Hanging Around...

...while waiting for the NEW year.

Happy 2013, for each and everyone of you who drops by :).

May the NEW year brings more of everything that's good for you 

and your family.

Enjoy!

P/S: Do check out my NEW post at Yartstik, ok?

IF: Imagination

A quick take on this week's topic at Illustration Friday.

Enjoy!

IF: Tall

In between feeding and sleeping time of my baby Zain yesterday, I managed to sketch and color a little something in my sketch book that was inspired by this week's Illustration Friday.

Tara the tall girl is not ashamed of her height anymore.

Moral of the story:

God makes everything with a purpose :).

IF: Bounce

A quick fun sketch this lovely morning inspired by the Illustration Friday's topic of the week: Bounce.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone :)

IF: LOST

I was inspired by the Illustration Friday's theme this week: LOST.

It has been a while since I last participated... but I always dropped by the site to enjoy great illustrations by many artists all over the world :).

It's easy to get lost and be inspired too!

IF: Silent

There was a girl with a silent smile...

she has ears but cannot hear...

she has beautiful lips but cannot talk.

But she understands a smile...

that could melt a world of worry...

that could brighten the gloomy deep sea.

Hi...

I'm still playing around with my toy- wacom Bamboo. It's really fun to just draw freely with the pen tablet directly into Photoshop and do all the digital coloring. Saved me the time to scan and color :).

The artwork above was one of my many drawing practices using the Bamboo Fun. I love how I could almost get the pencil strokes just like it's on a piece of paper! 

When I saw the Illustration Friday's theme this week. I thought of this particular sketch.

And I'm thinking of submitting it to Diana's Sweet Saturday too because the character is a sweet looking girl :).

There's something about her smile that speaks a thousand words... yet all you can hear is... silence.

Have a Nice weekend, everyone... wherever you are.

Yipes! Stripes!!!

Once, there was a Mom who loves everything stripey....

Inspired by this week's theme at Illustration Friday :)

Enjoy.

Hot Air Balloon of Love :)

My lovely client has asked me to make a painted 2nd Anniversary Card... that will feature her lovely self and hubby... with lots of love surrounding them.

So, I came up with the idea of them riding on a Hot Air Balloon... with some Love shape balloons flying and scattering in the background. Hmmm... that reminds me, isn't this week's theme at the Illustration Friday Blog  is SCATTERED?

NOTE: The wordings inside of the Card- given by Client.

Anyway, I'm so glad she loved the idea and the result! :))

Thank you Selina... for giving me the chance to create another Card for you and for reminding me how beautiful a love can be.

Bye Bye Little Bird...

Hmm.. It's been a while since I participated the Illustration Friday (IF) themed challenges. A bit busy lately with my paintings.

I have sketched this little gal like 2 weeks ago in my little sketch book. When I saw the challenge this week at IF entitled "Launch", I thought I could send this one. And then, I thought... hey, an animation to demonstrate the launch would be nice too. Just a simple one :).

So, here goes..




If you have the chance, visit my Art Blog to see a new posting too, alrite?

Enjoy!

My Sleeping Baby..

Illustration Friday's theme of ASLEEP makes me think about my baby in Heaven...

The first.. and last time I saw him, he was like in a very deep sleep... so peaceful... and his lips were so red. I still miss him and will always be.

" Syyyy... He's fast asleep now....," whispered Little Bear softly to the others.

For this illustration, I have decided to combine my pen & ink sketch with a bit of pencil shades (on the baby)... and Photoshop the colors... just for the fun of it :).

Take care, everyone.

When it Rains..

My heart and prayer go to the blessed souls of the orphans who died in the landslide yesterday in Kampung Gahal, Ulu Langat. Many believed the rainfall has caused the landslide. Until today, people are still searching for the bodies. Made me think how fragile this borrowed life is..

At the same time, Illustration Friday theme this time is SOAKED. How appropriate.

Everything in life comes in pairs- good & bad, yin & yang, positive & negative, pros & cons.... etc. That's how God has made things. Depending on the situations.. rain can be either way too.

While the news above made me feel sad, the word SOAKED made me recall a wet kitten in the rain.  It's funny how a fluffy furry cat could be so very thin and tiny when it's wet.

I remember when I was small, I found a wet kitten in the rain. She was all dirty and thin. But guess what happened when she was all dried up? Yup, she was the biggest fur ball & cutest kitten ever :). 

Watercolor & Ink + Photoshop

Take care, everyone...

A Beginner..

A beginner is not afraid to step forward with a stride..

A beginner is determined to breeze through life and be free..

A beginner is embracing life with arms open wide..

A beginner is somewhere there within you and me.

                                                                          ~ ET2011~

A little inspiration from Illustration Friday's theme: "Beginner".

As the beginner of many people's working week, Monday sucks! :(

Yeah.. I understand. You've had a nice restful weekend.. woke up late on lazy Sunday... spent time doing what you love doing most- maybe being a couch potato and watching reruns on TV or just spending time with your loved ones and just doing nothing.

But I hope each one of you ( me too!) will face it anyway with an open heart because each and every day of our short life is very precious.. it's a blessing whether you're in a good or bad situation.

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Unfortunately, it was the day a neighbor of mine lost her Mom. Yeah, that was sad. Need I say more..?


Mom, I love you so much.

  

IF: Lesson

Sometimes, one may wonder what lessons can be learned from life..

Original piece- watercolor, ink & coffee stain

Sometimes, we can learn lessons of life readily and as it is..

Sometimes, we can learn lessons of life through darkness and hardships..

But have we really learned some lessons by now..?

Digitally enhanced piece- plus a beautiful Quote..

Hi everyone..

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "Lesson". I think the theme is very inspirational :)

Actually, I have drawn and painted the above illustration last week. When I saw the IF theme this week.. and then looked at my illustration.. hmm.. I thought they could somehow tie in to each other.

The golden winged fairy was sitting on a high branch... overlooking a forest.. with a silent dead mountain in a distance.. She looked as if wondering.. or perhaps waiting for something... or someone...
The little yellow winged friend with a short horn.. was staring at her.. perhaps feeling sorry for its friend.. hanging out alone on the blue branch... should it go near her... or just let her be..?


Another Lesson: A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

IF: Bicycle

Hehee.. something I heard a long time ago and stuck in my head since.

Enjoy.

An Elf and A Coffee Stain..

Last night, I made a cup of black coffee (brand: kopi Che' Nah) for my bee- the coffee addict.. and who has turned me into one too! Huhuu...

I was looking at the coffee leftovers and thought, " Hey, why not try and see how good coffee can be on my artwork ...?" (I remember my good old friend from ArtVentureKids' suggested it too!) I've tried the tea-stain technique last month, and it turned out quite gorgeous.

So, let me show you how coffee stain looks on the watercolor paper...

I liked the sepia colored effect it gave to the illustration.

When I saw how the color turned out.. I hesitated to go further and added other colors because I was afraid I might spoil the stain effect. Oh well, maybe I'll do that sometime later.. when I have the gut.

See the expression of the flying elf? It was as if she has bottled up her feelings about something... 

Perhaps a fear... perhaps a disappointment.. perhaps a sadness deep inside.. Something you'll never know...

"Bottled" is the theme challenge for this week's Illustration Friday. So here's one for it.

Enjoy.

P/S: My CONTEST has 2 days left. See the Prizes up for grab and JOIN NOW! :)

When the Duck & the Chicken Sing..

.. together..????

Awful.
They make so much noise, really. I don't think they can even understand each other.

Malay has this saying, "..bercakap macam ayam bercakap dengan itik", simply put it means when two people who completely have different languages/ dialects tried to converse with one another.

That reminds me of my auntie's story ( I call her' Mak Long'), during my parents' wedding back in the 70's... My dad's family was in Penang and my Mom's came from Besut, Terengganu. My Mak Long said she couldn't understand at all what my Mom's relatives were saying.. because the dialects and the way they talked (very soft spoken compared to her side- Penangites- who most of the time, very outspoken and loud! Ha.). So she kept nodding and smiling all the time. If they laughed, she followed suit. Hehehe..


Here's one for Illustration Friday's- DUET:

The other thing I'd like to share here is a Gift Tag I made for a family friend's wedding last weekend. Just a simple 'Congratulations' card. Hope this 'duet' will lasts forever... :) God willing.

IF: ToY.

hehe.. Just a 'quick' one for Illustration Friday's fun challenge.

My cheeky little nephew called Aqeel just loves Ultraman. Buying Ultraman toys- even the same ones, will always bring joy to him. At night, while wearing his favorite Ultraman pyjama that I gave him on his birthday, he will tuck all his Ultra'men' under his pillow to sleep with him. Comes tomorrow, he will play with them again.


Owh.. the joy of being kids :).

Speaking of toy&joy.. I'm going to do a GIVE-Art-WAY soon! It's a fun CONTEST! Stay tuned, orrait?

Have a Nice Day :)

IF: Cultivate...

Dear readers... stay tuned... soon I'll have a really COOL CONTEST for you to enter. And I'm still thinking of what Art Gifts I shall giveaway this time :).

It'll be FUN & exciting and I can't wait to have you join it but not today just yet. Today, I'm making a new entry for Illustration Friday this week with the theme: Cultivate!

What's to cultivate? Friendship! 
Yes... Cultivate and Grow Your Friendship :)...

For everyone who comes here and 'following' and.. commenting my posts; I THANK YOU indeed.
Even virtually, I could sense a pleasant friendship cultivating between us.. although we might be from different parts of the world with different beliefs and races.. and if you are living in Malaysia, I feel so happy to be able to connect with you through my humble blog.

So, thanks again!

Enjoy!

A Chicken Run!

I used to grow up rearing some chicken in the backyard. They are among some fun creatures to watch and good to eat. Ha!
Actually, the theme @ Illustration Friday has inspired this doodle. It just brought me back to my chicken run. I think it's quite silly.. so here goes..to Whimsical Wednesday!

Just felt like coloring the chicken with pencil colors. So, I did. 

Enjoy!