How an Award-Winning Cambodian Artist Finds Her Gift to Paint Again
(របៀប​ដែលវិចិត្រករ​​​​ឈ្នះ​ពានរង្វាន់ជនជាតិខ្មែរ​ម្នាក់ស្វែងរក​អំណោយទាន​របស់នាង​ដើម្បី​គូរគំនូរម្តងទៀត)

ដើម្បីអានជាភាសាខ្មែរ សូមចុច នៅទីនេះ   

In the art gallery on the 35^th floor of the prestigious Rosewood Phnom Penh hotel, artworks from rising star Sopheap Nhem are on display from December 21, 2022, to March 20, 2023. Part of the “Visions” exhibition featuring Khmer perspectives, Sopheap’s art is colored by her unique experiences and background as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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Sopheap is an award-winning freelance artist who was born in 1989 in a small village near Ta Khmau town, Kandal province in Cambodia. She and her siblings learned the value of work at an early age by helping their parents with chores, farming, and raising animals. Sopheap reports walking to school each morning where she had an interest in science and history but struggled with learning because of her difficulties in hearing and speaking.

She first received inspiration to start drawing from her father, a primary school teacher who would often use drawings he made to help teach students. After seeing some of Nhem’s drawings and paintings, he started calling on her to do them for school. 

Sopheap recounted that as a child she was very interested in nature that was all around her house.  She said, “I fell in love with the flowering trees and the beautiful stars I could see at night from my window.” At age ten, she started drawing the plants and trees around her home and was then selected to represent her school in an art competition with other schools -- she won the competition.

Though Sopheap found some success with her art, life for Sopheap and her family was not easy. Her family lost their property and money because of a scam, and then her parents divorced. Her art provided refuge and a source of satisfaction for her during challenging times.   

In 2009, Sopheap found the gospel of Jesus Christ through a neighbor who introduced her and her mother to Church missionaries. Over the next year, two of her sisters were taught and baptized by the missionaries.  She shared, “We had a lot of blessings in our lives, and we knew the light of Christ. I never thought there would be such wonderful teachings in our world.”

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Although Sopheap and her family found the gospel, she continued to have challenges. At age 14, Sopheap dropped out of school to help care for her mother, who suffered from anxiety. Still, she was encouraged to continue to draw and paint. “My mother sold a cow for me, so I could learn how to paint with oil colors for 2 months, and then I continued learning by myself.” After a few years, Sopheap returned to school where she finished High School. She stated, “I knew God wanted me to develop myself through education.”

Sopheap continued her drawing and painting and in 2013, entered the Yamada School of Art where she studied basic drawing and began entering some art contests and exhibitions in Cambodia and other countries. She was the winner of the Dream Girl design contest and clinched the first-place award for design at the second Cambodia Fine Art Contest in 2013.  By 2016, Sopheap was also featured at the 10th International Art Competition held by the Church, showcasing latter-day artists from over 40 countries at the Church’s history museum. Her work was selected from among 944 contestants.

From 2018 to 2020, Sopheap put her successful career on hold to serve an 18-month mission for the Church. Upon returning home, she thought she would just pick up where she had left off and begin again to produce the beautiful work she was accustomed to creating before her mission, but that was not to be.  After returning home, Sopheap developed anxiety and was unable to continue painting and drawing.

In her struggles and efforts to overcome her anxiety, Sopheap recalled, “I prayed a lot to have the spirit of God to draw again. I read my patriarchal blessing which helped me find the strength to start again. I felt a strong motivation when I read my blessing. It talked a lot about my art and the blessings I would receive from my painting.”  

The journey back to painting for Sopheap began as she continued to pray and review her own and others’ paintings, watching videos or reading books of art history like Claude Monet and Joaquin Sorolla. “Their paintings made me feel free because of the light and bright colors and I was less concerned with details. I loved the impressionist paintings and their styles. I also loved looking at the paintings of Jesus Christ and some paintings from the Liahona really inspired me. I remember being so touched by a painting of Jesus Christ’s face. I felt like He was looking at me and I experienced so much peace and comfort that I underwent a change where I could paint again,” she expressed.

In her journey to overcome obstacles in her life, Sopheap redirected her focus to the divine and found peace and comfort. Doing so helped her reconnect with her amazing gift and to continue sharing it with those privileged to view her beautiful work.