Tag: watercolours

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Art Practice

You Can’t Have it All… At the Same Time

This week, I was planning to post on how excited I was that I’m going back to doing onsite classes at The Learning Connexion… until I had to decide to forego this opportunity after coming to a single day of class. It was a wonderful class with Justine Turnbull as tutor. Above is the photo of my artwork exploring tones.

My current week includes

  • preparing Rapha for kindy MWF
  • kindy drop-offs and pick-up
  • weekly distance learning meeting
  • committee meeting at Mana Arts (approx. once a month)
  • kids ministry (one Sunday every 3 weeks)
  • swimming 3x a week
  • daily Pilates
  • art practice
  • 1 weekly art group
  • house chores

Silly me thought I could squeeze one more thing since it’s only a day’s worth a week. Little did I know that that entails preparing the night before—my stuff for school, Rapha and I’s lunch boxes, Rapha’s stuff for after-school care, thanks to my in-laws. That meant 2 days are spent just for me to get to that class alone—that’s 2 days’ worth of time, energy, and petrol! Hahaha.

I instantly experienced the aftermath of this week. Come Wednesday, I just lay flat off the sofa when I came home. Thursday, I was straight-out forgetting things and making heaps of errors, including driving. Friday was a tough one because I was snapping at everyone for the littlest things. It was a hard decision, but you just can’t have it all… at once! There is a time and season for everything. At this stage, I want to be 100% present to all my commitments, especially to my family.

Today, Saturday, we decided to do things that bring us joy. After Rapha’s swimming class, we headed to a pick-your-own blueberry farm and did a short walk at Percy Regional Park. It was a good reset from the grueling week we had.

I am so glad that, as humans, we are given the choice to let go sometimes. I am also surrounded by a loving village helping us raise our son.

I will still pursue onsite classes at some point… just not today.

Categories
Art Practice

Solo Show: The Aftermath

While my solo show was ongoing, I kept telling people I might take a 3-month hiatus after everything was done… how I wish I were wrong! Out of exhaustion and the shift to cold weather months, my family members took turns getting sick and here we are after three months!

I didn’t realise how tiring it can be – physically and mentally. But I’ve had three wonderful months to rest and am back now.

While I was on break, I took time to think about the direction I’m headed. I feel like my current skills are not at par with my vision yet and so I decided to focus on areas I really want to improve on.

I tried printmaking, painting, and drawing, experimenting with different mediums while on a break and from there picked on the practice I want to concentrate on.

My goal is to explore and find out what my art style is. I understand finding one’s art style isn’t a linear experience but starting somewhere and finding how I can best express myself would be a good place to start.

I chose drawing and painting – using watercolours, soft pastels, and acrylics for now. I have set up workstations around my home studio to accommodate my deep dive into these mediums.

I chose the media I enjoy working with the most as I think I can learn more by doing what I really like. I’ve talked to a New Zealand artist I really admire and she told me that focusing on a medium allows you to find deeper knowledge and mastery of it. I guess I’m done exploring materials for now and am geared towards getting to know my chosen materials more and experimenting with them.

In saying that, here are my recent explorations. Through these, I’ve found the gaps in my skills and have found my preferred ways of working, too. So I guess I’ll take it from there and push on with my art-ventures!

Oh, and I have finished the transcript for my next book! Just don’t know when I’ll find the time to start illustrating it!

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ash the brush's journey

Ash the Brush’s Journey!

A year ago, after the first Covid lockdown, I started going to art school. It was something I’ve always dreamt of but never really got the chance to do.

At about the same time, I was diagnosed with a chronic disease that drove me to a downward spiral. I thought maybe meeting new people and learning new things at school might help me – and help me it did.

One of the first things my mentor asked me was what type of project I wanted to do, and our choices were pretty unlimited. First thing that came into my mind was a book. I’ve always wanted to write a book – something that’s loosely based on my own adventures and misadventures, thus Ash the Brush’s Journey came to be!

A year after, with my symptoms now under control, and now still continuously recovering, I am happy to share with all of you my first book, written and illustrated by yours truly! Ash the Brush’s Journey is about a paintbrush on a journey to find her purpose.

The whole book was created primarily in vibrant watercolours and ink so anyone interested in explosive colours is in for a feast! It is appropriate for kids ages 6 to 8 and to absolutely everyone who’s young at heart.

It’s now available in both Softcover and PDF format on my shop. Grab your copy today!