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Pongphan Ruannanchai

"The past provides the basis for your present. The beginning of your life is the first step that will be preserved in the future. My past can tell something about what I want now and what I will do in the future. My name is Pongphan Ruannanchai, born on February 6, 1976. I was a normal child who lived in a small rural Thai village with my farming family. My vacations from school when I was young were always spent working in the field, and sometimes as a gardener. My younger brother and I used the free time when school was closed to work in other places, field gardens, and factories. But this way of life couldn't keep me away from art. My mother and grandma always teased me about how angry I would get when someone erased what I drew on the ground with a wood stick. They said I always liked drawing something everywhere I went, up until this very day.

"I studied at a primary school near my house. This was the first time I learned about art and music. I used to play the flute and drum, and then I applied to become a member of the band, playing saxophone as well when I was in high school. The music allowed me to concentrate more on my feelings about art. After high school I wanted to study at the music college. At this time I was also drawing portraits, beginning with the royal family I saw on the calendar. I received many awards during high school and started thinking about studying art.

"The reason I received so many awards is because of my family. Not because they supported me, but on the contrary because they didn't understand what I was doing. They wanted me to become a teacher or a policeman, as they thought that art is something with which you can't make any money. Because of this, I decided to make paintings and send them to contests. I was the winner of many contests and exhibitions. After a couple of years my family accepted this talent of mine.

"I am always thinking about my life and what I should really do with it. We have just one life of about 60 or 70 years before we die, and I want to do something good for my motherland. The night before my interview for entrance into the university I thought about this way of life and I finally decided that I wanted to learn about my culture's arts. The arts of northern Thai culture are related to many things, for example a way of life, music, arts, foods, and anything. I decided to leave the normal route of school and find a teacher. I mean, the old knowledge in the local area to learn about the cultural arts. People began talking bad about me, treating me as though I could not survive without a bachelor's degree, but I restrained my words. I aimed to pursue this way of life and I had to succeed.

"I started by copying the ancient lines and patterns from the mural paintings at many temples. I sat down and copied the graceful motifs of our heritage with patience, always thinking about the history of the motifs – where they come from and what they are. I developed my paintings in this way and I also studied ancient manuscripts to learn about the old mural paintings. In this way I carry their feeling deep within my soul. The way I learned is contemporary so that nobody can copy me. I have my own moral, which is, 'If today passed that means my life is shorter, so I better work things out as much as I can.'

"In the future, before I die, I will make copies of as many mural painting motifs as I can. They will disappear in maybe a hundred years and I want to conserve them. And I will make books to teach in the classroom as well."