My twins graduated from high school at the end of May, marking the culmination of a rollercoaster ride over the past few months. It has been a mix of joy and sadness as we celebrated the end of high school life and looked ahead to the next journey, which involves preparing for university, new experiences, and exciting opportunities. Between preparing for the rigors of the IB exams, attending the last few school activities, and managing the erratic schedules as the “finish line” loomed, it’s been a challenging time for everyone. Time seemed to fly by; before I knew it, it was graduation day. I couldn’t help but tear up when…
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Last May, we spent two consecutive Saturdays sketching in various parks. The weather in Shanghai was perfect for outdoor activities, making these sketching sessions truly enjoyable. What made these outings particularly interesting was exploring “new” places I hadn’t visited before. On the first Saturday, we headed to Changfeng Park. I may have visited this park over 20 years ago, but not since. Initially known as Huxi Park and Biluo Lake Park, it was built in 1957 and reopened in 1959 under its current name. The park’s design draws inspiration from Beijing’s Summer Palace and the landscaping techniques of Suzhou Gardens. Its layout mimics natural landscapes, focusing on the lake and…
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BIG NEWS! Get ready for the massive sale at Everything Art UK starting on the morning of 31 May (Friday) and running until midnight on 09 June (Sunday). Use the discount code MAY40 to enjoy 40% off all courses and bundles (digital downloads excluded) on the Everything Art website. This is the perfect opportunity save on a lot of the fantastic courses on offer and this includes Wanderlust 2024. Don’t forget to apply the discount code MAY40 at checkout to make the most of this incredible offer! *local tax calculated at checkout
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Hope you are enjoying the Spring weather. Last March 11-15, @ohn_mar_win had a mini challenge called 5 Days of Spring Blooms to celebrate the season and paint five different flowers. I enjoyed doing the Autumn one last year, so this would be a fun challenge to get into the Spring season. This time, I played on two sketchbooks except for the last prompt. I did a warm-up on a separate sketchbook, and the final ones were in the same accordion journal, where I did the autumn flowers. I’ve posted all of these in my IG feed, but this is worth writing a blog post about. So here are my Spring Blooms. Day 1: Blossom…
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The Spring weather in Shanghai has been unpredictable, but I've been enjoying sketching outdoors on warm weekends. I sketched at various locations, capturing snapshots of life in the city. From bustling areas to redevelopment sites, each sketch tells a unique story.
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Re-kindle. Re-start. Refresh. These words have been echoing in my mind for the past few months – a surreal tally of spinning, sometimes blurry days that amounted to what feels like an eternity. I needed to write a post that might delve into emotions or feel uncomfortably raw. The challenges of 2023 left me wandering, feeling lost in almost every aspect of my life. In November, I decided to step back from art challenges and classes, focusing instead on tying up loose ends and cherishing the last year before my kids left for university. I started saying “no” to many things. If you’ve followed my journey on Instagram, you may…
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I bought this fantastic kit from a Chinese indie seller I found on Red Book (Xiao Hong Shu). Fortunately, it arrived before the holidays. I figured this would be great to send to family and friends and include in my swap mails all year long. So before the Spring Festival, I printed a few of this stunning Qilin on delicate rice paper. 🐉✨ Qilin, a revered mythical creature in Chinese culture, is often depicted as a majestic blend of a deer, dragon, horse, and lion—a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, and wisdom. According to legend, it can tread grass without a trace and even breathe fire! 🔥 In Chinese mythology,…
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Do you make and exchange ATC or Artist Trading Cards? Have you made an ATC before? I’ve been making ATC since probably 2015. I learned about this via swap-bot.com when I joined in 2013. I’ve been curious about these and got the courage to sign up for some international swaps. These were quite fun, and I regret not making extras for each card I made for my collection. So, there are other variations for the standard ATC (2.5×3.5 inches). One is called inkbox cards, which are square 3×3 inches and have rounded corners, just like the Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads, hence the name. The lesser-known one is the ATC coin, which…
