Passing time

Maxwell Food Centre is a place I go to once in a while on Sundays for breakfast with my husband. While he was in the queue for our favourite fish porridge, I passed 30 minutes of waiting time drawing random stuff for practice.

When I had done my warm-ups with the pen, I picked out certain characters in the porridge queue for further practice.

On a clear day

On a clear day, you wish your camera had eyes like yours that see the unblemished horizon, free from haze and pollution and before you the clouds drifting by over the oil refinery where the chimneys were not spewing or discharging dirt into the air. It was a beautiful morning and you wish that where the sea meets the sky you see the outline of islands in the distance instead of man-made structures. That not being possible you could still feel good looking at the blue patches that is the sea and the thick foliage of the flowering Tembusu trees right in front of you.

Artifical flowers

I do not like artificial flowers especially the very plastic-looking ones. However, I kept these with me for many years because they look really like real flowers. Peonies on my wall and I just love them.

Old Bridge in Xinbeitou Park

No, the lady in the kimono is a figment of my imagination. I was at this bridge in the park at Xinbeitou and the image of this bridge stuck in my mind. I am not sure why but I guess this bridge looks like a romantic meeting place for lovers. In fact, it was made famous in an old Taiwanese movie called the Old Bridge at the Hot Spring (my translation) that was a love story. So as usual, I had excess ink from my calligraphy practice and made use of it to get the image from my mind onto something more permanent. For the details I had to refer to the photos I had taken.

Lotus pond

I was practising my calligraphy with not much significant improvement and then suddenly felt the urge to just break away from writing to draw instead. I have mastered neither calligraphy nor brush painting. It did not bother me for I had a wild time letting the brush loose on the rice paper. The character on the left means "Hall" or room. This character is also one half of the expression for 'paradise' which is 'tian tang' in Chinese. It is rather coincidental that the character and the drawing came together for a Lotus Pond does have a heavenly quality and feel about it.

At a foodcourt

I thought I should return to the basics of sketching, drawing and paying attention to light and shadow, tones and holding a pencil in my hand instead of jumping into painting. Drawing is own-time-own-target with the flexibility of time and place and choice of subjects. I started with m own mug of coffee on the table, then went on to draw the top of a chair opposite me before venturing further to draw this lady with the back to me. It was her shiny jet-black and curly hair pulled up by a frilly band that attracted me. Then an old lady took a seat a little closer and just when I thought I had her there for long enough a time because I thought she was taking her breakfast there, she moved away to another table further away. I was fascinated by her hand - the loose flab of flesh and the age spots as well as the wrinkled hand. Pity I could not catch all these details.

Next, a couple of old ladies sat down to a noodle breakfast. The lady was probably around mid sixty but her hair was dyed black and it was permed. She was dressed in typical 'amah' (grandmother) clothes but they were neat and though I have not got the proportions right, I am pleased that I captured that expression of hers - the one that says "Hey today's my off day from looking after the grandchildren and I am enjoying myself here with my friend."

This is an unfinished drawing because this old man did not stay long enough for me to do a good portrait of him. I started with his hair that was thinning at the top but the rest of it was cut as if a bowl was put on the head and the rim of the bowl used as a guide to cut around the head. Despite that thought which was just to amuse myself, I kind of like his hair style and his neat shirt.

Flowers in my mind

This is an acrylic painting on a calendar stand. I recycle old calendars using them to practice painting. These stands are small enough to hold in my hand while I sit in a comfortable position on my 'director' chair.

I have not been painting for a long, long time and using acrylic paints took a lot of effort. I have lost the technique of painting form dark to light and it took a considerable determination not to give up. The flowers were painted from imagination and recall. As usual, I was totally engrossed in painting and it was past midnight before I was done.

This is a practice piece and completing it within a few hours I now have the incentive to do more. I have stacks of these calendar stands in my cupboard. Painting to me is like meditation - I totally lose touch with my surroundings when I paint.

Ferns

I want to paint these Autumn colours
Fill my canvas with these earthy shades
Dip my brush in paint and dapple with the mixtures
let my senses guide my hand and form the shapes
Drawing inspiration from the beauty of nature
Creating something different, something unique
something I like to call my own.

Dellinia Suffruticosa

I picked up a fabric pen I bought months ago and drew this flower on a shopping bag that was given free by BreadTalk on one occasion. It felt good to be able to draw after such a long while.

Indian Decorative Pot

Drawn from a black-and-white photo of an Indian Decorative Pot. The time spent studying the intricate patterns during the drawing process made me appreciate the artistry of whoever made this pot. The design was probably in his or her head evolving as the potter shaped the pot. It made me realise that what had initially been just a heavily decorated pot was really one that carried nature's motifs of flowers and leaves elegantly. I started at the top drawing the knob of the cover of the pot and worked my way down layer by layer. The shape of the pot was not perfectly symmetrical because it was hand-made. My initial concern was that the pot had to be well-balanced and I worried that I might not be able to complete the drawing satisfactorily because I could not produce the desired shape. It was a relief to find that human hands are not robotic arms and precision is not crucial here. As I progressed from the top to the bottom of the drawing I had a sense that the potter must have lived those moments crafting this pot to the fullest. I wish I could have that experience of producing something concrete like this decorative pot.

Shell Appreciation

Shells are nature's works of Art. They are always perfect, always beautiful. I cannot replicate nor outdo nature. Perhaps I could use them as an inspiration to jump-start my dormant creativity.

Sea Shells

Each shell marks a moment in my past. I collected shells because I love the beach. Most of the shells were picked with the bigger and more exotic looking ones given to me by friends and sometimes purchased during holidays in Malaysia. I did not know what to do with them for a long time but now, they could make great photography subjects for photography practice.

Experimenting with camera lens and settings

I have a Canon 400D with a standard and a 200mm zoom lens. I also have a Canon 100mm Macro lens. I did not buy them but since they are at my disposal, I thought I should not let them go to waste. While looking for an object for my practice session, I saw this lovely shell that I used to decorate my book shelves. Shell collecting used to be a hobby of mine and I have boxes of shells stored away somewhere in the house. This shell is the Fasciolaria Trapezium and is found in S.E. Africa and the Pacific. These are shots taken with the standard lens using the Aperture Priority feature.

These were taken using the Canon 100mm Macro lens and using Shutter Priority.

Digital manipulation

These were done years ago using the Microsoft Editor or some simple photo manipulation software. I remember I enjoyed playing around to get these effects with such a simple tool.