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.”

- Jim Jarmusch

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!

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~

lesson one: back to basics_michellechoongkhoo

Ms Shia Yih Yiing (link to her website) our art teacher at MIA art centre, Ampang is full of encouragement and quickly puts the new students attending lesson one at rest.

Andrea, Jessica, Chris , Shairin & I were initially put thru our pace of drawing the object in front of us so that Ms Shia could evaluate our efforts…..hee hee, me thought Smita's mineral bottle was my object and proceeded to draw nervously... Gosh its been more than 30 yrs since I last touched a 2B pencil….knuckles tight and full of concentration, I attacked my art block until Ms Shia brought me to earth again with her comments …."mmmmm, I'm curious what is yr profession?"
me: " errr, hee hee….why?"
Shia: " your lines are so precise, are u by chance a draughtswoman?"

And going round to the other students, thats how Ms Shia warmed us up and slowly encouraged us to earnestly put in more efforts~

Gee, its not so easy to put the modest 2B pencil to shades of dark,grey,light tho obviously black and white is easy lo.
Nor was it easy to put textures and shades to basic geometrical shapes….but noticing how my fellow students were so engrossed in their art, I endeavored and plodded along with lots of help from my eraser. LOLz

The 2 hours flew by …..phew, my stiff fingers needed to relax , my right palm was all black from the furious erasing and rubbing.
I looked enviously at the other senior students who were already drawing figures or getting guidance from Ms Shia on their oil paintings ….I just cant wait to be in their shoes~

I can't wait to go home, dig out my long forgotten pocket guide to painting and read up or hee hee to let my imaginations roam ….. gee, how does one make a potato look like one on paper without colors? Nvm, I will tackle that next time, meanwhile let me try to do some copying and see if my sketches can look anywhere near those images in my pocket guide….

That brought chuckles from hubby at 1am as he dropped by to see whatever could be keeping me awake ~
Eddie : "oh lordy, now we are painting is it?"
smile, erm not yet…..but I hope soon….smile
And with that, I went to bed , quietly satisfied.
Oh I did have sweet dreams last night but strangely it was not about art….this morning I awoke from my dream that was about me buying the biggest smokey quartz ring that looked just about my style….aiya~mother's day is coming soon….
I sure hope my dream about the ring will come true….I'm going to Pavilion to check out Tiffany & Co if there's my dream ring in their showcases….
aaaaah the possibilities in a dream, Life is a gift~