphasising themes of peace and harmony, he works in mixed media combining watercolour, ink, acrylic, oil and soft pastels. He returned to the Malaysian art scene after being away in the United States for some time where he was accorded a retrospective exhibition by The Art Gallery, Penang in 1997. This was followed by another retrospective at Art Salon@SENI, Kuala Lumpur in 2010. He graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore (1964) where his two main tutors were Georgette Chen Li-Ying and Lai Foong Moi. It was sometime later that he decided to take up Art studies in New York at the Art Students League in 1970 and the Pratt Institute in 1973. His first US solo was at Jarvis Art Gallery, New York in 1970. Among his awards were 1st Prize (Watercolour) in the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibition in 1981 and 1986; Best Mixed Media in competitions in Fort Lauderdale (1987), Discovery 3-Artists (1987), Chicago Tribune (1992) and South Miami Hospital (1994).