Yay, more watercolor projects~

Finally found the time to finish 2 watercolor projects over the weekend. This time I’m practicing painting using masking fluid. Masking fluid, according to this art glossary website, is “a latex gum product that is used to cover a surface you wish to protect from receiving paint. Miskit by Grumbacher and Art masking fluid by Winsor & Newton are two such products. Also referred to as liquid frisket.”

Although I’m not using any of the brands mentioned… LOL. I used two brands: Lefranc-Bourgeois and the other one’s Daler Rowney. Both bought in Vietnam, w00t.

First project is a Chinese vase. Had to mask the flowers because they’re detailed. Step by step:

Step 1: Penciled the vase and the flower details to serve as my guide

Step 2: Covered the flowers with masking fluid to protect them from being painted over (used the Lefranc-Bourgeois masking fluid for this)

Step 3: Painted the blue part first, peeled off the dried masking fluid, then painted in the details of the flowers

The next project required minimal masking fluid, but I had to use a new technique: spattering. It’s fun, but it gets messy if you over-spatter the paint… Spattering adds an interesting texture to paintings, although there are other techniques for adding texture (which I will experiment on in the next projects).

Penciled a scene of a boat by the beach then spattered masking fluid over the sandy beach. I had to cover the boat with scratch paper to protect it.

Painted the scene in, spattered paint over the sandy beach (covered the boat again) and peeled off the masking fluid.

The staggered 365 Project

It’s been 34 days since I last posted anything here. Obviously, I barely complied with the 365-project rule to do one artwork a day. I never even realized that it had been that long already… So much for the discipline I had hoped to impose on myself upon taking on this project.

The good news is, I’ve found a medium that I enjoy using–watercolor. After the ferris wheel, I did a little research on watercoloring as an art, and I was sold.

So I did my shopping list, went to the nearest store and got myself a new set of colors, brushes, a mixing pan and a watercoloring paper block. The annoying part was it took me forever and 3 days to complete my watercolor shopping. It took me forever to find the pigments needed to complete a 6-color palette; and 3 days to find the basic brushes.

Apparently, I went to the wrong store.

A store in Glorietta offered complete 6-, 12-color palettes nicely laid in a box that was clearly labeled for beginners. Great.

Oh, I also got a book, “Mastering the art of watercolour” by Jelbert and Sidaway.

Over the course of 34 days, I came up with these full paintings (in order of creation):

Hopefully this time I can at least do 2~3 watercolor projects per week… I’m really excited to finally explore other techniques used in watercoloring. Can’t wait to create more complex projects~

A ferris wheel and a swallow: Day 3 and Day 4

DAY 3

This is what happens when you try watercoloring after 20 long years… Oooh, before I forget to mention, they now have metallic watercolors, kewlies~

I intended to do a render of a picture taken by a friend of mine (refer to previous post), but it absolutely looks nothing like it. I didn’t even get the colors right LOLLERZ. So, let’s just say that this piece of crapwork artwork was instead **inspired** by the photo.

This was it looked like before I spent all my light blue watercolor:

This was my very first attempt in using watercolor as a medium, and, well, I have a long way to go. I can’t seem to get the proper mix of water and watercolor, and I have absolutely no idea of the common strokes in watercoloring. Nor do I know if I’m using the right brush. But, I’m actually interested in studying watercoloring; I like the fluidity of the watercolor and how soft the colors come out on paper.

So… I decided to use watercolor again for Day 4.

DAY 4

Oh, before we continue to Day 4, I went inside the bathroom and found:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK!!! May spidey rest in peace… I’m so sorry Spidey, I had to… I thought I was strong but I was not. I’m so sorry that drowned you in the drain T.T

DAY 4

Day 4 is another Fuwa day! Today, I chose to do Nini the swallow. I had to pencil her first as my guide:

And from my little experience from Day 3 watercoloring, I started to color her in:

My 365 Project – Day 1 to Day 3

I am either a frustrated artist or an artist who never had the chance to bloom. I wish that I soon discover that I am the latter, because that means that I still have a chance of becoming a creative soul.

A friend of mine assured me that art takes practice, more practice, and a heckload of more practice. He suggested that I do my own 365 project–do one drawing a day.

And so I did… I started off with drawing Jingjing, the panda Fuwa of the Beijing Olympics for Day 1. I just came from Beijing last July, so I had quite a number of Fuwa souvenirs (including a full doll set, w00t~) Will post pics as soon as I can. I also intend to draw the rest of the Fuwa… That’d cover 4 more days, haha.

Day 2 is Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s padawan in 2008’s Star Wars Clone Wars movie. I couldn’t get her face right at that angle though. More practice needed… I’m also thinking of coloring her in. I suck at coloring, so I’ll give it a try one day. And maybe draw her in a different angle too.

My 365 project can be found in my Flickr photostream… Lookie at the right side.

Still thinking about what to draw for Day 3. will be my first attempt in watercoloring since the 1st grade 😀 I’ll do a render of a photo taken by a good friend of mine. It’s a ferris wheel in an abandoned amusement park in Ho Chi Minh, Saigon in VietNam:

Ferris wheel in VietNam

Why I hate peanuts in ice cream.

It’s been a looooooooong while since I last blogged. I’ve been wanting to blog for the longest time, I just couldn’t find the right… erm, theme.

Then I remembered… I love ice cream, but I hate peanuts in ice cream. Hence, this blog.

Ice cream is meant to be simply enjoyed–no strings attached, no effort involved. It is to melt in your mouth the moment it touches your tongue, like a moment of nostalgia. Then you wake up and realize that it’s time to be your daily functional self.

Peanuts in ice cream add an unwanted texture… Hard and gritty amidst the soft, melting cream. The bad part is when you chew the nuts… They’re awful because they leave grits on your teeth! Instead of drifting into a momentary state of bliss, you have to worry about getting rid of them. After so much tongue gymnastics, you finally realize you need to brush your teeth twice to finally rid your teeth of the nutty grits.

Yes, rocky road is the flavor I hate the most.