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Monday, January 31, 2011

Happy New Year 2011~michellechoongkhoo

Wishing everyone a Happy, Prosperous and Loving Year ahead

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤


                                        
                                            A3 x 200 gsm watercolor paper
                                                    starring Jon & Carrie 

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Nothing is original?~ michellechoongkhoo

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photos, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

And so on such a rainy cool Sunday, what is the best thing to do?
Copy from H EDWARD BROOKS'S SHORT POSES, CHARCOAL ON TONED PAPER
and back study with drapery….. huge thanks indeed for his detailed instruction~
An excellent and generous artist ……..If he is here in Msia, I would jump at the chance to study with him~





After all the exercises above, what is the next step?
Of course some dramatic self portrait….hahahaha
Note to self, always choose a photo that is a side profile or 2/3rd turn for pencil work!


Go faster KOKO~ michellechoongkhoo

Quote: Alyson B Stanfield  from her posting Listen, read, act repeat :
"….DO THIS————~> Listen, read, act, and repeat. Or read, listen, act, and repeat. Don’t let the four most dangerous words–”I already know that”–stand in your way. Keep gathering knowledge in any format you come across, and pretty soon you’ll be proficient in your area of interest."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And I Totally agree…..
It never hurts to repeat doing the same exercise over and over again. I love drawing my kids and I adore doing it over and over everyday~
Painting this today brought wide smiles…..the days of power rangers and when we actually encourage the kids to speed>>>>>>>hahahahaha
                                              
                                           Julian on his birthday gift, tricyle
                                                       "Go Faster KOKO"
                                                  A3 x 200 gsm watercolor paper



Saturday, January 29, 2011

colored chicks~michellechoongkhoo

I wonder if they still sell these colored chicks anymore at the markets?

I remembered we bought 6 for Jon at the wet market for RM10 (equiv USD 3) and we left them free roaming in the garden in the daytime. We kept them under a food cover at night.

It was fine for a few days and then we discovered the chicks missing one a day….


mummy, there's 2 less today!
A4x220gsm acid free paper


(This painting was based on photo of Jon feeling so sad that he had 2 less chicks!)

In the end we solved the mystery ! The horrible stray cat was the murderer~ we found him stalking the 3rd chick and scurrying off with the blue feathers in its mouth before we could saved the poor little chick!

Eventually the 3 chicks grew up, lost their colors and became normal colored hens!
Apparently the farmers inject some kind of dye into the eggs while they were incubating and as far as I remember, the colored chicks were always sold out!

I shall keep an eye out for such chicks next time I visit the wet market, smile

Friday, January 28, 2011

meowwww, thank god its friday~michellechoongkhoo

I devored my ipad scouring for photos of Tobie ….
This aint the best but its friday….just itching to put some ink to work before I go off for my hair spa~ meowwwwww, have a good weekend~




more exercise on negative space~michellechoongkhoo

quote "…...If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; ……."  http://blog.drawn.ca/post/2928350595/the-advice-i-like-to-give-young-artists-or"

and so I did…….. just doing whatever fancies for the day~ thanks to inspirations from this link to beautiful art created by Christine Rosamond at artoddyssey~



whimsical, indulgent but having loads of fun….and thats precisely the whole point in art!

What a great year 2011 is gonna be…..
wuuuuuuu, I cant wait to see what the rest of the year is gonna turn out artwise for me!!!!!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

hugging baby Jules~michellechoongkhoo

I was so mesmerized by Christine Rosamond's whimsical, ethereal heavenly pieces that I had to try some painting some negative spaces myself~ 

oooooh hugging my babies, smelling their sweet breath…..thats what I love being a mum most of all~

I think I shall like to do more of such exercises….
I already have so many pieces in mind~ traa lala la laaaaa 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

learning from William L Maughan~michellechoongkhoo

after 2 days practising with my 2B pencil…..it is time to open up William L Maughan's book "The Artist's Complete guide to DRAWING THE HEAD" which I bought from Amazon.com a few months back……

Amazing stuff, simple instructions….
I wanted to improve on my edges and shadows because I notice that with 2B alone, despite trying to incorporate tonal values, it does not quite give me the effect I wanted~

This is today's effort from learning how to use 3 charcoal pencils of dark, medium, light and following William's instructions on page 26 "The Shadow Shapes and Their Edges"…..




What a great investment it was to buy the book…..
what with all the online tutorials, books, blogs, youtube… it is so much easier to find art tutorials that way than it is to find advertisements for local art teachers!

I sometimes wonder why art teachers dont embrace modern technology to really reach out to their prospective students? 

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

profile w pencil~michellechoongkhoo

I always use a camera to check my work….bec it never lies!

A quick check before uploading made me realize that the eyes were a tad off alignment!


This was after making the corrections~


This was before making the corrections~

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Justin~ and his posing

children are the most natural subjects for the camera…..
looking at all the old photos and the funny stuff my sons did for my faithful Olympus then,,,,,,aaaaaah, then they really do love being "camwhores" (i dont like this word but times change, dont they?)….when did they stopped loving posing? Sigh~

Just a sketch for a lovely Sunday…..




As the Artist Gerald M Burns says; "I believe that there is a thirst out there for an art that people can relate to. They are tired of being embarrassed by feeling they don't understand art. The fact is that most people do have an intuitive feel for what is "good and bad" in art. The problem is that most of what is now called contemporary art is so self indulgent and trivial that it is of no consequence to anyone other than to the artist who created it. In my work, I think people see something which they can relate to - instantly. Only then, once the viewer's imagination has been captured, is there any hope that one can convey or communicate any underlying theme or message."


I do wish I could paint like Gerald and then probably my art will then have more consequence to others than just myself….hahahaha


Yess, I am feeling indulgent in my sketches and watercolors….
they probably have no meaning or consequence to anyone else but to me and my sons…..
but this is my private art journey…..
I do have my own mission and aim towards my own goal~ 
and I'm loving every minute of my trivial art!

But its true there is an intuitive feel that we should not ignore….initially I signed off my original version of Justin's sketch thinking it was done…..then the camera shot just didnt feel right….his head came out as somehow wrongly proportioned to the body….
So I did some surgery….and I felt so much happier with the final version  and I am so glad I learnt something new today!
so can u imagine how when I found the excerpts below, I simply had to agree?
Life is simple and nice on this beautiful Sunday, January 23rd 2011 ❀✿❃

“ Painters never learn by making good paintings. Mistakes are the magic potion that conjures up future sensational paintings.” 
Betsy Dillard Stroud, from “Get a Jump-Start in Acrylics” in the May 2008 issue of The Artist’s Magazine.





Saturday, January 22, 2011

Julian conquered the Railey@Krabi~michellechoongkhoo

yes, I remembered this was one of the highlights of our family holiday at Krabi 2001~

Driving with a convoy of 14 cars 4x4 wheelers all the way from Penang to Hadyai, Songkla and then Krabi and back…..we were told a visit to Krabi's famed Railey Bay and Solo jumps overhanging the sea is a once in a lifetime adventure….none of the other 13 families were interested, but that didnt deterred the khoos!

Nice memories indeed~
                              Julian on the way down after conquering the Railey ~

Am very happy I have progressed to the point in my watercolor to be confident to draw my outlines with light watercolor strokes without any need for pencils….now I know that even if I make a mistake , it is as simple as overlaying it with fresh coat of pigments!

heh2 practise makes perfect ( so I am slowly but surely getting there day by day….soon I hope to be able to begin rendering some underwater landscapes and critters) :)

Friday, January 21, 2011

enjoying the waterfall at Chin Farm~michellechoongkhoo

I wish some places never change, that the beauty of nature and landscapes do not get obliterated by development….

Chin Farm, waterfall @ Penang was one such place….

Painting Julian on a tree branch overlooking the clear stream with the waterfall behind him at level 2

what a pity this beautiful place is no longer there~
But at least my sons got to view and experience some of the beautiful places that brought me much happiness while growing up~

Thursday, January 20, 2011

posterizing watercolor paintings ~ michellechoongkhoo

I really adore bighugelab's apps , I enjoy making different effects with their cool stuff~

here's a few that I did with their motivator app turning some of my watercolors into posters!
                                          







FUN FUN FUN isnt it? 

obsessing over Jules rocking horse poster~michellechoongkhoo

I just wanted to redo yesterday's exercise, keeping it simple and sweet~

Yup I think this is so much better~ hee hee and so much easier to execute without all the fuss over masking fluid and salts…
This I shall frame up too ✭




Jules and his rocking horse ~michellechoongkhoo


this is the finished effect after adding salt ~




after looking at the photographs…..I think I should have actually stopped painting at the step below…….for memories of childhood should come across as simple and sweet~


I want to redo this once more tomorrow~

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

a daddy moment~michellechoongkhoo

great happiness are made up of such moments ~

trying to capture it in various styles before deciding on the blue outlined format~

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

fashion inspired~michellechoongkhoo's "2011 Project A Painting A Day"

Stila Persson ~ another great fashion blog inspiration made me wanna imagine and go with the flow of where my palette and brushes take me~

very enjoyable exercise ;)





doodling with my watercolor brush ~michellechoongkhoo

I just cant concentrate with the ruckus that the tiling contractors are making at my yard!
aaaaaaah…..so am just doodling around this morning!


converting more space for my art~

Having an outdoor studio in the open air pool balcony is awsome for painting but it isnt so great as a storage area…..paper gets exposed to the wind and rain , aaargh and I found it was a chore to keep dusting grit off my art books and utensils.

Aaaah ,this empty space where Jon's piano used to be~ Perfect…..

Sunday, January 16, 2011

riding my imaginary bike~michellechoongkhoo's "2011 Project, A Painting A Day"

came across this fabulous article at Write a Bike on the Behance Network
I fell in love with the idea and  couldnt get novelty out of my head…… and so this is the next best thing?
I sure hope the bicycle designer Juri Jaech brings his product onto the assembly line soooooon…..its utterly awsome to own a customised bicycle with one's own name….WOW WOW!

I sure hope

Saturday, January 15, 2011

in search of artful expressions: using iPad to improve watercoloring tonal values ~ michellechoongkhoo's "A Painting A Day"

in search of artful expressions: using iPad to improve watercoloring tonal values ~ michellechoongkhoo's "A Painting A Day"

a mosaic of what it took on my ipad to review the tonal values from posterize, negatives and  zooming onto different parts before deciding on how to paint my watercolor~


dont be shy to have fun ~

using iPad to improve watercoloring tonal values ~ michellechoongkhoo's "A Painting A Day"

excepts from Aletta de Wal's article on www.empty easel.com


"Let’s start by debunking the cliché, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
The implication is that we lose the capacity learn anything new as we age, but that’s just not true. Recent brain research confirms that you can learn throughout your lifetime if you are willing to put in the effort.
The actual kernel of truth in this cliché is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, if that dog does not want to learn. On the other hand, if the dog has enough incentive (like food) it can learn to do a lot.
So how does this cliché relate to artists?
When I tell artists that they need to embrace modern technology, some of them balk. They’ve bought into the myth that age gets in the way of learning “new tricks.” Unless they can get past this false belief and learn some of the new tricks of the digital age, they’ll remain at a severe disadvantage in today’s art market.
Artists who don’t buy into this myth about age and learning have a huge advantage. They believe that they can do anything they want to do (given enough time or assistance) so they seek out teachers and courses and learn from others’ experiences.
These artists have accepted that technology is as vital to their art marketing as the tools they use to create their art. Their attitude is “can do” and that attitude drives them to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to just “do!”


For me, it was so absolutely true….the part about teaching an old dog new tricks….hahahaha.
I think my iPad definitely tremendously assisted in improving my profiling and tonal values….

Especially comparing how much time I wasted yesterday trying to do sketching some horseriders  silhouette from newspaper print versus how much ease it was sketching from a zoomed zagg image …..I'd say, any art teacher worth her salt should encourage all their students to turn towards technology to jumpstart their art experiences!

This Saturday morning, I am a happy happy girl with this watercolor of Jon at Phuket Riding Club last CNY  heeeeee hahhhhh! I love lurve my iPad alot…..
if I have said so  a few times in previous postings, hope you will forgive me….personally I wld credit that gitzmo for a great art renewal in 2011 after nearly 4 months of self imposed hiatus~

Am pretty sure Jon will favourite this painting too when I post it onto his FB wall later, smile~



using iPad to improve watercoloring tonal values ~ michellechoongkhoo's "A Painting A Day"

excepts from Aletta de Wal's article on www.empty easel.com


"Let’s start by debunking the cliché, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
The implication is that we lose the capacity learn anything new as we age, but that’s just not true. Recent brain research confirms that you can learn throughout your lifetime if you are willing to put in the effort.
The actual kernel of truth in this cliché is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, if that dog does not want to learn. On the other hand, if the dog has enough incentive (like food) it can learn to do a lot.
So how does this cliché relate to artists?
When I tell artists that they need to embrace modern technology, some of them balk. They’ve bought into the myth that age gets in the way of learning “new tricks.” Unless they can get past this false belief and learn some of the new tricks of the digital age, they’ll remain at a severe disadvantage in today’s art market.
Artists who don’t buy into this myth about age and learning have a huge advantage. They believe that they can do anything they want to do (given enough time or assistance) so they seek out teachers and courses and learn from others’ experiences.
These artists have accepted that technology is as vital to their art marketing as the tools they use to create their art. Their attitude is “can do” and that attitude drives them to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to just “do!”


For me, it was so absolutely true….the part about teaching an old dog new tricks….hahahaha.
I think my iPad definitely tremendously assisted in improving my profiling and tonal values….

Especially comparing how much time I wasted yesterday trying to do sketching some horseriders  silhouette from newspaper print versus how much ease it was sketching from a zoomed zagg image …..I'd say, any art teacher worth her salt should encourage all their students to turn towards technology to jumpstart their art experiences!

This Saturday morning, I am a happy happy girl with this watercolor of Jon at Phuket Riding Club last CNY  heeeeee hahhhhh! I love lurve my iPad alot…..
if I have said so  a few times in previous postings, hope you will forgive me….personally I wld credit that gitzmo for a great art renewal in 2011 after nearly 4 months of self imposed hiatus~

Am pretty sure Jon will favourite this painting too when I post it onto his FB wall later, smile~



Thursday, January 13, 2011

silhouettes~michellechoongkhoo's "A Painting A Day"

I have always failed to do silhouettes….and today was no different, I really had to struggle!

In the end, I decided on this final one which is in my opinion, passable only after I cropped out the largest image of the rider plus make the foreground much shorter!



"Riding into the sunset" was referenced from today's Star, 
based on a Reuter photo of horseback riders at Gaza City….
which caught my eye because it heartens me to know in that troubled land~ 
good people could still snatched moments of joy ….
so I wanted to capture its essence


I had to tear up a few sketches :
- first my main horse kept turning out looking like a donkey :(
- second the angles/proportions were problematic because I have never tried drawing horses?
- and the overall photo just had too many elements , making it difficult for me to focus….
the final decision to keep it to 2 small riders ended up working better!
- I must alway keep things simple so that there's fluidity, I think I must learn to be more decisive  which elements to retain and which to discard!

Definitely have not nailed the exercise yet….more work needed on my drawing board…..
If I could do what Samantha Hahn has done for her silhouettes…..that's when I will say I have nailed it!

Ahhhh but is ok…..after all I still learnt some things , so all in , I wont say it was a wasted morning's work of art ?


which reminds me……now I've got to find time to go back to horseriding in 2011~



picking seashells~ michellechoongkhoo's "Project 2011 A Painting A Day"

Here's my rendition of more beach nostalgia at Port Dickson….Jon being fascinated by the tiny seashells pinpointed by his uncle Sean :)

Happy memories always perk me up, even without any caffeine involved , hahaha




I cant believe I am still painting and sketching Day 10 into the project…..and its all thanks to apple's iPad technology which makes the photos (even those scanned from old archives) with colors so vivid for referencing!

Aaaaaaah, the marvel of new age tools~ 
aren't we just so lucky nowadays and don't you just love it?


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

a day at the beach~michellechoongkhoo

we are booked for Club Med Bintan for cny~ cant wait !

It is our favourite holiday destination every since Jon was 2 years old…..
And this indulgent painting is based on our then holiday at Club Med Cherating probably 1988….cant help wondering if the beach is still as pristine clear today ~
we havent been back for a long long while as our last visit it was so awfully run down that we had to escape to other club meds…..
mmmmm maybe we really should consider getting back there some day soon especially since it has been refurbished beautifully.



isnt it nice that in art…..there is no hard and fast rule that one must stick to facts?
heh heh, here I can imagine I was as tall and as slim as I wanna be, even with 
blond hair ;P

And when hubby complains that I seem to have even hijacked the dry kitchen space for my drawings, hahaha…..I told him he will be rewarded with a painting soooooon of him with abs that will render a young man jealous, hahahaha….
Life is wonderful, with technology, time, space to rediscover my paintings and an indulgent spouse…
what more could a girl possibly wish for in 2011?





Monday, January 10, 2011

Blossom into prosperity, day 8 "Project 2011(renamed) A Painting a Day"

hahahaha, at the rate I am experimenting…..my 2011 project has runaway to become more than a sketch a day~ so I shall rename it "A Painting A Day" LOL~





It all started with a G/F, bless her heart presenting me with some Papua New Guinea coffee beans and their local Nescafe (she says seriously its not the same as KL's taste, really? ) mmmmm so am sitting  and enjoying the aroma of my Starbucks xmas blend ,  thinking  ~ awww the packaging is so charming , almost a shame to open it up ~that I shall try niugini blend tomorrow!

Then reading the mainstream newspapers,  obviously with thoughts all about coffee…of coz my eyes was inadvertently drawn to the ads of Nescafe girl…. in red….and following that flow of thought, onto Metrojaya's beautiful china doll also in a profusion of red ~ it was eureka for the day!

Forget about linking up my iPad, syncing my photos, getting the FX photos of Tiger, printing out the tonal values in B/W, monochromatic and adjusting the strokes , cropping…….aaaaaah, it can wait for another day!

Today, my Nescafe Girl was just the right stimuli for this morning's art exercise and mmmmm, with that inspiration , it got me gobbling my Portuguese tart so quickly that I almost forgot to savor its deliciousness~ so that I could immediately set up the easel! Ah, the price one pays for ART, heh2.

As I wanted to mesh the 2 ads together and planned the background of a profusion of blossoms …….just as well I paint the outline direct, remembering what I read about always starting with the darkest tonal value…..

Chinese New Year Mood is already in the air here in KL…..
I am pretty sure I will soooon be inspired by great photos of beautiful ladies in their gorgeous qipaos

Sunday, January 9, 2011

nostalgia of Port Dickson~Day 7 "Project 2011 A Sketch A Day"




I wanted to try watercoloring direct with just some broad outlines~ this is in preparation of my trying monochromatic portraiture of Tiger (as visualized by bighugelabs FX ) next few days!

Today, I had great joy looking at old archive photos~ 
and equal joy painting this very ancient 1987 photo taken at Port Dickson…..
Wow, brought back such wonderful memories of those gleeful days, so many happy weekends spent with Jon, Carrie, Ean and Sean ! 
What a great sunday it is today! And I am most happy that from the pile of Port Dickson photos, is a huge treasure trove of materials to keep me busy busy busy sketching and smiling for a long while~



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