Rhodo in a crop

This is an 8x11 inch watercolor on Fabriano Studio 140 lb block.  This is my first big(er) format painting in years (after busy with the hyper Lily baby daughter).  I did this as a part of Weekend Drawing Event (Jan 10) on Wetcanvas.com

Long time no see...

Well, my title is a bit broken English for Thai people... pardon me... but I truly mean that.  As we have to deal with our hyper second child... so my time to blogging was lagging but I try to keep it alive again.

Here are some part of life-sketching from the list of Scavanger Hunt#320 on Wetcanvas.com.  Recently I just got a few of Copic markers to play it so I enjoy learning to use them here and there in my sketches.

The little red fabric bag is a Thai hilltribe handcraft done as a write bag... for you to put your keys in and wrap it around your wrist while you go jogging.  It works out pretty nice for me if I head out for a walk/jog.

Scavenger Hunt#289

  Most sketches were done while I was having my late lunch after teaching.  The theme of this Hunt was about all kinds of colors.

Piano tuning

Sorry for being absent for some time.    I just got tired from trying to juggle my career, piano lessons, arts, and my two kids and the little one is a very active two year old.  I am still around and do some sketching and traveling when I can.  I need to blog about my recent trip to the US and New York City soon.

In the mean while, these are sketches of the piano tuning happened at our love pad last weekend.  Tone and I really appreciate this tuner who pay attention to very fine details of our family treasure.  I wish you could hear our music.

Scavenger Hunt - 257

Here are sketches from life for the assigned list of Scavenger Hunt 257 on Wetcanvas.com.

Shoe shine

Something I found sitting around at one corner of our campus.

Extraordinary pose

I guess the girl can do pretty much anything. This is a life-sketch as a part of ScavengerHunt#256 on Wetcanvas.com, done with pencil, color pencils, and Talen watercolors.

A kind neighbor

Nothing is as beautiful as a simple act of kindness, just like what happened to us today when our neighbor just cut her beautiful flowers and hand them to my baby Lily during our morning bike ride.

2012 New Year Resolution

I have been using mind-maps (computer generated ones) lately in my class to teach. Today I feel that combining Scavenger Hunt#251 life sketching with my personal mind-map should be a good play. So here it is. I wish you a great 2012 year and you achieve what you have been waiting for.

Ending 2011 with a great sketching day

What could be a better way to end the year with going out sketching with your buddies. Today I and four other friends of BangkokSketchers met up at Bangkok downtown and sketch the scene of the Chinese shrine. The Thai believe that 2012 will be a dragon year, people here believe that this year is auspicious to have babies. !!! So it is good that I get to sketch a few dragons on the roof of the shrine. I hope you get the idea where it is in the sketch. ;-) Happy New Year 2012 to you all.

Ending 2011 with a great meal.

I can't imagine ending a year without a good eat celebration. Today, I went in downtown Bangkok for an authentic Japanese meal at the first Japanese restaurant in Bangkok. I did the sketch there while wait for the food. The gentleman (pink shirt) on my left side, was happy to see I included him in the sketch. Have a great Happy New Year 2012, everyone.

Seascape memoir still-life

This is a sketch of things I got from several of beach trips.

Open & Closed

This is a wc sketch with a touch of cp (cp from Iris's dentist art corner), done while we were waiting for Iris's dentist appointment. The dentist clinic have a cozy art table for little kids to enjoy... I guess I was their big art kid yesterday... ha ha.

Eclectic still-life

This is meant to be a big format sketch still-life (11x14 inch) but I feel that I took it too far toward an elaborated painting. Nevertheless, I am happy with the result because I hardly do any big format painting these days after baby Lily was born. So this is nice that I can complete it. I mostly use watercolor with little dab of color pencils, and ink.

Baby time

Nope.... not another baby...I am getting too old to chase a new one, never mind running after Miss Lily, a fourteen month old. I am talking about my freshly done sketches of kido stuffs. My kind colleague just gave Lily a nice sweet pair of shoewear from England. They are a bit too small for her so I am returning them to my colleague but I can't help myself sketching them in gouache on my homemade brown paper bag sketchbook. Enjoy.

Nature

These are tropical flowers, mostly variety of plumeria flowers that I have picked up from the ground during my morning biking. Done in my Tiger storebrand 5x8 inch sketchbook in two-page spread with Cotman watercolor & ink.

#31 World-Wide SketchCrawl

Today, I went SketchCrawl at Birmingham Botanical garden. They have an amazing Japanese garden there. These are done in a 2-page spread inside my Moleskin watercolor sketchbook with Daniel Smith watercolors & ink.

#1 The main gate of the Japanese garden

#2 The Black bamboo forest

2612 Southminster Road

This is a 11x14 inch watercolor done plein aire at a neighborhood of my mother-in-law in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. I use Daniel Smith wc on this one.

Before Mahler Symphony

This is a sketch done for the pre-show of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra by the local high school percussion band. They were awesome and I find it amazing how kids these day achieve so much in their school. It is good to know that there are a lot of kids and a lot of schools out there that will never expect anything less of each other.

Meeting up with Joan.

Yesterday, Joan drove up from New York to see me while I was visiting my host family in Connecticut. We exchanged gifts, saw each other sketchbooks, sketch the horses alongside at the host family's stable. What a wonderful day that was to me, after all she inspired me to put up this art blog. We have been exchanging so many art cards after all these years. Thank you WetCanvas.com and the wonderful world of art that lead me to know one more special friend.