Hybrid J

TED Talks - Brene Brown, Vulnerability

2012-01-07T18:00:00.000+11:00

HAPPY 2012 & TED Talks

2012-01-07T17:13:00.000+11:00

Happy 2012 to all my fellow creatives and bloggers!

(I know it's a bit late, but I've been on hibernation since mid Dec last year and am gradually waking up!) :)

I'd love to share this wonderful TED Talks with you. The topic presented is not only relevant to the aging population, it is also for every one from all age group. Enjoy!

See you all later ... xxoo

Christams Time

2011-12-17T14:58:00.000+11:00

My dear fellow bloggers and creatives,

I'm taking an early Christmas break, hence instead of offering you my usual sketchbook page, I'm giving you something sparkly.

Lighting candles at night throughout December month is my personal Christmas tradition. And here is the one I specially lit for you! You all have been so supportive and wonderful to my creative venture. And you had helped me to get better at each of my sketching and painting. THANK YOU!

This year has been a challenging one for me. Both health and work place issues had grind me down a fair bit. I'm hoping with the new year, things will shape up. I so need the energy and focus on my creative projects.

See you all in 2012 and wishing you a fantastic Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hybrid J xxoo

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-12-11T14:50:00.000+11:00

I drew up a lone tree in my sketchbook a few weeks ago and had been thinking of what to do with it.

Then an idea struck me after I put up my Christmas tree on 1st December. I drew / painted some moss like string web with little white balls hanging from the lone tree. Then I painted the background with darker color which reminded me of winter night. And there you go ...

It is interesting how the things in our life inspire our creativity. And I hope you enjoy this little imaginary Christmas Tree of mine! :)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (which I'm late for my entry this week) - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-12-03T14:15:00.000+11:00

I found myself thinking of butterfly pupa a lot lately.

Did you know that the process of a pupa turning into a butterfly is called "Metamorphosis"? The little caterpillar inside the pupa basically breaks down to an almost liquid form so the cell could re-grow into a butterfly.

I wonder if this is related to my recent workplace drama. I'm definitely watching my mind spinning and twirling with loads and loads of images.

Here are the butterflies ...(still working with acrylic washes)

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

Enjoy and have a lovely weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-11-25T17:19:00.000+11:00

It's been a long while since my last post and I'm very sorry for missing sooooo long ...

The last couple of weeks have been a very difficult time for me

As a result of workplace re-structure, I came to a sudden realization of being the "aging" staff in the workplace. Though the company has used every rational & logical reasons to ask me to step down, I knew the truth behind all the sweet talk.

The process had brought out lots of angst, frustration and emotional pain that I've never anticipated. It also brought out a great urge to take stock of my life. Hence, you'll understand the reasons for my absence.

Anyway, enough of the personal drama and let's see what I got for you this week-

another sketch of bones. (You can see that I'm really obsessed with bones, right? Hahaha!)

Again, this is another practice of using acrylic washes to paint. The pix shows the color a lot paler than the original as I picked light color scheme for this little work. I knew I should start using watercolor paper for the practice but I want to finish this sketch book (total of 50 pages) as well. I think I might need to speed things up so to move on.

Two interesting things about this sketch:

the bones I picked are all from the hip region of a horse

I prepared the sketch work while I was going through treatment of my degenerative hip.

I swore to you that I didn't know about it til I finished the entire work. How fascinating our unconscious mind work? ;)

I hope you enjoy the sketch and apologize for the personal rant.

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-10-22T16:12:00.000+11:00

Sorry for missing last week's sketchbook page ...

Got too many things on the plate ... and each one of them was fighting for my attention and energy ...it's always the creative projects which got put at the back burner ...

Another try of using acrylic washes to sketch / paint a rose. A very time consuming process for a very small work (A5 size). But I loved the fact that I was able to lose myself completely in the process and got away from the human problems for awhile.

(Apologize for the poor quality of the pix. Haven't been able to catch a sunny day for a better shot!)

Now what else could I share with you of my creative venture?

I've got lots of things brewing in my mind, but it all comes down to master the required skills to make it happens. This is where I'm experiencing the most frustration!

I remember an advice I read years ago from an art blog. (sorry can't remember the blog name ...) The art blogger encourages all creatives NOT to give up on any one of their ideas, especially those one which makes your spine tingle or your skin crawls with strange sensation. Record it in crude sketches, jot it down as note or create a file in your computer to store it.

You might not have the skill to "materialize" it now, but if you continue to learn and practice. The day will come when you're ready for your BIG work.

No great creative work is done in a day. Over time, ideas grow, evolve and so are your skills. It will then be your time to do the work you're meant to do. The work that only you could do.

This is what I'm hanging onto right now so that I could still sketch and paint.

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-10-07T16:36:00.000+11:00

First thing first – I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to visit all the PPFers’ work last week. It’s been crazy at work and I’m still running on low fuel. Guess this situation will continue for awhile … :(

Anyway, here is another beetle (Hercules Beetle) for my fellow creatives …

This is quite an exciting sketch/paint work for me! Let me tell you why.

I mostly use watercolor for my sketchbook. But because of watercolor being non-permanent, when I glaze it with another color, there’s always the worries like:

- the paints being lifted off

- bleeding

- color getting muddy

I’ve been researching on and off about how to paint with thin acrylic washes. And this is my 2^nd try. I can’t say I got the hang of it or like it yet. But the fact that I was able to finish the sketch work with thin acrylic washes was thrilling for me!

The permanence of acrylic washes makes glazing more fun. But then this also posts a challenge to my color mixing knowledge which is still quite limited at this stage.

I also find that the colors lose some of its intensity due to dilution with water. That actually suits me well as I’ve always enjoy “paler” (less intense … subtler …) color scheme. It seems like I’ve found a way to create the color palette that I like. :)

The main problem I have right now is more about the “grainy” look from the sketch. I don’t think it’s because of the acrylic washes. I believe it’s more because of the paper of the sketchbook. The sketchbook I’m using is of “student grade”. The paper is rather thin and therefore unable to accept the numerous washes I lay on it. But I’ll continue to use this sketchbook for some more practice before I move onto watercolor papers and canvases.

The other continuous problem I have is the ability to create form and texture with minimal pen work.

Do let me know what you think of this sketchbook page. All comments are welcomed!

And I’m terribly sorry for the quality of the photo. I’m just too excited to share this with you and can’t wait for a sunny day to take pretty pix!

Cheers and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's In My Sketch Book?

2011-09-29T23:34:00.000+10:00

I have always love “botanical Illustration”, especially those from the Victorian period. A lot of them were drawn by naturalists as they explored new land (like my beloved Aussieland!).

The drawings the naturalists done were mostly of watercolour with beautiful line work. They captured the plant so beautifully and still maintained the correct anatomical form of the species for scientific research purposes.

Of course, my sketch /drawing / watercolour skills are no where near the naturalists, but I think I’d give it a try.

Here is a little flower sketch work for your musing. :)

Apart from dealing with the health issue, there have been major upheavals in my work place that it's affecting other aspects of my personal life. In other words to say, I've been feeling out of sort or maybe more accurately, I'm burnt out!!!

What more better to do when the going gets tough, the tough go blog surfing ...

I came across an interesting blog button when visiting Sadee's place. I followed the link to find out about Creative Courage. I took it as synchronicity at work and enrolled to the e-Course later that day. (Yeap, it's as if I have hours and hours of free time and boundless energy ...)

Creative Courage is a 7-week e-Course hosted by Stephanie Levy. The course is not related to any art making skills but to deal with the foundation of all creative venture.

To quote Stephanie's own words about the course:

"Creative Courage is a seven week e-course that will give you inspiration, tools, and resources to help you realize your creative dreams. It is designed as a practical guide to help you find, clarify, and follow your unique, creative path."

The course just started and I'm slowly feeling its effect on me. Hopefully it will help to sort out some creative issues that I've had since I started to draw and paint.

I'm taking a big breath and dive into the abyss ...

Til then, my dear fellow bloggers and creatives, have a lovely weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's In My Sketch Book?

2011-09-23T15:03:00.000+10:00

Currently, my city (Melbourne) is holding the King Tutankhamun exhibition. I have booked a ticket on May to see it but had to do a last minute cancellation due to the injury. Fortunately, the exhibition is to last til early December, there is still time for me to visit.

When I cancelled my visit, I was quite upset as I have always been fascinated by the Egyptian Mythology. They are full of wondrous imageries – a rich reservoir for imagination and creativity.

And because of this frustration, I found myself thinking (and even dreaming!) of one of the key symbol in Egyptian mythology constantly. So it was only natural that I made a sketch of it.

Scarab Beetle, symbol of Sun God, Khepri (see details in link here).

And when I was working on it, I was also drawn to the idea of the 16^th century’s Curiosity Cabinet. I imagined I was looking into one of Athanasius Kircher’s cabinet for the Pharoah’s Golden Beetle.

Instead of following the rule of perfectly preserved specimen from the cabinet, I made the beetle a “broken” one. I don’t quite know why. Something about an imperfect beetle made sense to me. I wanted to scope it up in my palm and told “him” that he was beautiful. (Hmm … you can see how the hybrid mind is working, hahaha!)

Anyway, that’s all for this week’s sketchbook. Hope you like it!

Cheers and have a wondrous weekend!

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-09-16T13:44:00.000+10:00

Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone’s well wishes for my recovery. Your lovely words had warmed my heart greatly.

Secondly, I appreciate all your encouragement, advice and tips on acrylic blending. They were all helpful. It also led me to a new insight of my approach to acrylic and existing watercolour work. (More about it later …)

* * *

For this week, another seascape for you …

(You can see that the sea is still working its charm on me!)

What do we have this time?

A sea sponge, kelp like underwater plant … Ahh, and it looks like there’s a sea creature joining us as well! Anyone has any idea what it is? Love to hear of your thoughts. ;)

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-09-09T21:16:00.003+10:00

Am I back to the creative land? Kind of …

Health issue remains an ongoing struggle. While tackling the body aches & pain on a daily basis, I’ve been slowly going back to drawing and sketching. And during the break, I’ve been learning and practicing acrylic blending techniques (without success!!!) ARrrrrGggggHhhhh …

So for now, acrylic is NOT my friend! I have no clue how to “befriend” it. But then, I’m not giving it up yet. I keep thinking if other people could do it, there is no reason why I can’t. I might not be the most intelligent person but definitely not stupid.

Alright enough of the rant … here is another sketch book page for your review.

I’m still totally engulfed by the sea and its creature!

This time the mighty sea sent in the shells and a sea sponge.

And when I finished the sketch, I realized that I’ve never seen sea sponge painting before. Did you know of anyone who paints sea sponges and / or put them together with shells? If yes, I would appreciate if you could drop me a line or pass me a link to check out. Nothing serious, I’m just being curious.

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday - hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

Also I have joined Jane Davenport’s online course, Supplies Me, to gain more knowledge of drawing & painting girls. Check out the detail here!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

Taking A Break ...

2011-08-02T17:14:00.000+10:00

As much as I dislike to do this ... I'm taking a break from blogging.

I have mentioned before that an old sport injury flared up which turned itself into neck and shoulder pain. Well, it is now turning into something far more complicated and serious.

With constant pain and ache over half of my body, plus waiting for further diagnosis and more successful treatment, I'm just not in the right head space to be creative.

So I'll be missing in creative action for a while, hopefully not too long ...

Til then, take care my dear fellow creatives and bloggers. See you all soon. :)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-07-22T15:36:00.000+10:00

The ghost from the sea is calling ...

This one has blue spots all over and he comes bearing gift from the sparkling sea.

The bubbles carry the dreams of the sea spirits ...

(The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday(hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!)

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

P.S. Due to weekend project schedule, I could only visit & comment fellow PPFers on the following Monday. So if you don't see my comments over the weekend, don't think I forget about you lovelies! ;)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-07-15T18:55:00.005+10:00

Starfish has a very special meaning to me. Not only I enjoy drawing and painting them, starfish was the very first thing that I painted when I began this creative visual journey last year.

"Rose Thief" read post here

"Hostage" read post here

"The Hoarder" read post here

"Camouflage" read post here

I have always wondered why I picked them for my first painting.

Was it their lovely form which attracts my eyes? Or the fact that they come in so many different colors and shapes to work with?

But I think what fascinates me most is that Starfish is a “living animal”. As much as I have known this as fact since very young, it is something which I need to remind me every time I see a starfish. I have always associated starfish with sea anemones or sea sponges. They all look like underwater plant but each one of them is alive!

While writing this, I’m also thinking I should visit our Melbourne Aquarium to see some live starfishes. Believe it or not, the last time I saw one was years and years ago!

Anyway, without further ado, let me bring you the lively Blue Starfish (top of page), Cushion Starfish (middle of page) and Goosefoot Starfish (bottom of the page).

Other than the wonderment of the “living” sea stars, I also made use of the opportunity to try out new color palette. Not sure if they work together. What do you think?

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. Thank you so much for everyone's wonderful comments on my "photography". Your loving words made my back and shoulder pain bearable! Hahaha!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-07-08T17:43:00.000+10:00

Constant grey and rainy days ...

An old sport injury came back which turned itself into back and shoulder pain ...

All these are dulling my mind ... so excuse me if I'm don't want to talk too much.

Here is the sketch page for this week.

Lone Poppy with the Lone Antler

Remembering of Our Guardians

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-07-01T18:48:00.012+10:00

Alas, mushroom! Not only it is one of my favourite food, I love to draw them as well!

What is it about mushroom that I love? Let me think …

- the cute umbrella shape

- the wide variety of colors (from earth tone to purplish blue!)

- its long standing association to magic, forest, woods in folklore and fairy tales

- easy to draw (I mean you don’t have to possess super drawing skill to draw a beautiful mushroom.)

Aside from the sketch above, here is a mushroom painting which I did last year. It's called "We're All In This Together", ink on paper.

And some mushrooms which I collected along the way.

The white ceramic mushroom has significant meaning to me as it was a gift from fellow blogger Cameron at Paint Myself Pretty. (See the related blog post here.) It has been sitting on my work table since the day it arrived. And this little beauty always reminds me of the friendship I got from blogging.

There, you see why I love these little fellas!

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-06-24T15:28:00.009+10:00

ThANk YoU

First off I'd like to thank all of you who have been leaving such fantastic comments to all my sketchbook pages. Your comments help to fuel my belief in my creativity, my painting / drawing skill and my aesthetics. YOU have made this possible for me to continue! Thank you! :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After the Pink Jelly Bean sketchbook page, another succulent plant urged me to do the same for him. Here is my Black Prince (Echeveria Black Prince).

Other than the sketchbook page, I also want to show you that I have overcome my reputation as The Plant Killer (see my earlier post here for explanation). You know why? Because at long last, not only I didn't kill any of the succulents, they (or at least one of it) actually grow.


Black Prince bought on May 2011

Black Prince as on Jun 2011

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-06-17T14:48:00.000+10:00

I’m happy to say that I managed to break away from the bones and feathers to work on some plant sketch.

Remember this photo I posted a while ago about my succulent plants ...

Since the upload of the pix, I’ve been nagging myself to sketch them. But as mentioned on last post, I kept working on the bones and feathers. So for this week, I mustered great effort to direct my creative attention to the Pink Jelly Bean. And to make sure I didn’t fall into habit, I further my effort in presentation (no frames!) and color palette (purple & red).

Though I’m not 100% satisfied with the outcome, I’m quite happy with the fact that I’m trying something different.

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-06-10T17:04:00.000+10:00

Since I began my drawing and painting venture, I have written a list of things which I like to draw and paint. I was hoping to work through it item by item.

But lately whenever I sat down to sketch, I kept going back to the bones and feather. It is exactly what happens to this week's sketchbook page. More bones and feathers ...

Is it the shapes / textures / cultural meaning etc of the bones and feathers which compels me to draw and paint them? All these answers sit both right and wrong with me. I know this for sure - the images of bones and feathers touches something deep yet alien inside of me.

I call this my Alchemy of Bones and Feathers. I also have a feeling that I'm in the process of developing my painting "language", or using another bigger, bolder and deeper word - Iconography ... if you know what I mean.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this week's sketchbook page! ;)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each others!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-06-03T14:49:00.000+10:00

Got some pleasant meetings last week ...

Some long lost friends have decided to reconnect ... been out about having wonderful lunches and dinners ...

So apologize to have missed out last week's sketchbook post ... (also been waiting for some sunny days to take photos, we're having long stretch of cold rainy days for winter.)

Here is another lion skull (front view) with a bluish purple rose.

And as soon as I finished the sketch, the following came to me.

"She has been gazing out from the cave for eons. She has become the echo of time and space."

I think there's a winter tale coming up! ;)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other.

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-05-20T16:28:00.000+10:00

Feeling run down the last few days ... major migraine caused by sinusitis ... so this will be fairly short.

After last week's Antler sketch, I worked on another sketch from an animal anatomy book. This one is of a lion skull. I did my best to follow through but the proportion was a bit off. I didn't know why I added the red flower but after I finished it, I found the image quite amusing. It's like the lion was having a good time smelling flowers. :)

While thinking of what to do about the photo, I came across this tutorial for making up a paper flower box. I thought it would be fun to try out the paper flowers only. What do you think?

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other.

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-05-14T14:21:00.009+10:00

After the skull sketch of last week, I branched out to include some "animal work". ;)

This sketch is based on my tiny collection of antler points which I got from ETSY two years ago. The seller promised that they're naturally shed antlers and no deer or other animals were harmed in the process.

Other than my love of natural bones, I'm using the sketch to deal with my mental block of the color brown. I don't know why, but out of all the colors, I have lots of problem with browns. (I could deal with beige as I see it as a form of white. Khaki and similar is o.k., but not the typical brown!)

However I know I need to deal with this blockage since one of the subjects I love to paint is Nature. And with nature scene, you just can't get away from the browns. (When I'm writing this, I feel like I'm talking about a person ... weird!)

This is my first try. And let me tell you this - after I laid down the first brown on one of the antlers, I felt like I had ruined the entire sketch. I panic and went blank.

I have to remind myself the reasons whey I started the sketchbook.

To develop sketching habit
Take off the pressure of being a "perfectionist"
More realistic time management - I'm working on A5 size sketchbook which doesn't need days to finish one painitng
"Subject" study for future painting purposes
Learn to become "looser" in my approach to drawing and painting

So I clenched my teeth (no exaggeration here) and soldiered on.

An important thing I observe from this forced way to paint is that I lost my sense of color. I hesitated to pull new colors from my palette to paint. It also affect my creative flow. I had a hard time to put the finishing touch of the work.

Anyway, it's done for round 1 ... I'll be working on many rounds to overcome my color demon. ;)

I'm very interested to know if any fellow creatives and bloggers have similar experience and how do you tackle it.

Before finishing off this post, I'd like to share with you photos of some of my antler points and a DIY Antler Necklace which I wear most of the time.

Also I want to thank my fellow PPFers' lovely comments about my sketch photos. I enjoy styling them for blogging and treating it as another outlet for creative expression. But I never imagine it would trigger such wonderful respond from fellow creatives and bloggers. THANK YOU!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-05-06T16:41:00.000+10:00

Here is another try with sketching a skull. I had this skull for almost a year, and it took me this long to work up my courage to give it a go.

I guessed when I said courage; I mean I’m to work on something which is fairly basic to most of life drawing artists. But to a newbie like me, it is a very difficult subject to draw. I’m quite intimated by it.

However, as one of my goals is to be able to draw and paint girl figures with ease and grace, it would be to my benefit if I could develop a good understanding of basic human anatomy. So without further steering away from the subject, I sat myself down on a weekend and began my reluctant sketch of a skull.

I’ll be the first one to say, the sketch lacked all the subtle details of the skull structure. But I quite like the simplified version of it … just enough to depict the structure. Afterall, I’m not aiming to do life drawing but more my version of it.

Hmm … about the girl drawing & painting practice, I haven’t done any since I started the sketchbook. Apart from having too much fun with the sketchbook process, I’m in the process of finding “model(s)” who could help me to develop the skills and “style” I need for the girl drawing & painting. This is not an easy task but I’m getting there.

And while I’m writing this, I’m thinking maybe I could start a girl sketchbook and alternate it between my usual sketch. Hmm … must give it some further thoughts. The last thing I want is to turn the entire creative venture into some kind of chore!

Cheers my fellow creatives and bloggers. Have a wonderful weekend!

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Sketchbook Project 2012

2011-05-05T15:58:00.000+10:00

It's that time of the year ...

Art House Co Op just announced the Sketchbook Project 2012. It is opened for registration now. Art House Co Op has also expanded the touring countries to Melbourne, Australia (my home town!) and London of UK.

(NOTE: For Australia and UK shows, it is only limited to the sketchbooks from the respective countries.)

I'm not quite sure if I'll do it this year, especially after the problems I had from last year. But then to have the rare opportunity to show my work here in my home town is really tempting. Hmm ... I'm thinking, I'm thinking ... ;)

If you are interested to view my sketchbook for the 2011 Sketchbook Project, click below links for the related blog posts.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Cheers and have a fantastic day! :)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-04-29T19:15:00.000+10:00

A sketch which I worked from one of the random photos and combines my love of all things British and Dr Martens ... :)

What’s interesting about this sketch is you can view it this way …

Or this way…

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

(Sorry for the poor photo! Though I took it on a bright sunny day, it came out a bit dull ...)

House Plants

2011-04-28T12:45:00.005+10:00

After I wrote about the Stone Lotus I got a couple of weeks ago, it got me thinking of the various house plants I got at home.

Black Prince (Echeveria Black Prince)

Pink Jelly Bean (Sedum Rubrotinctum 'Aurora')

Stone Lotus (which I renamed from the commonly known 'Hens & Chicks', Echeveria Elegans)

And the more 'exotic' types of leaves and flowers ... ;)

So you see how the hybrid mind is working to pick the house plants ... well basically anything which bear the resemblance of a plant! Hahaha!

What about you, my fellow creatives and bloggers? Love to see your versions of house plants.

Cheers and have a wonderful day!

(If you're interested in watercolor medium, pls read my below post re Alisa Burke's new online class - Watercolor Bliss!)

Alisa Burke's New Online Class - Watercolor Bliss

2011-04-28T10:46:00.000+10:00

Yay ..... Yippppppeee .... Lalalalala .... !!!

Alisa will be hosting another new online class on 06/06 and it is for Watercolor. You guys must know by now how much I had enjoyed Alisa's classes. And honestly, if it wasn't for her sketchbook class, I won't be this diligent in keeping my sketching routine. She's also inspired me to practice with watercolor. So I'm definitely doing this class. Do come and join in, it would be great fun!

Registration will start on next Mon (02/05) and here is the link for information about it!

Hope to see you there! :D

Easter Break

2011-04-22T12:33:00.000+10:00

I'm taking a Easter break ...

so just a short one to wish my fellow creatives and bloggers a

HAPPY EASTER

have a wonderful holiday and Drive Safe!

(Sketchbook page to come next Fri ... :D)

My Life and Creative Fundamentals

2011-04-20T13:39:00.014+10:00

For Life: Live within your means (a skill which I'm still perfecting ;)

For Creativity: There is never the perfect time / place / tools / mood to start a project. Pick up the tools available and do it now!

For Life: Expect the Unexpected

For Creativity: Relax and enjoy

For Life: Keep your chin up and smile, cos Life is BRILLIANT!

For Creativity: Keep your hands moving

P.S. I didn't make those lovely cards with the quotes. They're cards which I bought from Myers Dept Store years and years ago. And whoever made it, you have my gratitude! :)

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-04-15T14:29:00.000+10:00

If you’ve read my trivia post last week, I mentioned that drawing and painting had turned my life upside down (No. 45).

Here is an example: I bought some Corella Pear to draw and paint!

Alright, you might scratch your head and wondering if I’m being a drama queen here. Maybe. But let me tell you this: When it comes to fruit, I’m very particular. The fruit needs to fulfill these criteria:

1) Has to be sweet

2) Not too soft, not too crunchy

3) No preparation is required (i.e. no peeling, no cutting etc.)

(O.K. I’m a drama queen in the fruit eating department!)

So it was a surprise when I found myself standing in front of the fruit section at the supermarket staring at the Corella pears. But more shockingly, I started to ooohs and ahhhhs all over the pears. I must look like an idiot to my fellow shoppers. But the Corella pears were just too beautiful to walk away. And here is the sketch of it.

As much as I was bewitched by the vibrant colors of the pears, I think I had failed to capture it on paper. Plus I don’t think the elements, like the colors, composition etc, worked together. Actually, the sketch sort of looked boring to me. But then I remember that I’m still learning and practice. It’s o.k. to make mistake.

So my fellow creatives and bloggers, any ideas how I could improve it the next time?

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

P.S. I read somewhere (but forgot to copy the link) that Corella Pears are named after the colourful Australian Corella parrot.

A Splendid Afternoon

2011-04-13T12:39:00.000+10:00

A visit to the Gustave Moreau Exhibition at NGV (National Gallery Victoria).

On the way I discovered a pool of golden leaves ...

and underwater treasures (gold coins!)

The perfect way to wrap up the afternoon - beautifully decorated and delicious chocolate cake ...

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-04-08T14:27:00.003+10:00

Growing up as a city girl, I never develop a passion to gardening. The few times that I owned a plant, I either over-watered it or let it all dried up. It's only fair to say that I'm a typical plant killer.

Though I had promised myself I'll never keep a plant again (not eve a cactus, well especially a cactus, it was my 1st kill!), the creative need propels me to face my fear. ;)

I bought a small pot of Hens and Chicks (Echeveria Elegans) a week ago to draw / paint. Here is a sketch of the Hen's "feather" together with one of my all time favorite drawing objects - rocks.

Now that I've broken my promise, I'm hoping that the hardiness of the succulents would help it to survive under my care. (May the force be with it!)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a wonderful weekend!

BTW, I've re-named the plant "Stone Lotus" as it suits the look of it more. (Crap! I think I just made myself the biggest dork in this part of the world! Hahaha!)

Hybrid J Trivia 2011

2011-04-06T13:24:00.000+10:00

Back to April 2009, I had posted Hybrid J Trivia on my side bar and then forgotten all about it. It was only til Kathyrn of Angelself (fellow participant of the Paint Party Friday) mentioned that she also liked Sashimi and Chai Latte. I realized that people did read it. So I think I'll write up a 2011 version. ;)

(in no particular order)

30) Continued from last entry 29) I'm still addicted to Chai Latte.

31) Zentangle inspired me to learn to draw and paint.

32) I collected Artists' Links on my sidebar. Do check them out!

33) Currently I'm crazy about steel gray and charcoal gray.

34) The sound of violin always makes me cry.

35) I enjoy "swearing" in private and among close friends, a lot.

36) I think I have a rather overactive mind. (Note: It is different to an imaginative mind. Hahaha!)

37) I truly believe that I have great potential to be a good nature sociopath. Ahem ... if such personality trait exists at all?! But what the heck, I'm Hybrid, I'm the first of my kind!

38) I love Sherlock Holmes movie (Robert Downey Jr.), TV series (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the book (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

39) I was't into Comic when I was young, but now ...

40) (Update of 28) I finally got a mobile phone with a camera (of 2.0 megapixel). ;)

41) (Update of 27) I still don't have an iPod, but finally got a big LCD/LED TV last month. YAY!!!! (I feel so up-to-date now!)

42) I used to buy into everything Trinny and Susannah said about fashion, but now, I just wear what I want.

43) It seems like I could never outgrow my passion of Dr Martens.

44) Grow old but NEVER grow up.

45) Drawing and painting turn my life upside down, in a good way!

46) (Update of 8) Pepper is 14 years old now. And he's 1/4 blind and 1/2 deaf but continues to behave like a puppy.

47) Hard work and perseverance is far more important than talent.

48) I have a gigantic soft spot of everything British.

49) I have problem relating to my own age group but always feel an affinity to those who are (on average) 15 years younger than me. Go figure!

50) I miss my Dr Who (David Tenant)!

51) I fall for every TV & movie adaptation of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens' novels.

52) I've been watching Stargate (SG 1) TV series re-run for ages ...

53) I'm practicing, as much as I could, to live a simple life.

54) I'm not a social person.

55) Solitude is like air and water to me.

56) I seldom remember my dreams.

57) Regret is a total waste of time and energy.

58) Out of all the meal time, I love afternoon tea time the most.

Now, what about you, my dear fellow creatives and bloggers? How about sharing some of your trivia as well.

Have a lovely day!

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-04-01T21:15:00.004+11:00

I got a nifty point and shot camera about 2 weeks ago. It was a Canon IXUS 115 HS. I so love "the little bugger" (yes, that's what I call my camera. I'm such a dork!) that I made a sketch of it!

The little bugger is very handy and takes great photos. (I mean in the hands of an amateur like me.) It reminded me of a time when I used to take lots of photos of pebbles, stones and what not.

I'm beginning to feel that the little bugger is changing my creative life.

[*KnocK* *KnocK*] Did you hear that? I think it's little bugger's Big Brother coming for a visit ... or may be a stay. ;)

The sketch is also for Paint Party Friday (hosted by Eva and Kristin). All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a fantastic weekend!

Color

2011-03-30T14:11:00.000+11:00

While I was working on my 1st canvas painting (here), I discovered that I had nil working knowledge of color. ;)

I thought I could kind of visualize my color choices and saved time for trial and error. The fact was I couldn't. Either I had to do a trial run on a separate paper or covered up / changed the color several times before I was satisfied.

You thought I gotta be a bit wiser the next time. Hmm ... yes and no. Like a little drummer girl marching in front of a platoon, I forgot everything and just dived into working on my 2nd painting.

Ouuuuucccccchhhh!

After I finished laying down the background color and about to start with the girl figure, I found myself staring at her hair and puzzled what color I should use.

"Black?!"

"O.k. But it's going to look really flat with pure black. What about giving it some depth or shading?"

"So what color to use for depth?"

"Some grays or ... "

"Hang on! Did we just say black hair? But what about the background? It is of dark blue and if we put black against dark blue, do you think people will see the black hair?"

The chatter went on and on and I found these out:

I don't pay ~~much~~ ANY attention to color til I tried out painting.

Not only there's the technical side of color mixing a difficult subject for me, the use of color to represent something is unfamiliar to me.

If I want to paint and paint well, I need to develop a better understanding of Color.

I decided that it was about high time that I seek some professional help. I signed up Alisa Burke's online class on color theory - Color Your World. The course is basic, simple and effective.

One major thing I took from Alisa's course was her attitude towards color. She is passionate about color and use color with INTENTION. This does not mean that her color choice is a rigid follow of color theories. She encourages her students to have a good grasp of basic color theory and pay close attention when working with colors.

Alisa also helps me to further understand about color harmony. "When color is not in harmony, it can be boring and chaotic." The penny dropped. This is not only something that I've been struggling in my painting practice, but it also helps to explain some of my unease when I view other people's artwork.

I enjoyed the course a lot and it really opened both my eyes and mind to the World of Color. Thanks Alisa! :D

What's in My Sketchbook?

2011-03-25T17:27:00.000+11:00

Since I started to learn to draw girls, I've become vastly interested in human anatomy, especially the human skull. It is of such fascinating structure. I've wanted to include some skull works in my drawings and paintings, but didn't know why it took me this long to do it! ;) Hope you like it.

This is also my entry to Paint Party Friday hosted by Eva and Kristin. All are welcomed! Do join in to share and support each other!

Cheers and have a lovely weekend!

More Drawing Lessons? Jill Bliss

2011-03-24T14:43:00.004+11:00

I must be going through a sketch / drawing cycle right now. Apart from finishing some sketches the last couple of days, I've been itching to start another drawing lesson with Jill Bliss.

This is not an online course, but a learning from Jill's Drawing Nature Journal. It is a journal which combines Jill's drawing lessons and blank pages to practice.

I have been a fan of Jill's work and am a proud owner of some of her art prints, like the one below.

The "Bear" print I got from Jill.

From her art, you can see her passion in nature and conservation. There's an element of innocence in her style which I particularly like. And when you look carefully at the composition and her line work, you'll be marvel at her artist skill.

Aside from her artwork, Jill is also into hand-made fabric work. See this Datebook Cozy here. It is such cool and ingenious invention!

So my dear fellow bloggers and creatives, I encourage you to include Jill's Drawing Nature Journal into your art bag for fun and learning! :)

Sketchbook Delight - Alisa Burke

2011-03-16T12:26:00.000+11:00

Wow, it's been a month since my last post!! Sorry for missing that long ...

More personal mishaps had occurred but as trying as they were, I was able to sort them out. Not that everything is back to normal, but I'm getting there. So I think it's about time I get back to a bit of blogging. ;)

Now let's see, over the last 2 weeks, I've been catching up with Alisa Burke's 2 online classes: Sketchbook Delight and Color Your World.

Before I start talking about the courses, I'll share some of my observation about Alisa.

I admire and respect her greatly as a self-employed Artist. She is passionate and dedicated to her art and art business. She possesses sound and solid art skills. I found her to be a warm and grounded person. But most of all, I learn, from reading her blog entries, about her work ethics and attitude to her art.

What got me to enroll to the sketchbook class was Alisa' strong belief in drawing / sketching as a MUST for all artist (regardless of medium) and it needs to be worked on consistently. (Pls refer to her original statement here.)

I've known about the above since I first began to draw 1 1/2 years ago. However, I haven't acquired the skills and perhaps more importantly, the motivation to draw / sketch on a regular basis.

From the sketch book course, Alisa taught me some basics but effective skills to practice drawing / sketch. She also motivated me to incorporate drawing / sketching into my daily creative routine. Watching her working from start to finish on one of her sketch pages, she made me believe that I could do the same.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that after the course, I'll be able to produce tonnes of beautiful sketch work and thus becoming an Artist. What I'm saying is that Alisa shows me that it is POSSIBLE for me to be as consistent as she. This is essential to me at this stage for my creative development. Alisa managed to give me that "nudge" which I so needed. THANK YOU, Alisa!

Overall, the course not only taught me some very useful drawing skills, it also offered me a kind of "structure" which I could adapt to my daily creative practice.

Well, I think it's about time for me to show you one of my sketch work from the course. Here it is.

(Since I'm under the influence and inspiration of Alisa's work, you can see that my sketch is very close to her style. I can't help it! ;) But I promise myself that with time and practice, I'm to develop my own sketch work.)

Gee, this turns out to be a lengthy post, I think I'll stop here for now. I'll write about Alisa's color theory course and other creative matter next time. Hopefully it won't be a long wait!

Have a wonderful week ahead, my dear fellow creatives and bloggers!

Earthquake

2011-03-16T11:37:00.000+11:00

I'd want to say that my heart goes out to the people in Japan for their crisis. And also to those who are still recovering from the the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake.

You're all in my thoughts.

What's Up?

2011-02-14T15:57:00.000+11:00

Thought I'd better post a quick update or you'll think that I give up blogging ... :)

This month proves to be an uphill full on challenge. I don't know why things always happen in "clusters" in my life. Let's see:

- Just had a dental implant surgery done (got a major crack on one of my molars). The procedure is not really painful, but all the post-op care and going back and fro to the periodontist for checking is very annoying.

- My laptop is at the repairer (again!) Though I swear that I'm to get a Mac but because of the dental thingy, it ate up a large chunk of my savings for the new Mac. Arrrrgh!!!!!

- Got a Jury Summon in two weeks time. I'm actually hoping they would pick me as it would be a new experience for me.

- Started the Sketchbook Delight online class with Alisa Burke, but since I'm without laptop, I can't watch the video, participate the group work etc.

- Started a new painting practice, stuck at color mixing stage and haven't figured out how to get myself out of it ... yet!

I guess by now, you all get the picture ... So if you don't see me around in the coming weeks, don't be alarm. I'm probably doing a lot of running around and possibly tonnes of swearing as well! Hahaha! :)

That's all for now and wishing you all a fantastic week ahead! (Oh ... and a HAPPY VALENTINE!)

Art Tools Sharing

2011-01-27T14:32:00.007+11:00

Thought to share this with my fellow bloggers and creatives.

1) Acrylic Revolution: New Trick and Techniques for Working with the World's Most Versatile Medium (by Nancy Reyner)

This is NOT a traditional how to work book. It focus on acrylic material handling plus some basic acrylic painting techniques. Though the acrylic and acrylic medium it refers to is of GOLDEN brand, most of the information is applicable to other brands.

Here is a photo of "acrylic skin" I learn to make from the book.

Left: Acrylic skin. Right: Original image photocopy on plain paper

2) Color Mixing Recipes Books:

Left: Color Mixing Recipes by William F Powell

Right: Color Mixing Recipes for Portraits by William F Powell

I'm pretty sure a lot of you know color mixing like the back of your hands, but I don't. And to make the problem worst, my first acrylic painting was of nude girl figure. Through my internet search, I did find some basic formulas to mix skin tone, but most of these formulas were for 1 color value only. The instructions on color value change from these formulas are very confusing for me to understand.

These book are recommended to me by the owner of my local art store. I wasn't quite sure about "recipes" book at first. It sounds suspicious and honestly a bit tacky. Also I would feel like a cheat to use "color recipes" to paint. But after reading the books, I was glad to have got them. I actually learn more about color mixing from the "color recipes" than from the 2 big fat books I got last year on color theory.

Also, the book comes with a "color mixing grid" which helps me greatly when I need to mix the same color twice or more. (Again, I'm sure mixing the same color twice or more to you is not difficult at all. But for me, a total novice to painting, it's a GIGANTIC problem.)

Note: For my painting "Come to Me", I didn't use any one of the color recipes. I developed my own recipe learning from the book. However, my "recipe" didn't work that well ...

Lastly, a pix of my painting area for your musing.

My Messy Art Space

Cheers and have wonderful week ahead!

Painting Practice - "Come to Me"

2011-01-18T12:16:00.006+11:00

A very belated Happy 2011 to fellow creatives and bloggers!

(Warning: This is going to be a long post ...and apologize for the quality of the pix. I really need to learn taking better photo!)

Just got back to work from a 4-week break. During the holiday, I dived into the deep end and tried out my very first painting on canvas. It is far from finished but I needed to stop at some point or I could go on forever. It is the best I could achieve with my current skill. Hence I'm calling it my painting practice.


"Come to Me" (11 x 14, acrylic, watersoluble crayon & graphite)

As mentioned before, I have NIL painting experience and only began to learn to draw since Oct 2009. After joining some online art classes last year and watching probably way too much YouTube videos plus getting my hands on 2 instructional DVDs, I dared myself to try out painting for real.

Every steps and aspects of the painting is a challenge for me. (Example: it took me a few days to mix the skin tone and even now it is still not what I want. I've painted the hair twice and haven't figured out a suitable color for the girl's eye brows. Spent 2 afternoons to fix up the lips and the nipples. A whole 2-days for the eyes. The list went on and on and on ...) I was lost and confused most of the time, but at the end of the day, I got through and moved onto the next stage to finish the painting.

There is sill a very very long way to go before I could paint well, but I'll keep trying. From this painting, you could tell I'm all over the places. When I looked at the original pencil drawing, there's a kind of elegance which I was unable to achieve with painting. I hope that with time, my brush work will improve. Also, with painting, there's a whole new side of material handling and techniques I need to learn and explore.

"Come to Me" (original pencil drawing)

An aspect I enjoyed of this painting was the insects. The were created from borrowed features of several types of bees, moths, butterflies and dragonflies. It was a real surprise to me as I'm not really a nature person. I've always been a city girl. It seems like drawing and painting have brought out the "nature" side of me. I've been scouting good reference books on plants, insects, animals and nature in general.

Much of the online classes and DVDs I got were for mixed media art. After watching them repeatedly for weeks, I realized that it wasn't really my cup of tea. I prefer a more concentrated (medium-wise) approach to painting. It might look like a waste of money for these courses and DVDs, but I still considered money well spent. At least now I know what I don't like plus I did learn some useful drawing and painting skill here and there.

I reckon I will be posting a bit less this year as it takes a lot longer to get a painting done. Right now, I'm considering to re-draw both "Moon" and "Prickly" for painting.

For this year's creative projects, I'm gonna working on canvas painting from start to finish. (I've already prepped 2 more canvases for painting and bought another 4 from last Christmas sales.) I hope that by end of the year, there will be some improvement of my painting skill.

BTW, this doesn't mean that I'm not visiting all your wonderful blogs. You have all been wonderful and supportive to my creative venture. I treasure this blogging community which nurtures me as a creative person. THANK YOU!

I'd like to ask some help as well.

1) Since the girl's "hair" is yellow and green, I had a hard time to come up with the right (harmonious) color of her eye brows which won't make her look freaky. Any suggestion? I'm leaving it white at present.

2) What do you think of the title: "Come to Me"? What does it mean to you or does it make any sense to you at all?

3) What does the girl's hair look like to you?

All comments are welcomed. Til then, have a fantastic week!

Merry X'mas & Happy New Year!

2010-12-23T15:38:00.000+11:00

Sketch Book Project 2011 - Last Update

2010-12-21T13:48:00.000+11:00

Finally sent off the Sketch Book yesterday and here are the rest of the spread pages.

Page 10

Page 13

Page 14

Page 15

Page 16

Page 17

Page 18

(For the last image page - Page 18 - I used some of the left over paper strips to make up the page. Not for any special reasons, just for the heck of it! Hahaha!)

Below are Cover, Intro page (first page before the spread pages) and Thank You page (last page of the Sketch Book). A word on the Intro page - just a quick note on my idea and the how to. If you're interested, just enlarge the page to read about it! ;)

Sketch Book Cover

Intro

THANK You!

Though it had been quite a struggle, it was a good project to stretch my creativity. It gave me opportunity to observe and understand what sort of creative person I am. I'm still processing it and might write up a post later. Anyway, I think I'll continue with the project next year!

(O.K. What's next ... ??)

Sketch Book Project - More Progress ...

2010-12-14T11:39:00.004+11:00

Well, basically I finished the Sketch Book Project last night. Just waiting to take more pix but here are some which I took over the weekend.

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6


Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 11

Page 12

Not sure if you can see it from the photo, I have re-sized page 11 so that part of page 12 showed through. And when you look at page 12 (pink page), it's almost like there's a run-away orange speck.

I've read so many artists who have great trouble to part with their work and I thought I would feel the same. But interestingly, I actually had a great urge to send it off right away. It's as if I could not wait to rid of it. I found this a bit alarming as I have spend quite some time working on it. Especially when I had a bad start for more than 10 spread pages before I changed the idea and execution totally.

Hmmm .... maybe the idea of completing a project hasn't really sunk in yet. I have to admit that there are lots of time in my life I have "delayed reaction" to happenings. It's like when I'm in the middle of something, all my energy is spent on dealing with it on a practical level. It's only afterward, when it's over, then the emotion will start to come out like droplets or at times like currents.

I think I'll let the Sketch Book sit with me for a while before I send it off. After all, once when it is gone, I'll never get it back. It will become a permanent sketch book collection of the Art House Co Op.

Well, my dear fellow bloggers and creatives, what do you think of the pages so far? Any one's your favourite? I'll tell you mine in the next post.

Cheers and have a wonderful week ahead!

Sketch Book Project 2011 - Progress

2010-12-06T15:48:00.000+11:00

As continued from last blog post re Sketch Book Project, here is what's happening to the Sketch Book.

Theme:

First Thing In The Morning, Last Thing At Night

Idea:

I'm taking a rather "literal" sense of the theme work to think of the 1st thing I "see" in the morning and the last thing I "see" before I drift into dreamland at night.

There is a kind of visual game I like to play, especially when I'm on my own. I like to close my eyes to see what's inside (behind?) my closed eye lids. Depends on how hard I squeezed my closed eyes together, I could usually see floating specks swimming around. Don't know what caused them but I'm pretty sure my eyes are in good shape. (I follow through with my annual eye check.) Anyway, as soon as I remember this game, I decided to use the specks for the Sketch Book Project.

How:

Basically, I'm using "collage" to do the main speck work while I might include some line work for fun!

Each spread page is a representation of the morning (colored, left side) & the night (black, right side) of a day.

Page 1

Page 2

As you can see the morning specks are of color while the night specks are of white.

Page 3

All the color pages and specks are hand glued onto the Sketch Book. It's a slow process, but I enjoy the meditative quality of this kind of collage work. Also when working on the specks, I felt like I was doing some form of "paper beading" ;)

Here are the basic tools I used for the paper bead work. The specks are made from using hand punch on color and white paper.

I'll continue to post more of my Sketch Book pages in the coming weeks and would love to here of your comments about this paper bead work.

Cheers and have a wonderful week, my dear fellow blogger and creatives!

Creative Hurdle

2010-12-01T15:38:00.000+11:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. So what's happening?

Work -

It's winding down and I'm about to have 4-weeks off around X'Mas - a much needed time for rest and creative work! ;)

Creative Projects -

Got myself into way too many projects and tutorials. Hence I've been freaking out often, which was not good when you're on a deadline to finish a project such as the Sketch Book Project.

I've been drawing onto the sketch book for a week or so last month. Before I started with the drawing, I was concerned that the paper were quite thin that whatever I drew would show off on the next page. After a few rounds of googleing, I learn of several ways to overcome that. But I was too stubborn to follow my so called "artistic vision" that I refused to do anything about it.

After about filling up 10 spread pages, I found myself got bored with the Sketch Book. Though I knew I had to finish it in time for submission (and, trust me, I have HUGE respect to any schedule), I found myself avoiding to go near the work table. Something was not right!

While I was mulling over the Sketch Book, I also began learning a few art journal techniques. One of it is "collage" which re-acquaint me to scissors, glue stick and double sided tape. As I was trying out a new journal page, the penny dropped.

The main reason why I didn't want to go near the Sketch Book was my stupid EGO. I didn't want to admit that my so called "artistic vision" was just plain stupid and I let my EGO to blind me to my instinct - the thin paper issue.

As soon as I had this realization, I started to panic. I thought it would take me a while to struggle with my ego before I knew what to do. And thanks to one of the tools for art journal, DOUBLE SIDED TAPE (which I now named as the Greatest Invention of the Century), I had my solution.

I spent about 2 nights to tape the pages together to make it thicker. This reduces the book to about 20 spread pages. And I've also figured out a new way to work on the theme. I won't talk too much about the execution now as I'm still experimenting with it. Hopefully, I'll have something to show in a week or two so that I could explain to you what I'm doing with my theme: First Thing In The Morning, Last Thing At Night.

Here are the before and after (double sided tape) of the Sketch Book for your musing.


Before "Double Sided Tape" - see the drawing of next page shown underneath original drawing ... Arrrrrggghhh!

After "Double Sided Tape" - Now I have new spread pages to work on :)

Work Dungeon & Art Supplies

2010-11-04T16:07:00.000+11:00

Thought I'd better write a quick update before my fellow bloggers and creatives start to wonder if I had abandoned my blog.

I've been busy at work all Oct and now looks like it's going to extend to this month. Haven't got around to work on any one of the art courses I enrolled earlier. Also, there is this very confusing thing called Art Supplies.

Every courses requires different sets of tools and materials. Though I'm pretty sure to those who've been drawing or making art since early days, they would have most of the items. I pretty much have to start from scratch. Currently spending most of my weekends searching through local and internet art supplies stores for materials. (BTW, these art supplies and tools all have funny names which I don't even know how to pronounce. Fun??!!!)

Not quite sure if I had ordered enough, but I'm done with it. Can't go through another online listing again. From here on is an almost 3 weeks wait before I got my art supplies.

So there you go, I'll probably be absent for another month before back to the creative land. While I'm locked inside the work dungeon, I still visit all your wonderful blogs. :D

Cheers and have a wonderful day!

The Shading of a Girl

2010-10-20T12:30:00.000+11:00

It's been a while since my last upload of one of my girl drawings.

Here is one after my third try on graphite shading. Can't say if I'm pleased with it or not. I'm sure there's always room for improvement, such as only after I sprayed it with fixative that I realized I didn't give her any ears! I thought about adding the ears but somehow just felt that she didn't need one. What do you think? ;) Also it's difficult to give her a good nose job! And if you start to pick up that I'm rather fond of "updo" hair style for my girls ... :D

Now, let me be very honest here. I have joined a few online girl drawing classes. Each one of the tutors offer their own styles of girl images and different ways of drawing / painting the girls. With these courses, my main goal is to learn the drawing and painting techniques only. For the girl's "look", I'm trying hard to develop them from different references and work on it myself.

Here are the links to the various online classes. Do check them out!

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

That's all for now my dear fellow bloggers and creatives. Have a wonderful day!

A Million Little Pictures Photomobile 2011

2010-10-07T15:10:00.003+11:00

It is as if I have unlimited time for art making that I just signed up another Art House Co-Op project: AMLP Photomobile.

After sign up (fee applies), participants will receive a disposable camera from Art House Co-Op. The goal is to take 27 photos from a chosen theme. (Theme list to provide by Art House Co-Op.) Participants are required to send all the photos back to Art House where they'll join these photos together to form a new narrative. So what begins as an individual personal experience will merge together to become ONE big story!

This is the first time I join in a photo project. A bit nervous but also very excited! My theme is Simplicity.

As usual, I encourage all fellow creatives and bloggers to join in. The project is opened to everyone from everywhere!

Inactive Blogging = Active Art Pursuit

2010-10-04T14:49:00.004+11:00

Though I have no new work to post, this is what I'm working on:

1) Flipping through anatomy reference books to learn to draw body for my girl drawings.

2) Practicing how to shade, color and paint my girls from online course / resource site / DVD. A real struggle and it will be a while before I would have anything to post.

3) Working on the Sketch Book Project 2011. Will start posting some of the pages in the coming weeks. (For details, pls click the button on the side bar.)

4) Very slowly savoring The Red Book by Carl Jung. This is Jung's "personal (art) journal" where he develops his infamous theories on "archetypes", "the collective unconscious", and "the process of individuation".

(I'm kind of obsessed of Carl Jung's work and have been collecting his published work for a few years.)

"The Red Book" by Carl Jung

Hand drawn page by Carl Jung from "The Red Book"

5) "The Holeys": Sitting inside the bottom drawer waiting to come out to play.

I'd like to say THANK YOU to those who leave comments in my blog. You all are the driving forces which keep me going in this wondrous journey. Without your continual support, I won't get this far! :D

The Heart of Art Free E-Course

2010-09-30T14:41:00.004+10:00

How often do you hear about freebies? Not very ....

The generous and talented Tamara of Willowing is offering The Heart of Art free e-course. The course is to start from 18/10 and lasts for 4 weeks. Everyone is welcomed to join in.

I haven't made up my mind if I'm to join in or not as my plate is pretty full at this stage. But then, maybe I'll dive in when we're closer to the start date! :)

You can check out the supply list of the course to know what kind of art making Tamar is offering. And if you're unable to join in, I encourage you to spread the word. After all, art is fun and good for the soul!

The Holey Page

2010-09-24T17:52:00.008+10:00


The Holey Page as featured on Diary 2011 Project flickr stream

This is nothing other than pure self-indulgent and shameless self-promotion! Hahaha!

My diary page was featured as one of Lucy's (creator of the Diary 2011 Project) favourite page in the flickr stream. This is the very first time my artwork got handpicked to showcase outside of my blog.

I know ... I know ... I'm probably making a fool out of myself but hey, I don't care! More importantly, if I don't mention it, I know I'll never forgive myself. ;)

Diary 2011 Project

2010-09-23T12:43:00.000+10:00

Yippieeeeee ..... I've got an artwork published!!! :D

Blame it to my fowl mood ... I totally forgot about it until I re-read a comment Cam left on my previous post. (A big THANK YOU to Cam! You're such a sweetie!)

I had submitted a Holey drawing to the Diary 2011 Project back on June. And now the 2011 Diary is finally printed and available for sale online here. Check it out and hopefully some of you will purchase one or two or more. And FYI, Cam also got a page in the Diary 2011!

Watch out for submission deadline for Diary 2012. All creatives are welcomed to join the project!

(You can view my other Holeys from here.)

Deflation

2010-09-22T15:49:00.000+10:00

Pepper, my doggie prince

Just want to let my fellow creatives and bloggers to know that I'm still here.

I'm a bit deflated (in another word pxxx off) at my inability to improve my painting skill. So please allow me some time to get over myself and then, maybe, I'll come back with a vengeance or more disappointment ..... hmm .....

P.S. The photo is of my dog, Pepper, from a few years ago. But it is the perfect representation of how I feel right now. ;)

Lisbeth Salander and Mermaid ...

2010-09-06T15:30:00.003+10:00

Sorry to have been missing for two weeks. Blame it on Lisbeth Salander, the heroine of Stieg Larsson's books.

I'm not really a big fan of thriller and crime fictions, but enjoy them in movies! (Weird right?)

So when "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie was released a few weeks ago in Australia, I went for it. I had no idea I was in for some really disturbing scenes. Probably because of this, I still haven't made up my mind if I like or dislike the film. But one thing for sure, Lisbeth Salander had made a huge impression on me.

A week after the movie, I downloaded the ebook version and started reading it. I wouldn't say it is well-written and while I still remembered most of the storyline from the movie, the plot remained riveting. I actually had a hard time to tear myself away from it.

(Mind you that the original version was written in Swedish and the only Swedish word I know is IKEA. Hmm ... not even sure if IKEA is a Swedish word? So obviously, the one I read was an English translation from original.)

After the first one, naturally, I had to read the 2nd one - "The Girl Who Played with Fire" and I'm about to finish the 3rd one, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest". Unfortunately, due to the untimely death of the author, there won't be any more of Salander's stories. I can say that I'm already missing Lisbeth.

Aside from this fantastic distraction, I had several "crash and burn" experience with painting my girls. As disheartened as it was, I accepted it as part of the learning process. This also made me realize that I need some professional help. Hence, I have joined Suzi Blu's Mixed Media Mermaids Online Workshop, which was highly recommended by fellow blogger & creative, Lisa.

Though the class is focused on mermaids and my girls are without fish tails ;) , I'm sure the workshop would help me greatly with my own drawing, painting and art making skills.

So hang in there, my fellow bloggers / creatives ... there will be new drawings & painting upload soon.

Til then, have a nice week ahead!

"Moon" and "Prickly"

2010-08-23T15:50:00.000+10:00

Here are 2 of my latest girl drawings.


"Moon", Pencil Sketch

"Moon" CU, Pencil Sketch

"Prickly", Pencil Sketch

"Prickly" CU, Pencil Sketch

Hope they didn't shock you too much. :)

When I started my girl drawings about a month ago, I imagined I would have loads of fun making up clothes for them. But as soon as my pencil move to below neck line ... well you can see what have been happening from the above drawings!

I have to admit that I was in quite a shock initially, but after the first nude girl drawing (which I didn't include in this post), the resistance was gone. I found myself enjoying drawing them quite a lot!

As much as the girls brought me joy, they also touched on the fear associates with being a creative person.

I have hesitation to post them. I worry about how people would react to them and if the drawings would change how people think of me. (Not that I have any status and / or reputation to maintain.) Ultimately, it is fear of rejection to my drawing (hence me), which have me holding onto the drawings for some time.

But that's exactly the point. Unless I give up my creativity, rejection and acceptance come with the territory.

To me, creativity is about freedom, the free will to follow my intuition and instinct to create.

So there you go, the fear is gone ...

As usual, my fellow bloggers and creatives, what do you think of my girls?

Fear

2010-08-18T12:42:00.019+10:00

It looks like my neck pain is finally under "control" (via pain medication, chiropractic manipulation and improved sleeping. Yes, apart from neck pain, I got mild insomnia on the side ... )

I should be feeling good but instead something else crops up.

Currently, I'm working on overcoming the "fear" in relation to some of my drawing subjects. Sorry if the post read a bit cryptic here. I need to sort out the fear before I could start talking about it.

At the mean time, here are some links which I used when I encounter such "sticky" situation. Thought to share them with all my fellow bloggers and creatives.

The Rebel's Manifesto - Keri Smith

Tips and Tricks of An Art Slave - Eric Fortune

An Interview of Ray Caesar by Chippy Coates and Richard Scarry

(Quite a long interview. The part which I'm most interested in is: a piece of advice for a young art grad?)

(Not that I'm young and an art grad ...)

(If you're interested in Ray Caesar and Eric Forutune [and other fantastic artists] works, follow the Artists link on my side bar. The link is updated on a regular basis.)

Enjoy and have a wonderful week ahead!

More Girls ...

2010-08-09T15:58:00.005+10:00

Aside from dealing with the nasty neck / shoulder pain, I try my best to keep up my girl drawings.

Here are two of the sketches done two weeks ago.

"Girl 3" pencil sketch

"N Girl 1" pencil sketch

Right now I'm concentrating on the front view plus getting the "look" right, if you know what I mean.

Sorry for such short post ... have to be really careful not to overload myself with computer and drawing work. (BIG LONG SIGH)

Hope you still enjoy my drawings and do let me know what you think.

Cheers and have wonderful day.

Girls

2010-07-21T14:54:00.000+10:00

Instead of working on The Holeys, I gave in to try out drawing girls head.

Is it because of procrastination, bored of my own ideas, new object of interest? Probably all of them.

I won't pretend to know what I'm doing. In fact, here is the funny thing about my 1st girl head drawing. The idea is to draw a female face looking directly at me. By the time when I finished the drawing, you can see that it became a young girl looking down (at something)! Should I laugh or cry? ;)

"Girl 1" pencil sketch

For the next girl, I drew the eyes much smaller and further apart from each other to see how she would look like. O.k. she looked quite odd but in an endearing way. I actually quite like her. (Gee, am I weird?)

"Girl 2" pencil sketch

There is still a long way to go before I could draw a whole girl and let alone of painting one. Nonetheless, I believe that my drawing skill is improving with each sketch & drawing that I made.

So my dear fellow creatives and blogger, what do you think of my drawings so far? All comment are welcomed.

Til then, stay warm (in my part of the world) or stay cool (in your parts of the world) ...

P.S. Apologize for the poor pix :( No other excuses than my very poor photo skill

The Holeys

2010-07-14T13:29:00.000+10:00

Here are some of The Holeys I've been working on.

"Rupert", micron pen on card stock

"Winnifred", micron pen on stock card

"Edgar", micron pen on stock card

"Lizzy" (Elizabeth), micron pen on card stock

I like that they have the potential to spin off into other art projects. Here are a few I'm thinking about:

1) A set (or a few sets) of hand-drawn Holey Calendar Card 2011, like this ...

"Rupert - Mr. January", micron pen on stock card

2) A set (or a few sets) of hand-drawn Holey Note Card

3) A story blog of The Holeys

4) Turn them into paintings

But with my current health condition and other art project, I wonder if I'm asking too much of myself? Also, I really need to spend more time on learning & practicing both drawing and painting skills. But ..... what is the best way to learn & practice other than working on a project? Any thoughts?

Anyway, my fellow bloggers and creative, I'd love to hear of your comments about The Holeys. Take care and have nice week ahead. :D

Keep Calm Kobo & Interactive Paint

2010-07-06T16:02:00.000+10:00

Not mean to be absent for this long ...

It's just the neck pain has come back and seems like no matter what I do or don't do, it just sits there and refuses to go away .... :(

And in order to pick myself up, I had given in to two of my whims. I got myself a Kobo and ta-dah ... acrylic paint. ;)

The "Keep Calm" Kobo and "Interactive" acrylic paint.

OK, a bit of Hybrid J trivia here: I love reading and have been an avid reader since the age of 2. (I used to flip through magazines sitting in my crib when my mum was out doing grocery shopping. Or at least that's what my mum told everyone.) And you would seldom see me without a book or carrying some sort of reading materials. When eBook came out quite sometime ago, I thought it was the most ridiculous idea in the world. I remembered I told my friends that they'll never catch me reading a book from a computer or any electronic devices.

But over the last few years, I began to see that no matter how often I buy book cases to store my forever growing book collections, there are always books lying around the house waiting to be sorted, read or put away. And since I started to draw and paint, buying art books become a must. And gee, those art books are gigantic! A few of them could easily take up an entire shelf. I'm sick and tired of doing this "storage catch up game" that I gave in to the idea of eBook.

As soon as the local Borders started selling Kobo about month ago, I bought one. Well ... there's also another reason I got myself this little gadget. The Kobo comes pre-loaded with 100 free ebooks of the English Classics. Now, how can anyone walk away from freebies! Plus when I look at the price of the average eBook - it is almost about 1/3 to 1/2 of the paperback / hardback version. By switching to eBook, I'm saving space and money. Plus I'm now carrying 100 books in my bag and could read it anytime, anywhere! I think I just became a convert of eBook. :D

I'm re-reading my favourite crime stories - "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes".

(BTW, my Kobo is actually of black color. I bought a "Keep Calm" gelaskin for it. Check out the little history of "Keep Calm" by clicking this link. I also got a Union Jack gelaskin as well. And yes, you're right, I have a sweet spot of Englishness ...)

Now for the acrylic paint. Honestly, I have no idea why I bought it as I'm still learning to use ink. But I guess apart from using it as some kind of retail therapy, I must be under the influence of some of my favourite artists (see the Artist Link on my side bar). A lot of them are either using acrylic or oil for their paintings. From fellow blogger / creative, Lisa, I learn that it is easier to correct mistake from acrylic painting. Probably that's why I want to give it a try. The brand I bought (Atlier Interactive Acrylic Paint) is an Australian made re-wettable acrylic paint. It is a new kind of acrylic paint which allows longer drying time for painters to work with. I won't pretend to know what it means until I use it.

Anyway before I plunge in to use acrylic to paint, I decided to practice a little bit more of color mixing. So far I got my oranges, greens and a few browns. I'm having troubles of getting more than two shades of purple. Been scratching my head to understand why. Maybe I should just forget about it and use whatever premix purples the market could offer! ;)

As of my drawing projects:

- Continue to develop "The Holeys" and will post them as soon as I think they are ready.

- Hope to be able to start "Sketchbook Project 2011" this month.

That's all for now, my dear fellow bloggers & creatives! Hope you all have a nice week ahead. :)

Diary Project

2010-06-21T11:32:00.006+10:00

Last year when I first started blogging, I had come across the Diary Project. I had thought to myself if only I could draw, I'd love to join in the fun!

Just like all things, I forgot all about it til I read this post from Linda of Tortagialla. I wasn't going to be forgetful this time, hence I jumped right in and signed up to reserve a date page (12/11/2011).

Here is my page. (Apologize for my very poor photo skill ...)

"The Holeys" copyright 2010 Hybrid J / Jamie Lee. All rights reserved.

I have drawn up this little guy many months ago. Every so often, I'd wonder what I'm going to do with him and thanks to the Diary Project, I can show him off now. And not only that, this small artwork has inspired me to develop an art project with "The Holeys" (that's what he is!) So watch out as there'll be some exciting announcement about these little fellows.

There are still some date pages form the project looking for artworks and the deadline for submission is 01/07, so my dear fellow creatives, hurry up to join in and show off your wonderful work!

Perspective Drawing and Creature

2010-06-17T11:51:00.010+10:00

Still on the mend ... but managed to start drawing (or more like picking up some desperately needed drawing lessons and exercises from a work book).

Here are 2 of them. It is a combination of observational drawing and imaginative drawing. (NOTE: They are more like practice drawing than proper drawing.)

When I first read about perspective drawing lesson, all the "sighting" and "measuring proportion" seems very complicated and hard to understand. But after a few hours of drawing a simplified version of a small corner of my kitchen, I was amazed of how real (perspective wise) it looked on paper.

Perspective drawing is still a newly acquired skill which I need tonnes of practices. But I found the process of using lines to create 3D objects / landscape on paper immensely interesting. It is almost "magical"!

You might also notice from my 2 drawings that my inclination to all things weird & strange keep cropping up everywhere. When I finished the little box drawing and the office corner drawing, I had this dialogue in my head.

Me: O.K. that's good! You did well in your practice, but ... something's missing?

me: What's missing?

Me: "Stuff" ... "Your Stuff" ...

me: What do you mean by "My Stuff"?

Me: I mean ... yes, this is your drawing but it is NOT your drawing!

I looked at the drawings again and the little spotted creature started to take form and crept into frame.

Me: Ah, there you go, you dumbo! Now that's more like it!

I think I was so caught up in learning the drawing skills (based on observation, hence realistic drawing) that I actually took the term "observation" to the letter. I drew what I saw and forgot to continue to let my imagination fuel my creativity.

Through the little spotted creature, I reclaimed MY drawings!

(BTW, I'm still wondering what kind of creature it is ... any idea?)

Procrastination ...

2010-06-04T10:55:00.006+10:00

My neck pain is getting a lot better but after a few weeks away from drawing, I'm having trouble of getting back to the horse. I'm not quite sure what's happening but here are a list of the usual suspects.

- Disruption of normal weekly drawing schedule

I was just starting to get into a drawing routine then came all these "mishaps." So the habit was not well developed. I think it will require some mental strength to pull this off.

- Perfectionism

I have been working on some drawing exercises from a workbook before the neck pain and all the "mishaps". I got thorough the first two with no problems. (I mean I was able to "reproduce" exactly as the exercises required.) Come the 3rd one, I could only work out 1/3 of it and the rest is rubbish.

Since then, whenever I open the workbook, I have this voice in my head saying: see, you can't draw! No matter how hard you try, you'll never get it.

I knew it was the perfectionist inside of me trying to dissuade my effort. But what surprised me was I believe in her! Why do I expect myself to get the drawing exercises and the actual painting all right in one go? This is ridiculous!

As much as I hate to admit it, the ongoing war between me and the perfectionist seems never ends. :(

- "Mishaps" update

Yeap, the mishaps continue. The latest one is about my oven. I'm still waiting for a spare part to fix the oven door.

Really, really hope this is the last one ...

So in the mist of all of these, what do I do? I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with this quote: When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!

I bought myself a set of paint brush and a pencil case. I'm not a big fan of synthetic paint brushes. But how could you walk away from these beauties? The last time I owned a pencil case I was about 16 years old. But since I started to draw, instead of scouting the usual handbag, I spent a lot of time browsing cute stationery stores.

With all of these happenings, it's really messing me up. So I think I'm going to stay in my "cruise mode" a little bit longer. Also I'm contemplating to do some basic drawing classes. There is only so much I could learn by myself through books and practices. It will be good to have a real person I could seek immediate advice.

Sketch Book

2010-05-27T14:25:00.005+10:00

Yiiiipppppeeee ... finally got the sketch book from Art House Co Op. And now I'm the official participating artist of The Sketchbook Project 2011! :D

(Did you see me holding my neck to an angle and doing a one leg celebratory dance? You should see me. I'm sensational! HAHAHA!)

The theme I pick is: First thing in the morning, last thing at night. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to execute the theme. Sketch / Doodle / Draw / Paint objects, emotions, sensation! What about collage which I've never try before! Oh and the cover? I really want to do a killer work of it. But how?

O.K. enough of panic.

I still got a fair bit of time before I need to finish and send off the sketch book. Plus, I'm in no fit condition to draw right now. This is actually good. I could spend some time to look for ideas as well as brushing up my drawing skill for the project.

As usual, I urge my fellow creatives to join in the project. After all the sketchbook is fairly small. It's about 21 cm (H) x 13 cm (W) OR 8.5" (H) x 5" (W) and consists of 40 blank pages (not including the cover and back cover).

Come on, let's have some fun together!

Getting Worse Before Coming Back ...

2010-05-24T15:34:00.009+10:00

Before things started to get better, it had to get worse ...

My mobile phone handed in its resignation (with immediate effect) last Friday. I got myself a new mobile phone (with built-in camera) over the weekend. :)

And with this, the tide finally turned.

After a rather painful deep tissue message / manipulation by my chiropractor, I'm having less neck and back pain. Mobility is gradually coming back.

The laptop came back from the repairer with about 80% function. That's fine as it is quite an old laptop. I'm trying not to work it too much so that it could last for another 12 months or so before I switch to Mac.

I've quickly whipped up a very small drawing (below) for the dream project of Art House Co Op. It will be among Art House's permanent collection.

"Birdie", silver & white gel pens, 13cm (w) x 9cm (h)

So I'm slowly getting back ...

For everyone who sent loving / supportive comments and wonderful emails, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your wonderful friendship work magic on my very stiff neck and back.

You gals are natural-born healers! xxoo

Will It Ever End?

2010-05-19T14:49:00.003+10:00

I'm still without my laptop ...

My chronic neck pain is getting worse every day ... it's actually extending to back pain ... heavy dosage of Panadol and weekly chiropractic treatment seem not working ... hmmmmm :(

Can't sit and use computer for more than half an hour without major upset of both neck and back ...

No drawing done at all ...

Got a possum who visited my bedroom ceiling roof the last few nights ... disturbed my sleep ...

Very frustrated, angry and feeling a bit down ...

But I know that eventually everything will settle. It's just a matter of how long I have to struggle before I'm all bright and shiny again!

Computer Problem

2010-05-12T10:33:00.003+10:00

In case you're missing me ... ;)

My laptop is at the repairer and I'm relying on computer at work place for emailing, blogging and other computer stuff. You could imagine how "inconvenient" it is right now!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the laptop is still "repairable" otherwise ... oh think positive, think positive!

So please be patient with me and don't think that I haven't visit your blogs. I'm trying my best.

By the way, my chronic neck pain is playing up big time. It's not helping me at all!

Why does bad things always come in groups??!! Anyway, I hope you're all well.

See you round! :D

Artists Links

2010-05-07T12:19:00.006+10:00

While I'm in my drawing skill study mode, I thought it would be a good idea to update my blog to include "artists links" (at side bar of the blog).

Since I started to draw, I also began searching for artists sites and blogs for inspiration. One of the search sources I used is from contemporary art magazines like Hi Fructose and Juxtapoz. Another source is via other artists blogs. One of my favourite artist blogs is Gabrielle Rose's blog. Not only that she is an unique artist, she constantly updates her blog with other artists links.

The artists I picked are based on my own personal preference like subject matters, color palette, aesthetic, style etc. It might not be your cup of tea. Also be aware that some of the artists' artworks are quite confronting. And the artists I chose are from various disciplines.

Pls feel free to browse through them. It will be updated on a regular basis.

Sketchbook Project 2011

2010-05-06T11:26:00.003+10:00

Art House Co Op just opened another new project - Sketchbook Project 2011. Check out details here.

I've missed the one for this year (damned!) and there's no way I'm going to miss next year's. Yeap, just signed up and from the community link, I saw that I was the 1st Aussie to join in. YEAH!

For the 2011 Sketchbook Project, all the sketchbooks will be on tour to 6 major cities of USA during 2011. They are Brooklyn NY, Austin TX, San Francisco CA, Portland ME, Atlanta GA and Chicago IL. There will also be an online library of the sketchbooks.

All in all, I think it will be great fun to participate and also a great way to work on a project plus connecting to other artists!

So what are you waiting for, my fellow creatives and bloggers? Join in and bring forth our artworks to the States!

The Day Has Come ...

2010-05-04T13:03:00.005+10:00

I knew from the day when I first started to draw, my lack of both drawing and painting skill will eventually caught up on me.

After I finished "Jake" and as much as I wanted to soldier on, I've had some funny nagging feelings.

There was no lack of drawing ideas, but it became harder and harder to bring them onto paper. I would have this rather clear image of a drawing in my mind, but my hands refused to do the work.

There was a huge gap occurred during the transmission of idea. I would find myself wanting to draw an object facing directly to me but after hours and hours of drafting, the bloody damned thing still appeared to me sitting on its side!

Something's wrong with my eyes? But it can't be. I just had my eyes checked and they were working perfect. (Well, the actual comment from the optometrist is: Your eyesight is working normal as per your age group. Ahem, what does it mean?)

I had a "hunch" of what was going on. But before jumping onto any conclusion, I decided to try one more thing.

I was to "copy" some drawings to see if it will improve my drawing skills. So I picked a small plant drawing from one of my reference books and began to copy it onto my sketch book. Easy right? Nope!

Though I got the general outline of the small plant right, everything else (i.e. branches, leaves etc) was wonky. Yes, I did draw a small plant but it didn't look like the one in the reference book.

This proved that my "hunch" was right. The ability to draw is more than the desire to create, vivid imagination and hands/eyes co-ordination. It is also about perception - the artist's way of seeing.

I'm to take a (hopefully) short break from my art projects and turn to do a bit more structural study of drawing skills.

So if you don't see many new drawings being post here, don't think that I have given up. Far from it, I'm actually working harder than before to become a more fluent artist!

(Gee, did I just say that ... I'm an artist!!??)

Paper Flower Grows!

2010-04-28T12:11:00.009+10:00

Did anyone know that paper flower grow? Mine did.

A while ago, through the Creative Every Day, I stumbled upon a wonderful blog - Paint Myself Pretty by Cameron. I was impressed by some of Cam's mixed media artworks which give "words" in old book pages new meaning (like this one here.)

Then later on, she posted about her hand made "Paperback Page Flower". I found them lovely and told Cam that I could see myself wearing it. I had no idea that Cam took this to her heart and offered to make one in my favourite color.

It wasn't long before I got an email from Cam that she was sending me the paper flower clip. I was thrilled to receive such clever and beautiful hand made gift. Since then, I've been expecting a small package to arrive at my post box. And lo behold, the paper flower grew into goodies which filled up a BIG BOX! (Cam called it the pick-me-up care box with my name hand drawn on it!) :D

Here are some photos of the goodies.

The Paper Flower Clip which grows.

(I clip it on my black suede shopper bag which I use to carry my sketch pad, pens and pencils everywhere. I'll also be wearing the clip on my jacket as soon as the weather is cool enough.)

Goodies in gift wrap

Goodies unwrapped

The goodies include a hand written letter from Cam, Cam's original art cards, Cam's original notebook (with one of her artworks as cover), sticker sheets and a paint it yourself mushroom, which is the cutest thing in the world! It is now sitting on my desk next to my mushroom stamp.

I love all the goodies not only of their loveliness. I appreciate and enjoy greatly the care and thoughts which Cam put into each one of them.

This entire experience reminds me that there is genuine kindness in the world and that we're never alone.

This is also an example of what blogging could bring to one's life - connection and friendship.

Thank you Cam for being such a wonderful and loving person!

The Color Project

2010-04-20T15:38:00.004+10:00

After much thinking, numerous deep breathing and putting on extra thick human skin, I've send off 3 of my drawings to The Color Project hosted by The Art House Co Op (USA).

For The Color Project (Red) - my submission is "The Rose Thief"
For The Color Project (Blue) - my submission is "Hostage"
For The Color Project (Yellow) - my submission is "The Hoarder"

* You could read and see these drawings from my earlier posts here, here and here. *

These drawings will be shown in an exhibition under the same title "The Color Project" on 21/05/2010 at Brooklyn Art Library. A book will also be published to include all artworks submitted to the project.

Art House Co Op is a community based art organization. Their goal is to promote art, hence they do not "judge" any artworks or artists. They believe art should be accessed by everyone. There are free to participate projects and pay to participate projects (like The Color Project). Please check out their site to join in upcoming projects. (I've just joined project "the dreams I dream about".)

I'm very aware of where I am at my drawings. I'm just a beginner and still have tonnes to learn. May be I should not send off my artworks to anything at all, but I have these ideas about submission.

- To create an anchor for me to focus on finishing a drawing. Otherwise, I'll sit on it forever.

- It's my way to understand what it means to have an artwork exhibit. (Though it's in the States and not in my home country, I reckon I could still get a feel of it! Hmm ... am I making sense??)

- Being an independent /self taught / part-time creative, I need to create and find my own opportunities. No one is going to invite me for an exhibition and ask about my work ... at least at this stage.

- To widen my creative network and continue to make connection with other creatives.

- And of course, there's always that little bit of vanity and instant gratification going on. ;)

This submission of mine is in no way to undermine any artists for their hard earn skill and reputation in their fields. It is my way to try to find a footing in the vast art world.

I'd like to make use of this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me all this time. Without you, I would never ever realized the artist in me and would never dream of submitting my artwork for an exhibition. Each one of you is my inspiration and role model to take my art further.

My very very humble thanks. xxoo

Quiet Time & Cameron's Giveaway

2010-04-14T16:02:00.005+10:00

Not mean to be this quiet but got a few things going on which takes up time. Hope to get back to blogland soon!

Cameron, a talented multi-media artist, is having a Birthday Giveaway, check it out here! Make sure you check out her original artworks (at her blog) which give the "words" in old book pages new meaning.

Free Doll Template from Linda

2010-04-07T11:02:00.004+10:00

Linda aka Tortagialla is an emerging artist located in Italy. She experiments with different art forms and the images she creates are always sunny and happy. She is also a very generous blogger who creates interesting template for occasional free download.

And what a coincident that her latest free template is a doll (mannequin) one! Go to read her latest post and you'll find the link to the doll template.

Thank you Linda!

Jake

2010-04-06T10:40:00.018+10:00

"Jake", ink on paper, 30 cm (H) x 21cm (W)

Mist and petals dance around the Horned One ...
He forbids me to go into the woods ...
But his sweet voice lingers in my ears ...

Years and years ago, before my big discovery that I could draw, I bought two artist mannequins. (The one you could get from most art supplies stores.) One male and one female. They were about 30cm in height.

Well, this might sound strange and weird to you. But in the hands of a little nutter like me, the mannequins became something else.

I talk to them lots of time, especially if I have a bad day in the office. I would pretend they are either my most sympathetic friends who listen endlessly to my pathetic complaints, or h/she is my boss and I'll argue with h/her until h/she agrees with my proposal. Oh, yes, at times, it gets a bit physical. I'll keep "adjusting" their limbs til my steam is all gone.

At one stage, I thought about painting them with colors. But knowing myself, I would get bored with things quite easily. And as soon as I got sick and tired of something (mostly objects, not real people), I either give them away or leave them on the shelf to gather dust. I decided against it and leave them "nude" all these years.

Over Easter break, while I was moaning my personal issues to them, I found myself looking at them in a new way (an artist way!?) It then dawned on me they could be the subjects of my drawing! I think they have potentials to become a major art project for the year. I've already got a few ideas spinning in my tiny head. But then, this also depends on how my drawing skill is going to improve over time. But hey, no try no gain! We'll see.

AND my little mannequins not only become a painting, they lure the sleepy writer out of me. I spent last night thinking about Jake and his story. Nothing major, nothing big ... but I had a blast!

My dear fellow creatives and bloggers, what do you think of Jake?

Nightmare Behind The Door

2010-03-31T10:01:00.008+11:00

Here is a little drawing for your musing. :)

"Nightmare Behind The Door", micron pen on paper, 30cm (H) x 21cm (W)

The idea is not original and I'm sure sixty millions other artists had done it before. Nonetheless I hope it brings a little smile on your face.

This drawing was done as a consolation after I mucked up another drawing. I was in no mood to paint it and also I have a feeling that it works better in simple black and white, like a cartoon stripe from newspaper.

About the "muck up", I have learn the DON'Ts of my painting process.

1) Do not start painting when I'm not sure about the overall composition.

I knew I wasn't happy with the composition but thought by painting it, the drawing will begin to work. I was wrong!

2) Do not start painting when I'm stressing out.

I was stressing out on some major personal matters and thought working on a drawing would help to clam me down. The fact is I have kind of obsessive (addictive?!) personality. Once I got a problem or issue at hand, I'm like a dog with a bone.

With my mind chewing onto the personal matter, I failed to make sensible creative decision for my drawing.

3) Just because I love "graduated wash" background, does not mean it is suitable for a drawing.

I have been practicing to use ink to do graduated wash background for a little while. Though far from being good at it, I think I got the hang of it. So I decided to use it for a drawing. But due to the subjects (plants) of my drawing, the graduated wash background made the plants looks like they're sprouting out from mist.

4) Do not change color theme of a drawing after color test.

I got into a habit to do color test for my drawing. The test is about ink color mixing and how each color works / compliment each other. At this stage, I just can't visualize how some colors work without seeing them on paper. I'll do a rough sketch of my drawing on cartridge paper and test it out with different color combination. (I'm quite picky of the tone and hue of colors.)

With this plant drawing, for some unknown reasons, I decided to change part of the background color from the original tested grayish blue to gray. I thought I was making the drawing more moody, but the gray tone I used actually made the plant looked like they were coming out from muddy plain.

I'm not sure if I want to work on the plant drawing for now as this entire "muck up" experience is still very disturbing and frustrating to me.

I think I'm going to give myself a break and after all, Easter holiday is just two days away. Good to wind down and recharge ..... but that personal matter ..... arrrrgh .....

Mushroom Frenzy

2010-03-22T14:29:00.007+11:00

I have spent the week researching reference photos for a drawing idea. Though I found some, I have not worked out the overall composition. So I'm a bit stuck and have nothing to show for the week.

To keep up with my learning of drawing, I spent Sunday working on "graduated wash" technique. So far so good - I could paint a graduated wash background to half of an A4-size.

And to cheer myself up, I bought these mushroom cards to go with my mushroom drawing. It seems like everyone is into mushrooms nowadays! :D

So there you go, not a very productive week .....

Rabbit Hole (again ...)

2010-03-16T10:09:00.009+11:00

"Rabbit Hole", ink and paper, 21cm (H) x 30cm (W)

I know, I know ... the background was so poorly painted that I should not display it at all. Or at least I should crop it better before uploading it.

The fact is I'm loving everything about this drawing. I don't know why. And I can't quite put a finger on the feelings I have when I'm looking at it.

I love animals and intend to become good at drawing them. But I'm never into rabbits. Yes, they're cute and that's about it. And the reason why I did this drawing was because of all these bunnies cropping up everywhere. (Read my earlier post here.) So I took that as a "sign" to make a drawing of rabbits. Well, basically to "exorcise" them out of my system. :D

But after finishing the rabbit, I kept looking at it and looking at it and looking at it. I can't quite tear my eyes from the bunny. And then I started to think about the other rabbit which was about to jump out from the rabbit hole. What does it look like? BANG! I remembered I had written about my ears turning into bunny ears. OMG, that was ME climbing out from the rabbit hole! I swear that I wasn't thinking about myself when I was working on the 2nd rabbit. Actually I wasn't thinking of anything at all. It just happened.

This is really freaky but in a kind of nice way, I think. ;)

As usual, my fellow bloggers and creatives, I'd love to know what you think about this drawing.

P.S. Wonder if I'll regret of putting this drawing up when I become a world famous artist someday, hahaha!