Never dared to try my hand at landscape, just did not think I could do it. But I was so moved by the beauty of the sunset at the river last night I had to give it a go. Keeping it loose and sketchy. I actually had fun! Don’t think it is that great but I am happy with it. Painting it helped relieved that moment of pure bliss at the river. And I did it all in less than 2 hours..while chatting with my cousins on our zoom call.

I must have been temporarily insane when I decided to sketch a pic I took when I was traveling in Berlin. I loved this pic. But as a beginner urban sketcher, this one had multiple levels of difficulty.. the reclining girl statue, the old European building with all its windows and statues, the river..but I plunged ahead nonetheless. I have to admit it was challenging but a lot of fun. I was pretty satisfied with the sketch. And then I was petrified to add color to it… for fear of ruining it. but I finally did… what do you think? Color or no color?

Pushing past my comfort zone today. Way past my comfort zone. Trying my hand in urban sketching. Decided to look through my photo album of a trip to Argentina. And did some sketching based on the pics I took. While I am still unhappy with how they turned out, I have to say drawing these scenes helped me appreciate the details of the places I visited. And relive the moments. Admiring the beautiful windows, the gorgeous cemetery, beautiful architecture and the wonderful glass of sparkling wine I had… so while I am stuck at home, I will travel via my sketches.

The process of making art is a journey (for me). It can start off with a few drops of ink onto water on a page. Then it evolves and change over time as I add to it, or take away from it. Looking for areas I love and areas I don’t. In this piece, I really did not like the strange looking blue things on the top left and bottom left. And when I collaged some words over them, it felt right. I know they are there but I don’t have to look at them directly. And then suddenly it became something so different from how it started. Kinda like life. We all start off one way and as life happens, we evolve and change to become who we are. It is how we react to what life throws at you, that makes us the being we are. Focus on the parts we like and grow through the parts we don’t.

So I was messing around with inks yesterday while doing a zoom call with some artist friends. Started with the painting on the left. Something wasn’t right about it and my friends helped me see that the warm gold color is overwhelming the other cool colors on the page. But my paper was already buckling. Could have thrown it away and start again but I had hope. Wasn’t going to give up. Turned to mixed media and ended up with the painting on the right. I like it now. That is why I am calling this HOPE. Don’t give up. There is always another way… just like this pandemic. We will find a way.

I call this my $900 leggings lesson. You see, I painted this the night I found out that my daughter had unknowingly signed up for a membership with fabletics and we have been paying $50 a month for 18 months. Yup that is $900 worth of leggings😱 I lost it. I think I went temporarily insane 🤣 luckily I was able to get the refund. So she was spared. I finished this piece and will be gifting it to her. A $900 life lesson 😂

Blue is my favorite color to paint with. Have tried to move away from blue for a few days. Found myself gravitating to my blue acrylic paints today. I painted her first and then a friend came to visit her. Bringing her some words of wisdom. Oh how I miss the big open sea…

Landscape is my Achilles heels. I can’t paint them to do them justice. But I love to take photos of sunsets by the river on my daily walk. Yesterday was exceptionally beautiful. A friend suggested that I paint something inspired by the sunset photo. And this is what I did. It surprised me. I love it. It combines my love of abstract and ink plus my faces..May start doing more. What do you think?

I love the process of making abstract art. Never thought I could do it but now I really enjoy it. Start off with some splashes of ink. Then more scribbles, water and paint. See what happens then add more paint, here and there. And before I know it, she appears. And this time, only one word. 静。 meaning quiet. Yes, need to quiet my mind.

Still practicing waves. The details take a long time but I have no where to go🤷🏻‍♀️🤣 actually quite therapeutic…