Purrfect Christmas

This is a 5x6 inch watercolor done for Wetcanvas Christmas Card 2007 Exchange. I paint this from a ref. photo on Wetcanvas provided by jk4493. I have fun doing this one.

Sam-Lor

This is a 4x6 inch acrylics postcard for Wetcanvas art exchange project. Sam-Lor in Thai means a three-wheeler manpower taxi. It is quite a rare traditional Thai ways of life that is very hard to find in Bangkok. Now it is commonly replaced by a motorcycle-taxi. This one I found in Phrapradaeng market, which is a suburban province outside Bangkok. "Sam" in Thai means three and "Lor" in Thai means wheel; hence, the origin of its legendary name. It has sentimental value to me because it reminds me of my grandpa provinces.

September

It has been quite a busy month and a few tough times. I am glad Tone, I, and the baby got through it OK. I did a few small works but did not post then. So I post them now.


"The Turquoise" -- 2.5x3.5 inch an ATC watercolor for Wetcanvas art exchange



"Hydrengea#2" 2.5x3.5 inch ATC Conte Crayons for Wetcanvas art exchange



"Hydrengea#1" 2.5x3.5 inch ATC Conte Crayons for Wetcanvas art exchange




"Temple At Mount Taisan, China" 2.5x3.5 inch ATC watercolor for Wetcanvas art exchange

Xmas cards ... progress1

I can't help signing up another Wetcanvas Xmas card 2007 exchange. So I take this chance to try my new Faber Castell color pencils. The first one is a 4x6 inch "Pointsettia" done from a ref. photo by "mustcreate" from Wetcanvas. The second one is another 4x6 "Holidays Toys" done from a ref. photo by "ironhorse" from Wetcanvas.

The Pink Lady

This is an ATC size watercolor for an art exchange project on Wetcanvas. It is a part of the boat series, which I took a bunch of photos from the fishing village at Chaosamran beach, Thailand.

Waiting To Set Sail

This is a 4x6 inch watercolor postcard for an art exchange project on Wetcanvas. I paint this from the photo I took of Chaosamran beach fishing village.

Ferry at rest

This is a 4x6 inch postcard size watercolor for an art exchange project at Wetcanvas. I paint this from my photo when I went to visit a floating market at Phrapradang, a suburb town of Bangkok. I did not paint as much loose as I want it to be but it still comes out quite all right... I think ;-)

Fisherman Village#1

This is a watercolor pen & ink 4x6 inch postcard for an exchange project on Wetcanvas. I was not sure if the painting looks all right. I tried to simplify because the original photo is so complicate with tons of details. After look at it for a while, I think it is OK. I sure have fun painting it and will do some more of these wonderful scenes of Chaosamran Beach.

Baby Creative Day

Well I thought I could easily find time to paint as a part of our 3 day holiday weekend, I was wrong. I was about to paint on my table. Iris saw me and ask to sit with me. I let her on the high chair then she start begging for paint. So I had to stall my own painting session and watch Iris play with my little watercolor pallette. She pick Winsor Newton fan brush out of my brush jar herself. She then dive right into watercolor especially the red one. I thought she shows a good potential for her first time with watercolor. I am her mom so I am truly bias.

Test Of Time...

We woke up to a 3 day holiday weekend. We get an additional day of because of the make up of the Thai mother day (Aug12). Tone grabbed an article from the paper and the map and lead our way to Bangnumpueng Floating market. It is not too far from where we live. It is one of the last green zone near Bangkok and right on Chaopraya river. We had fun shopping at the floating market all morning until Tone drove through a last temple on the route. I felt like we slipped thru the time-machine. This is an old temple from late Ayuthya era (about 300 years ago). Tone, Iris, and I went in side the decaying hall and felt in awe with the mural and the impact that it made us feel back in time three century. And what amaze me is that this temple stood right in the middle of modern world. And many people walk by it.

The Blue Spirit of Chaosamran Beach

This is a Conte Crayon work of a postcard size. This is done as a part of Wetcanvas art exchange project. I took a ton of fishing boat photos while we went to Chaosamran beach, Thailand, 2 months ago. I never have enough of the boat landscape.

Cohasset, Massachusetts

This a Conte crayon work of a postcard size. It is done as a part of a Wetcanvas art project exchange. Last April, Tone and I visit southern coastal town of Massachusetts, USA. We had a little short trip drive along the coast line. This is a harbor scene from this beautiful quiet town, called, Cohasset. There were many gorgeous homes along the shoreline to look at as well.

Chaosamran Beach

Well, Tone, me, and Iris decide to take a little break before the semester starts. Believe me, we have been busy even before that time. Our rule of thumb is if we can go, just go cause you never know what will be thrown at you even on our weekend.
The drive to Chaosamran Beach was pleasant, only 2 hours from Bangkok. We checked in our boat-like resort. We had a simple dinner by the beach and woke up to the fishing boats docking right by the beach at our resort. So many painting opportunity. So I did 5 plien airs. I love it. Tone and Iris enjoyed the place too. We definitely will be coming back here.

Nude Study#1

Another attempt at a new medium, conte crayon. This is in a postcard size. I still have a lot to learn about the blending and drawing but I am happy I can complete this today.

Simple things around me

This has been a very busy weekend. I end up do two small/tiny paintings though. The first one, "Le Clip", is my experiment with Winsor Newton drawing inks. I am not sure how to use it so I end up using it just like watercolor. The second one, "Iris", is another experiment with Conte Crayon and portrait. Iris is the name of my daughter. Both are in postcard size.

Colors in the Park

Today we woke up and headed out to the Suanthon park near our home. Tone completed 4K jog. I pushed Iris and snaped reference photos with my new digital camera, Panasonic Lumix TZ1. With 10x optical zoom, I can take photos of variety of subjects from far distance. So I won't be too shy to take them, especially human subjects. Plus I can get some pictures of animals without disturb them. I think the camera worths it. I still have to learn a lot from my new artistic tool. I got a bunch of photos today and did two paintings from them. The first one is "Colors in the Park#1 -- Water Lily" and the second one is "Colors in the Park#2 -- Children with sliders". Both are watercolor in postcard size for ATC/Postcard exchange project.

Inspiration

Well most of my painting inspiration comes from my garden, family, trips (which rarely happen lately), and a lot of little things around me at the moment. Today I woke up and had to take the picture of my Iris and my Plumeria. Sorry that Tone was holding the camera so he was not in the picture. Though I try to paint something else that is not flower, I still can't help avoid painting flowers. I love them and discover them way before I discover painting. What can I say, I love to paint what make me happy.

Bangkok

Well Bangkok is a very fascinating city. You got the old tradition structures mixing with the modern skyscrapers and sky trains. It is a metropolitan with 10 millions. I was born here and love it. The only down size is bad traffic jams and air pollution due to automobile smokes. I woke up very early the other day to see my neighbor's kid was being picked up by his school van at 5:30 am. Yes, he goes to one of the top-notch boy schools in downtown Bangkok. And we live in the suburb of Bangkok. Poor him. And the same kid came back home about 6:00 pm.
Above are "Bangkok Cityscape#1" and "Bangkok Flower Market Memoir" watercolor postcards for art exchange project.

Pick Me Please...

I took the reference pictures from a guitar shop in Brisbane, Australia about 3 years ago. There are so many guitars at the shop. Some were hanging from the ceiling. I bet they must look like candy stores for musicians. The customer must have thought "Which one should I pick to take home with? ".

Fortunately, I just got to paint these ladies today. It is done in acrylics on a postcard-size watercolor paper for art exchange project. This is my second acrylics ever.

Arts & Computer Science

Last Friday, I got a call from my computer science student. She needed me to sign her registration add form. When she showed me the form, I was surprised; she wished to add "Introduction to Painting" on top of her computer science study load. I asked her "Are you aware of what you about to do?". She said "Yes". She said she is interested in painting and having one more art class on top of her six regular computer science classes should give her a nice balance registration to the semester. So I said to her, "I'll sign your form but only on one condition -- you must show me your painting portfolio at the end of the semester". She smiled.

Darn stray dogs start this...

Well after many thoughts about what to do with my passion, I decide to start my blog here at this very moment. I am the queen of procastination and self-second guessing. I always was not sure of what I want to do in life. However, this morning something bad (but not so serious) happens at my house. A stray bitch and her pup who sneak in to use my next door club house as their night time shelter have dug up one big hole under my new tree in front of the house. I just bought and planted the tree yesterday. The digging causes a lot of mess and I had to pay my gardener to clean it up. I was upset because one of my neighbor has been given foods to stray dogs in the neighborhood. This lures those dogs to stay around in our gate community. Thai people
call this unconditional act of giving as 'Tum-boon". So my neighbor has tumboon-ed to the straydogs but who will tumboon to a busy working mom like me who have to take care of a family and work and have to spend my extra time cleaning up messes from neighborhood stray dogs.... Enough of stray dogs in the morning.

I stop my stray dog headache in the morning by working on my Java..not a cup of java but a programming language. I study Java till 1pm. So I thought of getting a nearby noodle cup at the central pond of the univ. I went there got my meal in a cup find a good seat next to the univ. pond. Arrh.. the joy of simple lunch next to the pond with school of fishes right in front of me. A couple of students have 'Tumboon' to the fishes by giving them bread..... I enjoy seeing the fishes swimming near by. They have topped of my relaxation of the day....but wait... I saw some students start giving their leftover food to univ. stray dogs near by. Oh no.. two students have moved to the bench next to me. Now the two stray dogs follow them to the side of my bench. So now I have to finish my lunch before the flea(s) jumping into it. And the best relaxation that happen to me today just evaporate. All in all because of the darn stray dogs..... Should I be mad?


NO...!!! I think I should turn this crisis to an opportunity. Tomorrow, I will try to be around the darn stray dogs again with my digital camera. And I will take a ton of their pictures. Then I will paint them and post their images and painings into this blog. I will start selling the (darn) stray dogs painting and make money. And the proceed will go to my 'Tumboon' fund hiring gardener to pick up messes after my neighborhood stray dogs.

The Humane Society will be on the top of my list for prospective patrons of my stray dog work series. Watch out stray dogs.... here I come.

PS. The painting above is "Molly - The Good Dog".

Scituate & Cape Cod

Last month, I was lucky to go visit my sister-in-law in Scituate. We arrived there in horrible shape due to a storm in mid-west had caused many plane delays. That day, we spent time travel from Birmingham, Alabama to Boston longer than flying from Tokyo to Chicago (~14 hours). We got to Scituate, a suburb coastal town 3o miles south of Boston at 4 am. The next morning we walked around the town, shops, and neighborhood, check out the souvenir shop, "The Quater Deck". We drove along the shore-line and see many interesting homes.

On Saturday, we left for a short trip to Cape Cod to visit Uncle Rich, Aunt Carol, and their son's family. This is the first time two cousin, Baby Ian, and Baby Iris can meet. At the Cape, Uncle Rich took us on the ride along the ocean, and some path through the marshland during the low tide. It is very interesting to see many people choose to live in expensive homes, overlooking the ocean, or along the marshland. But have to disconnect from the world several hours a day (in high-tide, some marshland road is underwater). I envy the tranquil places they have. I probably could paint the marshland all day too. The same afternoon, we drove through the historic downtown Wellfleet, which was quiet at that time of year. Uncle Rich said, summer will bring lots more traffic and activity. I saw someone clamming near the marshland too. I really feel so New England. When we drove by the pier of Wellfleet, I saw a gentle man do a plein-air painting of a boat on the dock. I wish I could be his painting buddy. I took some photos of the boat for future reference though.

We stayed one night at Uncle Rich because there was a forecast if a Noreaster coming toward Boston area. We arrived back at Scituate safely and spent another day doing mini storm chasing along Scituate shore line. I painted the work above from these coastal inspirations. The reference photo was from Wetcanvas image library. It was a scene from "Nova Scotia".