Kevin Loo
Spotlight on Painter, Preacher, and Pacesetter. From the pulpit and the marketplace, Kevin Loo is influencing generations, culture, and creativity…at lightning speed! Read his radiant story.
CR8VSPOT: Tell us about yourself and your artistry...from your paintings to fashion, shoe designs, and everything in between.
Kevin Loo: WOW! That’s a lot! My name is Kevin, and I was born in a small but amazing town called Sandakan in Sabah, formerly known as, North Borneo, in East Malaysia. I grew up near a village but I’m super happy with my childhood. It was during this period that I first learned how to paint. I was 10 years old. Week in and week out, we were to copy whatever the teacher stuck on the blackboard. Honestly, it didn’t feel much, but the years of repetition created a sense of art and a sense of beauty in me. I guess it also hits a chord with me, as creativity is a natural expression of who I am and it seamlessly flowed into paintings, fashion, shoe designs, or anything that got to do with my hands. But most importantly, I am using all these platforms to connect with others so that I can share with them the unconditional love of Christ, and the Creator of the heavens and earth!
Whoa! That’s long!
—“…the years of repetition created a sense of art and a sense of beauty in me.”
CR8VSPOT: You recently started a collaborative project called “Aleader”. What’s the story behind it.
KL: It was our first ever lockdown (in 2020). Never ever before in our generation have we experienced this. After doing what needed to be done for our church, I find myself having a lot of time, and I was bored. So, I went everywhere online looking for people to engage with, to talk to them about God, food, work, or anything. Then, I got in touch with Shengyi (Aleader’s co-founder), and we started chatting on Instagram live on Wednesdays. We called it Leadership Talk. The lockdown was long and our chat went on for 35 weeks! After that, many people requested a more systematic approach to what we do. Well, before we knew it, a formal kind of training started, and Aleader was born!
CR8VSPOT: Some time ago, you won The Most Outstanding Young Person Award in Sabah. Did it have any impact on you and your work?
KL: Hmm…not much really, but it was nice to be acknowledged and appreciated.
—“I went everywhere online looking for people to engage with, to talk to them about God, food, work, or anything.”
CR8VSPOT: Your paintings beautify various spaces, from homes to hotel halls. How do you showcase your work and how often do you do exhibitions?
KL: Errr…I don’t really showcase my work, and I have not been able to hold any exhibitions just yet. I mainly paint on commission and most of my works are on my Instagram - #kevinloopaints. Do check them out! (Smiles)
CR8VSPOT: What role has family played in your journey, and what family sacrifices do you have to constantly make to achieve your goals?
KL: My biggest supporters are my family! They always encourage me, and they love my work! That’s a nice thing.
Sacrifice? This is the thing; a lot of people separate their goals and their families as if they are two different entities. I don’t. All of us are one in a whole picture. I involve my family in all that I do. Of course, sometimes when I paint, I have to paint alone, but I allow both of my kids to join me in my studio. Eitan paints, but he doesn’t like it that much. Alexander paints, and one of them sold for quite a lot of money! I guess at the end of the day, it is not just the artwork, but the story behind it as well.
—“I guess at the end of the day, it is not just the artwork, but the story behind it as well.”
CR8VSPOT: What are some of the challenges facing mainstream creatives in south-east Asia? And what solutions would you suggest?
KL: It is very hard for us to breakthrough in the international market due to lack of exposure and the years we’ve been involved in the creative arena. But it is changing. When there is a collective effort by all the creatives to keep producing without fear, it will build a reputation after some time. Again, this is not an easy task. Art is very subjective, and we do need someone to raise the bar so that others may emerge, or find the courage to do so!
CR8VSPOT: You’re highly involved with community projects. Can you share with us some of your recent activities?
KL: Bring A Light! and Clinic Kecheerian! These two are my most recent initiatives.
Bring A Light is a project where we install solar lights to villages in Sabah. Until today, some of them (the villagers) still use kerosene lamps. My heart was broken as it affects the future of their children. Since 2017, we have installed 691 lights in 320 houses among 7 villages and impacted a total of 1500 lives involving 105 volunteers.
And last year in December, we started a medical clinic in a mall. The idea of this clinic is to be a self-sustaining clinic that provides outstanding medical care with the profits plowed back into the mission field helping refugees, the underserved, and the underprivileged.
CR8VSPOT: How many hours a week do you work and what do you do to unwind?
KL: WOW! I think I work all the time. Maybe not physically doing the work, but mentally. My mind is constantly working, observing, seeing what I can do and what can be done to make a difference in the world we live in. But because this is my vocation I find myself having a lot of fun doing it. Sometimes, I feel bad. Maybe not (hahaha). Due to that, working and unwinding happen concurrently for me. It is a work-life integration!
I watch movies too!
CR8VSPOT: Tell us one of your dream projects, or a dream collaboration?
KL: I would love to work with Erwin McManus on a fashion line one day, and hopefully with Jerry Lorenzo of Fear of God! Phew!
—“Whatever your mind can imagine, your hands can create!”
CR8VSPOT: Art is expression. What legacy would you want your expression to leave in the sands of time?
KL: Whatever your mind can imagine, your hands can create! I don’t want people to be limited! I want everyone to be able to realize their fullest potential!
Kevin Loo Extras:
Favorite Food: Steak and Chinese
Favorite City: London, Tokyo, LA, NY, HK….Ahhh! Too many!!!!
Hobbies: Painting, reading, designing…thinking!
Favorite Sports Team: Of course, Liverpool FC!
Source of inspiration: The Word of God!
Turn off: Lazy people!
CR8VSPOT: It has been such an honor talking with you. We’d definitely be having you again!
Kevin Loo is the Senior Pastor of Collective in the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. To see more of Kevin Loo’s work and place commissioned orders, check #kevinloopaints or connect with him on Instagram
