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Madness

There comes a time in every girl’s life when she obsesses over a cartoon character so much, that she decides to Do Something about it.

I think mine was today when I turned my thumbdrive into a domokun…

The original thumbdrive

Domo!!!

Domokun is the mascot of Japan’s NHK television station. My love for Domo has nothing to do with the fact that NHK are also my initials (:

I had this plan in mind for a few days. I conceived it during Chemistry lesson while talking to Leny [Who of course advised me against it]

The medium is Nail Varnish on Acrylic paint on Musking Tape on Thumbdrive. I didn’t paint directly onto the thumbdrive because I suspect that a few years down the road, I will think this is very childish.

Coursework

Coursework was due today! A year’s worth of nightmares finally gone away! Here are small bits of my canvas [taken with Anning's camera] :

More importantly, here is the dip pen that saw me through the process of making my final work.

Paper Butterfly II

In January, I posted pictures of my large paper butterfly. Here are another two paper cut butterflies I did as well:

They are not as detailed. Quite ugly in fact. Here’s the old papercut for comparison:

Lizard and bones

Here are two drawings done a while back. Medium is 2B pencil on drawing block : (Wait a while for image to load)

Rib cage! With the pelvic bone attached. It was pretty rushed. And it is slanted in a very wrong way.

Lizard eating a praying mantid… The scales on the lizard’s body drove me absolutely crazy!

[EDIT: I added an ugly water mark to my ribcage drawing because it's been used too many times without my permission. If you so require the original file please contact me directly thanks ;) ]

Teachers’ Day

This year, I got partly involved in the action behind Teachers’ Day

I was part of the committee doing the teachers’ day montage and there were over a hundred slides to take care of.

I also helped a friend’s friend with some [less than 10] teachers’ day gifts.  Copied patterns off gifts that were already done.

Happy Teachers’ Day to all teachers ((:

Birthday card

It was my teammate’s birthday yesterday, and will be another one’s tomorrow! Happy 16th to both (:

I made them a card each, with the lines of a netball carved into it.

 

And yes I know, my cards are very predictable.

Ha Manh Thang [SAM]

At the Singapore Art Museum, I also saw a set of paintings that caught my attention. It was titled, “The Artist” and “The Artist’s Girlfriend”, 2007, by Ha Manh Thang (1980) from Vietnam.

[ Image taken by me, hence the lousy quality ]

Acrylic on Paper, 255cm x 83cm

The two artworks are in fact paper scrolls, placed side by side. Both of them each depict a person, seated on a wooden chair. Both of the people drawn wear sunglasses and are clothed by what seems to be robes similar to those found during imperial Chinese times. Behind the head of the man is what appears to be a mirror, reflecting other faces inside. The shelf behind the woman is lined with cosmetics such as lipsticks, perfume bottles and combs. Inferring from the title, the two people that have been drawn are dating.

The first thing that struck me about the two pieces was the way it looked so garish. From a distance, the two paintings looked relatively messy and the colours were dischordant, making me feel somewhat repulsed. As I looked closer, I realized that the paintings actually had magazine clippings of famous brands underneath, resembling a collage.

Here is another art piece with a similar technique applied, done by the same artist:

[ Image taken from Suffusive Art Gallery ]

It can also be observed that the male and female in the paintings are seated in a way similar to that of traditional Chinese ancestral portraits. The format of the painting is a scroll as well, featuring two subjects enthroned on an old-fashioned carved wooden chair. [Compare with ancestral portrait below]

[ Image taken from Dynasties of Asia ]

I feel that the artist’s work has combined the traditional with contemporary in a very interesting manner. The fusion of an old ancestral painting with bright complementary colours similar to those of Pop Art pieces shows a blend of the new and the old. The under wash of advertisements and luxury brand names appear to represent mass culture, so it seems the artist is implying that the influence of modern-day mass media is eroding at our traditions, even becoming part of them.

Another realisation I made was that the title of the artwork is also meant to show the difference of our era with the past. Terms like girlfriend, from the title ‘The Artist’s Girlfriend’, did not exist back then. Our current generations of BGRs, flings, one-night-stands, divorces are indeed a contrast from those times of arranged marriages and match-makings.

Information at SAM stated that the work is a reflection of our obsession with consumption and power of the media.

Doodlyday!

Today is a doodly day. Here are all the doodles I have been doing. Be prepared to be overwhelmed!!! [Medium is pen on paper / indian ink on canvas]

Rough ones to keep myself from falling asleep during lectures/lessons:

Ones done for the sake of coursework:

Colour:

(this is actually my blog header)

Ones from my canvas:

Sorry for the awful quality.

People

I hardly ever draw people because I am really really really bad at it. Here is Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa. I know! She’s slightly cross-eyed!!! ):

[EDIT] OK to clarify, my mommy helped me with this (: I did most of the shading and the basic shapes while she helped me with overall proportions.

Xu Beihong in Nanyang [SAM]

Today, Jingjing and I went to the Singapore Art Museum, to check out the Xu Beihong exhibition. (5th April – 17th August).

[ Image taken from Singapore Sights ]

Potrait of a Young Lady, 1940, Oil on canvas

One of the paintings I saw was Portrait of a Young Lady. It depicts a young lady seated on a chair, turned to her right to face the artist. Her expression seems rather dazed or distracted, and she does not address the artist directly.

The painting is painted in a painterly fashion. There appears to be thick coats of paint applied to the canvas [this is apparent if you view the painting first-hand], giving the canvas texture. The brush strokes seem to have been created by a moderately thick brush, and there is some effort in blending the strokes, especially on the woman’s arm. For her blouse, there is not much detail to attention as the pattern on it is depicted by relatively large dabs of paint.

The entire painting has a somewhat green hue to it, with dark green being used for shadows and eyebrows, and light green mixed into the background. The source of light for the painting seems to originate from the top left, and is dispersed.

It is also noticeable that on the wall behind the subject matter hangs a scroll signed off by Xu Beihong himself.

Portrait of a Young Lady bears some semblance to Portrait of Miss Jenny, 1939.

[ Image taken from China Economic Net ]

Portrait of Miss Jenny, 1939, Oil on canvas

Portrait of Miss Jenny depicts a lady seated on a rocking chair. The lady wears a full-length dress, accompanied by black heels and a gold necklace. Seated in what appears to be a study room or library, she appears affluent and hostile. [Although these two are not necessarily co-related of course]

The way Portrait of Miss Jenny has been painted is very much similar to Portrait of a Young Lady as the brush strokes in the former have also been applied rather thickly, with moderate attempt at blending.

Overall, I prefer Portrait of a Young Lady to Portrait of Miss Jenny. I prefer the brighter colours used in Portrait of a Young Lady, as opposed to the gloominess that the dark colours of Portrait of Miss Jenny seem to evoke. Moreover, I do not fancy the glacial expression of Miss Jenny’s. (:

Project Love

My sister’s friends organised a CIP project to Neijiang city, located in Sichuan. The entire thing was called Project Love. Here are the designs I did for the front and back of their shirt:

The back of the shirt shows the map of China. The placement of the heart is also roughly indicative of where Neijiang is located.

The map and the Chinese character were drawn out by hand, scanned into the computer and subsequently edited using photoshop.