Do Something

With my previous painting, I did the background and left it sitting around for a month before finally finishing it.

To avoid this type of situation, I prefer doing simpler paintings now. I'm also inclined to be more relaxed in order to focus more on conveying feelings and to train my intuitive ability to make things look good without extensive pre-planning.

Having said that, here is a painting that could have used a smidgen more prep work. Somehow, the focal point and angles are slightly off. 

I will try a more balanced approach to preparation next time. On the up side, I think the patchy rays turned out really cool, and the rainbow colors are of course my trademark and my love.

There's a graphic novel feel that I wasn't exactly expecting.

2020 Christmas Cards: Ribbon Collection

It's time that I post my ribbon paintings in full resolution, now that I've decided not to send them out as actual physical cards.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to print them into Christmas cards in a nice and inexpensive way. Additionally, I didn't have a particular message to send to friends during this pandemic year.

Anyway, looking back at these paintings, I surprise myself that I had so much motivation and patience to finish the whole collection. Painting is a very arduous process for me, because I am in nonstop evaluation mode over whether the painting is turning out how I want, when I'm painting. On a random note, this is how I drive too. I subconsciously continuously micro-adjust the wheel, and I've been told that this is not normal.

I'm so glad that I have these paintings to capture my peak skill, back when I was painting frequently.

Holiday Gala

Tiffany's

Water Current

Galaxy

Color Run

Designer

Jelly Donut

Another Day

Sometimes pandemic days feel like time without markers, just continuous targetless time. 

I wanted to capture my current feeling that nothing is happening, and that this is both a positive and a negative sentiment. I didn’t set out with such a clear articulation in mind, but I think the result reflects this duality of a stillness that lacks nothing, yet also a sense of wistful aloneness that is 2020 quarantine life for me. (Ah, art.)

Talking through key elements, I was really loving the aesthetic of a sunset rainbow gradient when I started this painting in mid-October. The technique for a perfect gradient is still a mystery to me, but it was cathartic to just sweep the brush back and forth for a couple hours.

The cliff is lightly inspired by McAfee Knob (March 2018). Expansive views are healing for the soul and that is one of the things that we have been missing, due to quarantine. 

Lastly, the angle of how the girl sat was very important. I didn’t want her too crouched over – too inward and depressed. Nor too leaned back – too open and free. Something in the middle is just right – relaxed, pensive and a little self-protective. I’m not sure I got it exactly right but it’s close, and … I love how the purple sweater turned out.

"Another Day"

Arts and Crafts

Not too many paintings were created in Q4 2020. I have temporarily moved on to several new hobbies.

However, I painted a couple basic panels for decorative purposes. 

This purple one is a polaroid photo frame for my sister's birthday.

The green one was supposed to fill a gap in my Zoom backdrop, but it wouldn’t stay on the wall (read: I didn’t make an effort to find strong tape…). Now, it lives on a shelf with my other 5x7 panels. The hand lettering creates a nice effect, though it takes more steps than I imagined between drafting with a brush pen, tracing, and laying down paint with a Posca pen.

I feel satisfied that I've acquired the basic competency to put together these functional projects easily. 

Having stepped away from making art daily, I’m surprised by how many art supplies I bought and how much I painted within a short amount of time this year. I like learning new things in an immersive way – focus is the key to doing anything quickly and well. However looking back at these phases always gives me the feeling that I was in a quasi-fugue state (but a good one).

So Much Scrap Paint – Addendum #3 & 4

All I'm painting these days are Addendum collection pieces.

I've been in the mood to clear out my storage of mixed paints before starting any nicer paintings. Making these two Addendums used up a majority, so I'm satisfied about that.

I still have some excess paint left, so it might take an ugly third piece to use up the rest of the forest green and bits of brown. (Note from Faith in the future: I made the ugly painting and the dissonant colors were so ugly that it hurt my soul. I have stashed the abomination in a corner, waiting to trash it. | A second update from Faith in the future future: I successfully got rid of the abomination. My sister wanted the wooden frame of the canvas for her own art project, so we ripped the painting out. I've been relieved of my burdens.)

Just imagine, all the paint on these two canvases would have been wasted if I didn't have my paint-saving system.

Addendum #3: Fountain

Addendum #4: Kitchen Apron

I forgot to put patches on the apron, which would have looked cool.

Again, Again

The Disney panel was really fun to paint, so I did another one. Because why not.

The character in the green square is based off of this cutie:

I have a few more ideas for small panels and it has been so nice to work on a smaller scale. However, I will want to bring back larger pieces soon. It'll be a nice challenge to try maintaining good composition while adding more detail with the 12x16's.

Good, Clean Fun

Acrylic is considered the most accessible paint. It dries fast and it is easy to cover mistakes, whereas oil takes days for each coat to dry and watercolor goes south very quickly when you work on the same area for too long.

My gripe historically is that acrylic is too translucent. I have to layer over and over, for smooth flat color.

Thus is life, there is never not an element of banality.

In any case, it was fun to try these new paints which are formulated for greater opacity.

They are not truly opaque, *shakes fist*, but the colors are nice and bright. Using a paint marker for outlines, the final effect is quite cool!

Spot the circle theme

Here's the experimental piece, that I used to play with the new medium. It turned out not bad as well.

I always thought artists draw from their mind's eye, but most people use reference photos or objects to build the basic silhouette, as did I with the deer. "Draw what you see," they say.

Honeymoon Phase: Capstone Collection (1 of 2)

This concept of flow, I am very entranced by.

I've noticed for several years that I am the best presenter I can be, when I find a rhythm – a rhythm where my thinking and my speaking are keeping pace with each other, and allows the audience to click in.

What if there's a flow you can sit on, throughout the day. Something that you ideally sync with how fast you walk, how you write, how you react, how you connect with someone new, what deadlines you take on or how you move between activities in the day. There is something to this concept that relates to awkward silences, having "chemistry", the x-factor and feeling in control.

Just an unsubstantiated thought that I've been floating around.

On a completely different topic, I have passed the honeymoon phase of my painting hobby.

Capping off this phase with a milestone project, I created a Christmas card series that is admittedly four months early and not all that Christmas-y. However, with some perseverance and a dash of creativity, it turned out really fun.

The central theme is a girl-wizard who casts ribbons, illustrating flow.

When the holidays get closer, I plan to clean these up digitally to make them print-ready. For now, I will share a preview and some artifacts.

NB: Hopefully, it's not too odd that the characters in this collection don't have eyes. My focus group says it is better not to mess everything up with freaky eyes. So painting eyes is next on the docket of things to learn.

Honeymoon Phase: Reflections (2 of 2)

Having spent last weekend upgrading my art space from two wobbly, folding coffee tables into a pitch-adjustable drawing table, I take a moment to reflect on this art journey so far.

The fact that I'm still interested, after several months and multiple waves of inspiration honestly surprises me.

Making art has been sort of like how my Christmas collection progressed. I wasn't in the zone at all initially and sat on the first panel for a couple weeks, not knowing how to fix a wonky wizardress. Then I moved on to the six other panels, painting the wizardress in various poses. By the end, it was eons easier to go back and spot how to fix the proportions of the first character. If something's not working, it helps to wait a beat, take a different route to sharpen your skill, and try again later.

Similarly, painting taps into a slightly different part of my brain. So I think this hobby gives me a sandbox and different avenue to strengthen skills like redefining standards of perfection (classic), being in the present, and constantly relearning that practice does make progress (that skills are not innate).

Painting sure beats spending the time just watching TV.

Blogging has also been a big part of memorializing my reflections and finalizing each piece. Looking ahead, I would love to increasingly enjoy the process and not rush towards the outcome. I'd like to be a little less controlling. To keep finding my style, hopefully maintaining a clean and appealing aesthetic while shedding the dreaded children's nursery vibe. And I hope painting continues to be interesting and moderately meaningful.

Also, if I can have an additional wish, I would like to learn to photograph acrylic paintings, so I can avoid shiny glare but preserve the vibrancy and brightness of the original. Truly the greatest, most underrated challenge of posting.

Addendum #2: Coffee Cup

In the middle of my current painting project, I ran out of paint storage containers.

I meticulously save excess colors that I've mixed, so I can work on the same piece across multiple sessions. Now that most of the paintings corresponding to these shades are complete, it is time for a massive clean-out. 

But like any normal person, I have a deep-seated need to keep archives and general reluctance to get rid of things. For example, my biggest pet peeve is for meeting coordinators at work to delete the entire series of calendar invites when recurring meetings end. It destroys the record of past meetings that were linked to the series. Every time this happens, I just go into a corner to fume silently because I'm the only one who cares.

This is crazy behavior. But I digress. Using up these excess paints is mildly uncomfortable, but thankfully outweighed by the satisfaction of having clean jars. (And I have to do it regardless of how I feel anyway.)

This Addendum painting turned out quite nice, with all the pretty colors of past paintings. I like this series!

"Holy Grail" Hand Lettering Pen

My second greatest love, after list-making, is to compare products. For whatever type of item I'm looking for, I comb the field for options, figure out what criteria I care about, and ultimately find the Exact Product I Want. It is endlessly interesting and I have been making purchase decisions this way for as long as I can remember.

Sometimes, there is an obvious winner, such as Krispy Kreme for donuts. Other times, it is very sad that the product you envision does not exist (countless examples).

Things I have optimized include: Pen, work notebook, water bottle, neck pillow, phone, phone case, e-reader, online photo printing company, clothing subscription service, cardigan, sunscreen, toothbrush and toothpaste, makeup and skincare, home office setup etc.

On my latest kick, I sampled all popular brush markers. Truly, all the ones I could get my hands on during lockdown. Verdict: No perfect product, but Sharpie brush pens are 85% there.

The criteria comes down to:
1. Has good colors
2. Makes my hand lettering look good (nib size and bounce)
3. BONUS: Creates a gradient effect

In addition to Sharpies, I like the Pentel Fude Touch for the small-nib option, as concluded in my non-rigorous comparison log.

Frankly, most of these pens write well and it's primarily about what fits your personal style. The deeper insight is that through testing, I get to learn about the world of hand lettering in a very kinetic way, distilling what matters and establishing my own opinion and preferences. So satisfying!