Young Kelantan Artist Completes Portrait Of Brunei Crown Prince In 20 Days

KOTA BHARU, March 7 (Bernama) -- A young artist from Kelantan, Muhammad Darwisy Mustafani, 25, did not dream that his artistic talents would open the door for him to do a portrait of the Crown Prince of Brunei, Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Muhammad Darwisy, who hails from Kampung Pulau Panjang here, said the opportunity given was very meaningful considering that his work was personally presented by him to the Crown Prince during his birthday celebration on Feb 17 at Istana Brunei.

"Initially, I received a message request on my Instagram around November last year from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (ABDB) commissioning me to do a portrait of the Crown Prince of Brunei and to be set with pure gold and 1,000 Swarovski stones.

"Following the commission, I began creating nearly 10 draft sketches and working papers, which took quite a long time before achieving results that were truly satisfying and approved by the palace," he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Muhammad Darwisy, the fifth of eight siblings, said that it usually takes him one-and-a-half months to complete a portrait like this, but this time he only had about 20 days to do so.

He said once an agreement was reached, the Silubang Bangsi woven fabric was sent to him to sketch the Crown Prince's portrait using acrylic paint.

“I worked on the face first since it is the most complex part in a portrait, followed by the clothing and others.

"Given the short time frame, I have only slept for one hour a day for the past three days because I was worried it wouldn't be completed in time," he said.

The artist said that for the final touches to this painting, 1,000 black Swarovski stones were glued on and adorned with 20 pieces of 999 gold wafers worth RM180 each.

"For the process of applying these gold pieces, it was also one of the more challenging parts as I needed to cut them into smaller pieces, totalling 52 pieces symbolising the Crown Prince's 52nd birthday," he said.

Recalling the moment he presented the portrait, he said he initially thought an ABDB officer would present the work to the Crown Prince, but at the last moment, the palace entrusted him to do so himself.

"I was asked to present the portrait to the Crown Prince at a banquet held at the Ministry of Defence Building, and as soon as the banquet ended, I was invited to the palace.

"I was excited but nervous too about meeting the Crown Prince, but thankfully, all went well. The Crown Prince also engaged with me, asking several questions related to the painting,” he also said.

"I never expected that this painting would win the heart of the Crown Prince, considering that the painting was initially planned to be placed at Istana Brunei, but it was directed to be moved to the Office of the Crown Prince at the Prime Minister's Department," he added.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Darwisy's sharing of the Brunei Crown Prince’s portrait on his TikTok account 'wisyilukis' has garnered up to 1.6 million views, along with more than 100,000 likes from other account users.

-- BERNAMA