Self Portrait

The Story of My Life

I'm A Drawer!

Since young, very late nights have always appealed to me. There's something about the peacefulness of the inactivity deep into the night, being alone with your thoughts, a pencil and a blank sheet of paper, that makes me want to struggle to stay awake, despite heavy eyelids and a throbbing headache.

This year, I've had the pleasure of pursuing a long time interest in drawing through some informal drawing classes. Today, I discovered an interesting way to practice portraiture without being ridiculed or laughed at -- Red Dot Museum. On every first Saturday of the month, from 2-6pm, a group of illustrators and illustrator-wannabes (that'll be me) will gather and pay $6 to draw portraits of people who will simply walk-in and volunteer as models.

I went there with 3 pencils and simple drawing paper and was super intimidated by folks with thick stacks of paper, boxes of color pencils / crayons / paint brushes / inking pens. The whole area had a super arty farty atmosphere, while I was there gawking like an awkward, bespectacled teenager in tshirt and jeans. So not cool. But when the session started, I relaxed and just enjoyed the session. Also, when the session started, it became apparent that many people there couldn't draw well and were there simply to have a good time. That helped me to relax =P

It works like this:
Artists will register at 2pm and be seated, waiting for the volunteer models to come up front.
Models will simply be walk-ins who are interested to see how many different interpretations of their faces can there possibly be, and they will be rostered accordingly.
As for what happens to all the portraits that were drawn, anyone can buy it at simply $4. For those that were not sold, you can take it home. You bet I took home every last one of my pictures today, not a single one was sold. =P

The artist only has 15mins to draw the models. You can draw one, or two, or half, depending on how long you take. Then after 15min, models will change. If you're tired of drawing, you just sit it out until the next one comes along. Flexible and fun.

So, am happy about the fun experience today. On this note, I'd like to appeal to those of you reading this to pop by Red Dot Museum on the first Saturday of every month to support this starving artist. You can put in a request for liposuction / a nose job / bigger eyes etc, I'll be happy to oblige.

Old Hobbies Die Hard Part Deux

Here are the other two pictures that I drew last night. It's exhausting drawing so many pics when I'm out of practice; I had difficulty getting out of bed this morning and woke up a good 30min later than I should. My bad.

These two pictures are a tad darker than the previous ones. For the guy with the scruffy hair, it's a goth experiment gone wrong. I got the eyebags and pale complexion, but that's as far as I got. I think it's more grunge than goth. The blue and curled up guy was inspired by a ... somewhat depressing conversation. But anyways, I like it, so I'm posting it =)

Old Hobbies Die Hard

Now that life is largely back to normal, I find myself with more leisure time than I've been used to. Besides surfing the net to death, I have also discovered the pleasures of watching anime and beating my own high score for Bejewelled. If these are not brilliant ways to waste time, I don't know what they be.

In the days of yore, before the internet consumed my days and my nights, I had much more productive hobbies -- reading, sketching and playing the guitar. Unfortunately, the wedding obsession with nails have carried on til today; I like my new found nails and damned if I cut it all off. Oops, there goes the guitar playing. Oh well, my APX is in the good hands of Intuition. Now that I stay near and work near a library, reading is another habit I have happily revisited on my long journeys to work. Time passes so much faster when you're reading.

The past two nights, I decided to dust off my pencils and papers and did some sketching, as a result of some inspiration from humongously talented artists who have posted their work online. Here are a few that I had fun doing, will post another two soon =)

Reading

Here are two posters I've done for a little library project that Intuition initiated at my company. The idea is to decorate the place with posters to encourage reading and since we're all big on cost cutting, why not DIY rather than buy off the shelf?




(And an aside to Sensei who lurks at my blog: please, O great one, won't you critique my work and let me learn from your wise, illustrious ways. Verily, this post is for you.)

Alive and well

This is inexcusable--i bought me the laptop of my dreams... and then I promptly disappeared from my blog. It's as though I'm not using my mac! Which honestly, I haven't really been maxing... only the usual mindless websurfing and listening to music...

Here is a quick post to show that I AM ALIVE and I've not forgotten my little corner in my www. The move was okay, I'm okay, just that too much time is spent travelling to and fro home and work. Still not used to taking 1 hour to get to work and waking up at 7am every morning. Ugh. I reach home by 830pm usually and get sleepy by 12 midnight, so that doesn't leave much time to blog when you factor in the offline life that I actually have to live.

Here's a little illustration I tried to do for a quote that I like--hey it involves dogs and books, two of my favourite things! how can it be an unlikeable quote! :

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
~ Groucho Marx

That's all for now. Doodles, and we'll catch up over my blog SOON. As soon as I catch up on my sleep firszzzz.....

A Start

Flowers of the Field

Psalm 103: 15-17
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children.

Saw these pretty flowers on my way to work this morning and quickly snapped a few shots of it. I love flowers, in case you can't tell by now, and I especially enjoy photographing them. The details are different from species to species and with a good shot, you can capture the softness of the petals, the vibrancy of the colours and the delicacy of its structure. Not that I'm "there" liaoz, far from it, but it's something I strive to attain =)

Sadly, these lovely creations are often here today and gone tomorrow, much like men in all our striving. Here's a wallpaper to remind us of God's goodness and the beauty of His creation =)

The Comfort

that solitude brings.

Specially for you!

Psalm 71:19-20
19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
You who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?
20 Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
You will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up.

Quirkie Creations: Earrings

A pair of earrings I made last year. It's currently one of my favourite pairs to match with my blue outfits.

When you look at your custom jewelry, do you ever get an urge to take things apart and put it together again? Or do you feel like it will look better if only this bead was placed in a different position, and then you proceed to go ahead and give your earring / necklace / ring an overhaul?

No? Well, I do.

My interest in making my own pieces of custom jewelry started while I was hanging out with my Japanese friend, Ryoko. She would choose leather strings and pretty pendants and come up with stylish necklaces. My interest was piqued--you mean you can actually design your own accessories?? Ryoko would bring me to The Bead Shop in Hereen where beads of all shapes, shades and sizes were sold. I would visit that shop when I'm in the area and would buy strings and beads to piece together necklaces according to my wardrobe needs and fancy.

I had never ventured into the world of making earrings even though the interest was there. It wasn't until sometime toward the middle of last year when I stumbled upon a bead shop that also sold earring-parts that you could assemble yourself. The minute I stepped in I was stuck. It sold crystals, all sorts of glass beads, silver chains, hooks, nylon strings, semi-precious stones etc etc, and I would pore over each bead and imagine what I could do with each bead. Should I buy the blue or blue-green? Would a clear crystal match it better, or a light blue one? Or how about a complementary shade instead?

Over the next 2 weeks, I remember shelling out $60 for various beads, basic parts of making earrings and pliers. That's a lot considering what a tight-wad I am! I feverishly made my earrings (the same design in different colours. I had a packet of beads of the same design, but not enough variety to do more than 2 different designs) and wouldn't go to bed until my eyes were crossed and my shoulders were sore. Well, predictably, many friends received earrings for their Christmas presents last year, but hey! who's complaining :P

Anyway, this evening I thought I'd stay away from the internet for a change and indulge in my more productive hobbies. Presenting the work of my hands:

Experimenting with something different from the usual one-bead design by adding the bunch of beads at the bottom.



This is my favourite self-made pair to date. My mum bought me these beads. The design is not new, I actually made a few pairs of blue earrings in this design for Christmas last year. This time however the main bead is oriental in design and it's more colourful on the whole, which really suits my tastes. Pretty! Me likes ^-^

Quirkie Creations: Happy Valentine's Day!

This is a bouquet of tulips that my colleague bought for his girlfriend. Tres jolie, non?

Mr Intuition and I won't be going to any swanky restaurant nor will he be giving me any jolie fleurs today, since we both don't like how Valentine's Day is so commercialised. We will be meeting for a simple meal at a coffee shop though, and I am looking forward to the food ; ) You don't need to burn a hole in your pocket to have a great Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Quirkie Creations: Blessed New Year!

Blessed Christmas

Christmas is just round the corner. Those who know me knows also that my birthday falls on Christmas day.

It's strange being born on such a special day. 25 December is celebrated all over the world as the birthday of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, Counsellor, Saviour of the world. What happens when your birthday falls on the same day as Someone as important as that? For my earlier years, it's often not much fun, cos Someone else gets all the (deserving!) attention ;) Now, I think it's pretty special to be born on the same day as my God and Saviour (albeit it's just a designated date!).

My story about my God and I.

Recently I asked God a self-centred question: "Do You love me?" and the humbling answer came almost immediately. I thought of how God brought me to know Him as my Lord and Saviour over the years; how can I doubt His love? I thought of all the times He brought me through my delinquent years, my stresses in schools and my troubles at work; how can I doubt His love? I thought of His faithfulness even though I strayed, even after tasting His goodness; how can I doubt His love?

I was reading the story of Solomon and the kings of Israel in the Old Testament. King after king, they failed to lead their people in the right direction of following God and His commandments even after He specifically told them to do so. Yet even though the kings keep leading His people astray, God was always faithful to keep a burning lamp on the throne for David, and for the Son of David who will eventually rule forever and ever. The Son of David came 2000 years ago in the form of Jesus Christ, and He will rule for all eternity, with justice, righteousness and peace. What a glorious reign! In this time of injustice, unrest and a general climate of fear, the thought that Jesus, the Ultimate Ruler, lives and is sovereign brings peace to our hearts and minds.

I'm going carolling this year with my cell group. I look forward to telling the tale of the Messiah's birth through beautiful songs. It's a wonderful story, the retelling of the most significant birth in the world and the purpose behind it all. It's not so that we can buy more presents and gorge ourselves silly. If that is Christmas to you, I suggest you look beyond the commercialism--into the story of Nativity, for it is how God came to dwell with men. Immanuel has come. Will you dwell with God today?

Quirkie Creations: Christmas Tree

Christmas is coming! Here is a little Christmas e-card I did up one day when I had a lot of better things to do (and here I go again, getting distracted with useless tasks...). Personally, I like the dotty tree, but so far my friends seem to prefer the leafy one. Which is your preferance?





Both are nice lah, huh? ;) *shameless!*