Please enjoy my painting, Ancient European Castle Surrounded by A Moat Filled with Water Lilies》. It captures my impression of the idyllic and picturesque scenes after visiting many castles in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal during separate trips.
Castles with one or more lofty round cylindrical-shaped towers and inverted funnel-shaped roofs are mesmerising, often reminding us of the evergreen classic childhood stories of Sleeping Beauty (nowadays staged as ballet dance drama) and Cinderella, whose imaginary castle has been featured in Disney cartoon films, adult movies and created as actual buildings in theme parks. Seeing such ancient, beautiful building structures in idyllic settings often transports us to the fairyland kingdoms of heroic knights, majestic kings and princes, beautiful queens and princesses.
Countries like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are overwhelmingly rich with castles – each unique and not failing to impress anyone who sees them up close. There seem to be more than 10,000 medieval castles and their remains in Europe, with Germany having the most. European history would be unimaginable, and European tours would be less exciting and attractive without the remarkable castles scattered across the continent. Castles seem full of magic and mystery, something straight out of a fairytale. So many fairy tales and stories have drawn inspiration from real castles that we can still see around us today.
Tan It Koon
Before retirement, Dr Tan It Koon was, among many appointments, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at SGH’s Dept of Pathology. He was the Deputy Chairman of the National Theatre Trust and Chairman for Grants and Scholarships of the Spore Cultural Foundation. He received the National Day Awards, PBM, and PPA, for his contribution to cultural and community development and excellence in Public Administration.
