The idyllic scene is like an ode to the paddy-fields and going by the topography and Khalil Ibrahim’s habits, likely to be in Kedah or Perlis. The composition is unusually neat. Noteworthy is also the softer greyish hues of the hills in the background, likely limestone. Two miniscule figures are shown working on the flooded beds indicating that it is neither planting nor harvesting season where labour is intensive. But automaton today has cut down the process and manpower and render the tillers, the oxen and water buffaloes, obsolete.         Mesra sayang gunung memandang, Sawah disinar matahari         Permai damai alam terbentang, Alam sebati dengan diri         (The mountain gazes with tenderness At paddy fields in the sun         Amidst such serene loveliness With Nature we are one)         Verses by Adibah Amin in Eric Peris’s Ode To Malaysia Khalil Ibrahim is truly one of Malaysia’s most gifted artists dexterous in all media and a great colourist versatile in figures and landscapes. He won a Pahang State scholarship to study at the St. Martins School of Art in London where he graduated with a National Diploma of Design in 1963 and followed up with a two-year postgraduate studies. On his return, he was relieved of his contract and he had been a fulltime artist since September 1966. He was given a double solo of his London works and Malaysian batiks at the Samat Art Gallery in 1970. He was the first Malaysian to have a solo in Indonesia in 1970. He co-founded the Malaysian Watercolour Society. His major solos included Khalil Ibrahim: The Art Journey in Petaling Jaya (2015), and Khalil Ibrahim: A Continued Dialogue at Galeri Petronas in 2004. He has also been featured in major national exhibitions abroad.