Magnolia and 2009 Calenders

I saw some drawing work with watercolor just applied to some of the drawings. It gives very interesting and beautiful look. I thought it would be nice to apply to the magnolia piece.

I apply watercolor to some flowers. The results are very nice, aren't they?

Redbubble creates very high quality calenders and prints. I assembled two sets of my work currently into calenders. One is the collection of my best birds and another is the collection of all the girls. They are put in the side.

The girl collection went into the featured art by the Redbubble curator. If you are interested, just click it and take a look.

Merry-go-Round: What was your journey to your art?

Jump on our first merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women as they link hands around the world and tell you a little about their lives in art and craft.

Today is the first topic of the Merry-go-Round that I joined together with other 8 artists. Today's topic is "What was your journey to your art/craft?" I encourage you to read others about it as well. The links are at the end of the post. Just a note, because of time difference, you may find the other posts in a later time.

To me, it has to go back to my childhood I think. I was raised in a small mountain village in China's Zhejiang province by my grandmother. My parents were working in a small city in Ningbo. You can image how life was in an isolated small mountain village. I was as wild as I could. I raised a pig when I was just 4 years old. I still remember the smell of the sweet grass that I gathered for my pig. It was a very poor village, I vividly remember that my grandmother spend so much time to pick the rice from very dilated rice porridge for me and she only eat the watery rice soup.

But I was very happy and running around in the village, wild field and mountains. The village was beautiful and I sometime spend hours just looked though a small window and wondered what was there behind the beautiful mountains.

I moved to live with my parents when I was 5. My father believes in education very much and was very strict with me. He bought me various types of books. One of the pictorial books was with a cover of an 18 century oil painting of a little Spanish girl. She had such big and thoughtful eyes. I've never seen such beautiful eyes and totally moved even I was only 5.

Art was always with me. Although our house was very small, but the walls were filled with beautiful posters of birds, flower and Chinese paintings.

But I never thought I will become an artist. I graduated from the famous Zhejiang University majoring in science. I went to American and pursuing a high degree in Science as well. After that I was working in Singapore as university lecturer and researcher.

The idea of painting every day came when I moved to my new house. It is a dream house to me because it is spacious and near a beautiful beach and park with a beautiful garden. I was full of enthusiasm to decorate it beautifully. I searched many places in Singapore for paintings, but couldn't find one that I like. My friend reminded me why not I painted one myself. It struck me immediately. Ya, why not.

The first thought in my mind was that I want the beautiful paintings that I saw when I was a child in my walls. So I copied the famous Venus with some modification. It was very good to me. I was very pleased with the result and became bold. The second one was painted with photos of maple tree and a model of a girl.

I felt so satisfied with with what I got. I wondered if I could continue to paint in some way, but not thought of doing it full-time. The surprising pregnancy of my little princess changed all that. She was too precious for us and I couldn't leave her to be taken care by someone else. Why not become a full time mother and paint as well. It was a very easy decision for me.

It has been about 2 years since then. I was living in an artist dream everyday. Ya, life is beautiful. However, the journey isn't easy. The most difficult thing is to find the thing that you want to paint and paint in the way that you like and you want it to be. I am still searching the way I want.

What I want is something as beautiful as the eyes of the little Spanish girl that I saw first time. They makes impact on your life and you can spend your life look at them.I still have today's painting. It is finished from yesterday's layout.

• Andreanna, Glamasaurus
• Agathe, Le Bar du Vent
• Charlotte, of Fancypicnic
• Anna, Half an Acre
• Fabs, Easterya Jewellery Creations
• Marian, Florcita's Art
• Ruth, Birdland Creations
• Sara, Sara's Texture Crafts

Magnolia Work -in-Progress and Merry-go-round

I love magnolia very much. Today something just leads me to do a work with it. It is done a bit only and I need to think about how this will be developed tomorrow. I have no idea what I should put in right now.

Just let you know that tomorrow I'll post my first post with Merry-go-Round. I already introduced it yesterday. A group of women artist/craftsmen around the world will make a post on one same topic each month on 26th of the month.

Tomorrow's topic is "What was your journey to your paintings?". If you are interested to know about it, come back tomorrow.

Girl and Bird and My Blog Anniversary and Merry-Go-Round

I like the details of the girl's face and made another one for the design. I love the soft colors and the peaceful expression in her face.

Blog Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of my blog. I started this blog last year. Wow, a year past, it is really fast.

It's a long journey to me since I started to learn painting in 2006. I still remember in the first day of watercolor painting lesson. I used a plate that has a slop to mix watercolor paints. My teacher looked at it and just shook his head and sighed. I had no idea why he was so unhappy about my plate. I didn't know at all that the colors all flew to the bottom of the plate and mixed together to become a pile of mud.

Along the way, I had my baby and only started to paint full-time from last August. I painted in watercolor, acrylics and oil. Later I picked up digital illustration. I love oil, but because of its smell and a baby at home, I think I let it go at the moment.

I made a 225 posts for the year. I tried to post every day except weekends and the days when I was on holiday in China where blogs are blocked for accessing. The good thing is that I grew more and more interest in painting and illustration. I hope to have more ideas and beautiful works in the future.

The most important thing is that I have learned more and more about art. I also get to know some of the great people that produce beautiful work through some art communities such as Etsy, Dawanda, Redbubble and blogs.

Most wonderful thing is the feedbacks from my customers. I am so happy that they are happy.

Do check out the anniversary special here and on my website to see if you like anything?

Merry-Go-Round

So many things going on today. I would like also to introduce another event that I am participating now. A group of us women artist and craftsmen from Dawanda would like to post on our blogs on one same particular topic each month on the 25th of the month. Check us out on things that we are making. We are

Sara's texture crafts
Inside the artisan
Fancypicnic
Lily Pang Art
Florcita's art
Easterya's jewelry
Half an acre
Le Bar du Vent
Glamasaurus

The first topic of the post is: "What was you journey to craft?" since most of them are doing craft. I will write tomorrow, "What was my journey to painting?". Do come to visit us on 26th each month see what we post at the same time.

Me and Nature - Delicate and Charming and China's Horrible Milk Products

I have planned to paint three "Me and Nature" paintings. But I stopped at two. One is Me and Nature - Sophisticated and Loving" . One is Me and Nature - Passionate and Mischievousness". They were done in July. I was stuck at the third one although I had initial design.

Now I finally got it finished. I have changed many times on the painting of colors and things to put. The final result is something that I really like. Soft and delicate.

You need to look at the face in detail. She is a really lovely girl, isn't she?Ok, I need to go to the post office to send some milk powder for my sister's baby in China. Most of you may know that there is a big problem in Chinese Milk products. They cause many babies kidney stone and failure. Four of them died already.

My father is a person doesn't pay much to details. But he always is very meticulous when comes to the food for my sister's baby. He even raises a chicken in the roof-top of his apartment to get eggs for the baby. Somehow, he only buys imported milk powder for the baby and thanks god, the baby is fine.

I am just amazed that my family didn't feed any milk power made in China to the little baby. To me it is a miracle for her.

Now, they are so worried to feed the baby any milk even it says it is imported. I have to mail some to them, although the cost of shipping is almost the same as the price of the milk powder.

Flower Mountain

I finished half way on the illustration yesterday. Today I continued with the flower and the mountain.

With the same topic with painting and digital illustration, I wonder which one you like. I like both. The illustration has the modern clean feeling. It suits a modern environment while painting suits a home with traditional style.

Flower Mountain

I was wondering what to paint today. I am a bit stuck with my watercolor and would like to put it down for a while.

I bought a lot of gouache while I was in China, because gouache is a very convenient medium to use when you are traveling.

Now I look at these paints and think I should use it to do some digital work. Initially this painting was developed for a digital illustration, but I carried away and just paint it totally.

Gouache on watercolor paper
Size: 7 x 10", $40 + $5

Sea Village

I like this sea view. It is simple but with beautiful water and sky. I took the photo of the painting when it was quite dark and the blues are not quite right. I'll replace another one tomorrow.

It was a busy day today. I went to the hospital for a routine checkup and immunization of my baby. This type of hospital visit always likes this. She was so happy to go there and walk around to see the nurses smile and say hello to her, but end up crying home because of the shots.

Great Chance to see Different Artist Styles

As I mentioned before that we have a September challenge in our watercolor works team from Etsy. The above are photos that we can use to paint. It is very interesting to see that different artist interprets very differently the same topic.

I compile the paintings from our group and attached here for your references. It is a great chance to see how different styles reflect the same objects.

You can click each image to go to their stores if you are interested in more of their work.

Which one do you like? Or you like all of them?

As for me today, I painted this simple tree landscape:

Loose Approach in Watercolor and Beauty Business

I feel that my landscape watercolor is painted in too controlled way. I would like to loose it up. Here are two small ones that I was experiment with. One is garden and another is a landscape.

The more you try with watercolor the more you found the beauty of it. The colors are so interesting and gives so many varsities when they mixed in the paper.

Last Saturday I went to attend one of my friends opening ceremony of her beauty business. She aims to combine Chinese Medicine with usual beauty business methods such as facial and body slim. It is very special in Singapore I think.
Beauty business is a great business in Singapore. Singaporean love to make themselves beautiful. Life is stressful in Singapore because of lacking of good social welfare and increasing living cost. People are working very hard. Sometime, they want to pamper themselves by spending lots of money on them. Beauty treatment is a good way to do it.

I wish her business great success. I believe it will because she is caring, beautiful and always makes everyone comfortable. We love to be with her.

Her address is:

华之秀艺术养生轩
Orient De Wellness Gallery
50 East Cost Road, #02-40
Roxy Square Shopping Center

Title: The Golden Garden and Sea Village
Size: 6" x 9", $40 + $5

Hydrangea

I love the colors of purple and yellow. They just glow when you put them together.

This is an unusual arrangement of the still life. Initially I try to put them together nicely as usual still life painting would do. But later I felt it was a bit boring and came up with this arrangement. I think if the right part moves up more, it would be more interesting.

I like to paint still life. You don't worry about the accuracy of the objects. You only need to paint the right mood, colors and the feeling.

Watercolor on paper
Size: 11.4" x 15"

Small Flower

This is another version similar to the Poppies I did on Monday. I like the moody background. It reminds me of dreaming and longing.

Harvest Time

Painting watercolor needs the right mood. I am not in that mood for watercolor all the time. But today I think I have to do something because I am under pressure.

The Etsy watercolor team has a September challenge. It is due on Sept. 18th. If I don't do it now I am not sure if I'll meet the deadline.

The original photo for us to paint is a pile of pumpkins.
I thought it would be fun to add some flowers.

This is the first time I try on the new paper I brought from China for still-life painting. I found the paper is just fantastic. It is much better than some other expensive ones. I should have brought more.

If you find that my style is so much different from previous ones, I think it is because I am painting still-life. I found that the methods that I use to paint still-life is very different from painting landscapes.

Watercolor on paper
Size: 11.5" x 14", $130 + 9 S & H

Baby Owl

Owl is a very popular object for art and so many people produce great work on it. It is not a familiar bird to me. I have only created one painting before.

Well, after I painted two, I love the bird now and try to create more. I hope mine creation gives a bit of variation of the popular subject.

Here are three baby owls with mixed media gouache, watercolor painting and digital art.

Red Poppies and Sunday

I was drawing on paper randomly and developed this poppy shape flower. I thought it is quite interesting and put it into a field of poppies with a bit of vintage look.

Sunday was a very nice day. We went to the zoo. We visited many more animals and played in the water pond in the children playground. My baby was a bit scarred initially going into the water. But after trying a bit, she loved it very much and refused to come up. The boy from my neighbor was very different. He is younger, but he just jumped into water when he saw it.

Moonlight Sonata

I was playing with my baby on piano and demo to her the famous Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Suddenly I thought why not I paint one for the music.Painting with music is a way that many artists do. I like to do it as well. It is really nice.Friday again and most important it is a bright sunny day. It will be a beach and park time for me and my baby. We will go out with our neighbor babies and have some great time.

Talking about my neighbors, I feel so embarrassed yesterday. One of them just came back from a vocation and brought some new clothes for my baby as gifts. I want to take only one because I don't feel good to take all of them. But I don't know how to reject just said that the others are not suitable. Sigh, I hope she won't get hurt. I always find difficult to reject other people's hospitality.

Bird and Flower

This is a reproduction from my watercolor painting and digital illustration. I just love to paint birds. They are so nice to put in every painting.

It is another raining day. I spent most of the day in the shopping mall to play with my baby. She loves to browse the books in the children section in the library. There is a big box, you can pick books or throw books into it. She just loves to play around it.

I read my own books there while she was playing. It was such a nice day for us.

Bird and Flower and Cool Children Music Video

Today the whole day it was raining. The sky is dark gray and I have no way to paint without sunlight. I cannot control the right color under electrical lights.

Then it is a good time for more digital art. I painted this bird using gauche and add more flowers and patterns digitally. It is fun to play with it to get the best results.

I discover this cool music from Youtube. Me and my baby love it very much. We watch it together all the time. Why don't you also try it. I love to share things that have "wow" effect on me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52j6hv6EOe4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiLpJBBwcNE&feature=related

The Flower Path

This is a larger piece of 20" x 20". It's fun to paint the tree and the leaves. I didn't use wash here and just use brush strokes. It reminds me of Chinese painting on rice paper.

I have learned Chinese painting in my Collage time. My university is the famous Zhejiang University located in the most beautiful city in China Hangzhou. It was a very fun time. We sometime went out to the garden and river side to do outdoor paintings under the warm spring sunshine. I just wanted to have some fun at that time and never thought I'll do painting full time now. If I knew, I would study harder then.

I am also working on my website and hope it will be ready for the blog anniversary sale planned from Sept. 15th to Oct. 15th.

Watercolor on Paper
Size: 20" x 20", $350 + $12 S & H

Yellow Bird and Pink Flowers Reproduction

This is a reproduction from the original painting. They have different appealing comparing to the original painting. I love both of the form.

Print size: 8.5" x 11.5", image is about 8.5" x 10.5"