Inspirations comes in many forms, and for Shafurdin Habib, it is the countryside of Malaysia and its oicturesque landscape. For a true artist to put colour to canvas or paper, there must be a special connection between subject and artist.This is very much the case for Shafudin whose fuel for painting comes in the form of the whole experience of being in the county, from the fisherman toiling at sea to the women pounding spices on their verandahs.
Born in Kampung Basong, Perak, Shafurdin now 50 smiles as he recalls his childhood days in the villages, “...as a schoolboy I loved drawing-all my school exercise books were full of my pencil drawings.” A humble hobby soon turned into a a deep passion. In his twenties, when Shafurdin moved to Kuala Lumpur, he bestfriended established watercolourists, among them the famed Khalil Ibrahim. In fact, Khalil's influence is discerned in many of Shafurdin's works; compare Khalil's “Tumpat, Kelantan Fishing Village” (1978) and Shafurdin's “Berlabuh”.
The artist actively pursued painting all through the 198o's, mainly to compose a good number of pieces to join professional art clubs. During this time, he exhibited at Pok Balai Seni Lukis Sabah (1987).
