San Diego. Don’t remember when. Enjoyed drawing the tunnel perspective in this one.

Three simple words. Not simple to do. I wonder if I truly know who I really am. We are molded by our experiences, the society we live in, the jobs we hold, the roles we play. When you are stripped of all that, do you know who you truly are? And have the courage to be that? Bravely and proudly. No apologies. Just accepting the beautiful unique you that you are… mixed media piece.

Sometimes it is not about me. It is not my fault, nor my responsibility. I have a tendency to take on everything. To think I have to solve every problem, be responsible. If things go wrong, it’s my fault. And often, it is not about me at all. Had to remind myself that I can help but don’t have to feel responsible for everything. I am not super woman. And no one expects me to be.

It is interesting how this page evolved.

Now I am happy…

I love to travel. To explore. To roam. This pandemic has been tough. Some days the feeling of being trapped overwhelms me. And with my family in singapore, the thought of not being able to visit is terrifying to me. Like the butterfly in the cage yearning to spread her wings outside… I will take it a day at a time… mixed media piece.

This was from a journal page done almost 10 years ago when we first moved to Richmond VA. Part of my art room cleaning today. So glad to still have my art journals to look back on… amazing what you can remember just by flipping through. Also interesting to see how my art has evolved… to all my girlfriends out there, you know who you are. Thank you and I love you.

Sometimes you just have to play with inks, colors, doodles, stencils, modeling paste and see where it takes you. Take flight my friends 😘

My obsession with penguins continue…

Reykjavik Iceland 2018. One of the best family vacations we have ever taken. Everything about Iceland is beautiful. Love this red building. The buildings there were all so colorful. A visual feast😊 my sketchbook is filling up!

I remember this day so clearly. One of the rare times when I convinced my kids that going outside for a hike would be a fun thing to do! We heard old rag mountain (Shenandoah National park) is cool so we did it! With no idea what the hike would entail 👀 this was the part of the hike when I was sure one of us would fall to our deaths and also when it became abundantly clear that I am officially the old lady in the family. They all looked after me and made sure I got to the other side in one piece. How the roles have flipped.. my kids are now the ones taking care of me.. hmmm… guess I will just enjoy and embrace it! Sketching my way down memory lane…

I rarely show my ugly pieces. Like this one. Wanted to share how art is a process…Scroll to see how this piece evolved. Art is truly a journey… this is a classic example….

This started as a drawing one evening. I wasn’t that happy with it but soldiered on.

Added some ink on it. And made it worse😱 when that happens, I throw all caution to the wind. I have nothing to lose. Started scribbling everything that stressed me out onto the page. It was cathartic to do that by the way.

Then I covered all the scribbles with paint and strips of book pages.

Then more paint, stamping, stenciling… softening the overall piece and she is finally at peace. So am I…

So, don’t worry if you mess up. Just let go and see what happens… you may be surprised to see where you end up…