Back in college, I used watercolour a lot and used it solely on the advertisement artworks we had to submit for our thesis. This was the time when no one owned computers let alone learned to use one. I love the washes and layers I can do with it. Then I went to Nankai University to study Traditional Chinese Painting for 6 months. It was a great learning experience getting to understand another world of watercolours. Mind you, watercolours used in Chinese painting are of a different breed! I remember how I had to start from scratch learning the technique because it was all so different from the western style…
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Have you heard about latest ‘craze’ with Pocket Letters, started by Janette Lane? There is a lot of posts on IG about this. I’ve only stumbled upon this a couple months ago and have had the pleasure of swapping with a couple partners on the Pocket Letter Pals site. Unfortunately I was too excited to send out my pocket letters that I forgot to take photos of them! This time around, I managed to do 4 pocket letters and remembered to take photos before sending them out. Here’s a few photos from what I made… This one here is for a private swap. She likes shabby chic stuff so I…
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For some strange reason, I was stuck on the Season of Brave of the Get Messy Art Journal prompts. I think a lot to do with having too many ideas and not knowing how to start. Starting late, I ended up doing was doing the prompts in random order, whichever prompt was easy for me to start. Prompt set #1 This spread is inspired by a stenciling technique by Dina Wakley’s class which I’ve been watching and playing over and over. There’s several layers of paint and molding. I used a glittery Mod Podge as a sealer; not sure if I like it, but oh well, it’s part of the experimenting…
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The last in the series for the Season of Love from the Get Messy Art Journal project , I finally managed to finish these pages. Always I end up starting and walking away from these unfinished because I get stuck about how to go about it. Not to mention some of the prompts brings out some of the emotions I am still trying to get over… But so happy these are finally done and can’t wait to tackle the next season. Prompt #4 – I made 2 spreads. What would be the world devoid of love…? I made the spread using a lot of whites to show a cold environment.…
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Another set of pages from my Get Messy Art Journal prompts which revolves on the topic: Season of Love. Prompt set #2 This spread is a several layers of paint and elements adhered, stapled or sewn down to the page. I initially thought of filling the entire page with names only to find out that I had already written over 100 but only ended up using half of the spread. Prompt set #3 The circles are cut out from paper and yardstick samples I had. I used those with the holographic and mirror-like finish to represent mirrors. This second spread is all about letters made of cut up papers and adhered…
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A second chapter to my previous post on journaling, I thought I’d quickly write about another form of journal writing that I have decided to do in parallel. I have been inspired by my friend Vanessa’s art journals and after months of staying in the sidelines, I decided to sign up and do the Get Messy Art Journals. For me, this is more of seeking out other forms of inspirations, a chance to play with mixed media, and a chance to think outside of my day-to-day work.
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A little bit of background history… In grade school, we had a very strict teacher/principal who was really particular about penmanship. If I may say so myself, I would say I had a pretty good penmanship. I also remember my sister who was my role model for writing neatly that I would try to copy her writing often and try to be like her. When I got to university, typography classes were my favourite and was proud to always get a perfect score. This was way before computers were prevalent and everything was hand-drawn or handwritten. I kept diaries and even diligently wrote one in Chinese as part of the…
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10 years ago in Taipei, I met the person who changed my life. 10 years ago in Taipei, he surprised me and proposed at Burger King. 10 years ago in Taipei, we had a ‘big’ church wedding at a small chapel in Tienmu attended by family and friends, some who even flew from the other side of the world to celebrate with us. 10 years ago in Shanghai, we are in our ‘honeymoon’; an extended one. 10 years ago in London, we had another wedding; a small civil wedding. 10 years later in Shanghai, I’m blessed with a great husband and dad. Thank you, Simon. Audrey gave us a drawing…
