being thankful for each new day

I can't help but feel uplifted each morning when I'm greeted by sights like these. I've always loved the golden warm glow of the morning sun, filtered through the morning mist into beautiful, gentle rays. No matter how bad the day before went, or how stressful today might be, mother nature just has a way to calm my spirits and make me feel that life is beautiful. 

peonies

I've always liked the sweet pastel hues of peonies, and their delicate multitude of layers. Attempted my first freehand watercolour painting of a bouquet of them, completed in less than ten minutes! I'm glad I had the courage to try something I'd envisioned my goal to be: abstract yet sufficiently-detailed, beautiful pieces of art that are calming to the mind. Of course this is nowhere near, but I'm happy I made my first step out into the uncertain, instead of always having to adhere to carefully-planned pencilled outlines and being afraid of making mistakes.

Set our spirits free!

sunrise in bintan

our little escape from reality

focusing on what matters

Today a close colleague of mine told me that she had just tendered her resignation. To be a full-time mum.

I felt really happy for her; I could imagine fully her sense of liberation and anticipation as she looks forward to spending quality time with her baby, especially during the crucial development phase as they start to learn and mould their character and moral values. She said she felt deeply inspired by a Caucasian she saw in Starbucks on a weekday afternoon - watching her baby and the world go by. What a tranquil and blessed feeling!

What surprised myself was that I actually felt envious of her situation -just having the courage to forsake the financial stability of having a job, to focus on what matters and makes one happy. I know that she will be truly happy and it's a beautiful scene in my mind, of her enjoying a cup of tea with baby in tow, and watching the world go by.

I somewhat know that when the time comes, and if our financial situation allows for it, I would be willing to do the same.

I don't know when it began, or how it did, but I've stopped trying to achieve. When not everything is within your control, sometimes it's better not to subject yourself to the stress of the rat race, but to take life slow, and smell the roses along the way.

learnt how to paint reflections and create texture (in the rocks!)

change

I used to be someone who never really believed in losing friendships. the thought of all the good times spent together always made me feel that I should try hard to preserve their continuity indefinitely into the future. But people change, values change, priorities change. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one left behind as everyone moves on with their lives, still hoping things would always stay the way they used to be. But this is a painful thought, and I think it's easier to let certain things go.

Everyone is connected to a few social webs of friendships at once; I wonder how strong the links to my existing ones are, and if I'm already starting to fall off some of them.

pursuing an interest

So I've finally gotten down to learning painting proper; started on watercolour classes with my dearest sinnie, under an extremely talented artist and patient teacher, Seah Kam Chuan (found him through Google)!

In our first lesson, we learnt how to blend different tones together (through painting the sky) and use a waxing technique to create simple but original designs that can be used for cards!

Our second lesson was spent drawing cherries, which was also focused on getting the right tones. We learnt that an object needs at least 5 tones to bring out its shape and three-dimensionality. We also got familiar with the use of musking, which serves to selectively waterproof a precise section of your canvass so that you can paint a smooth background over and around this object.

Decided to spend yesterday practising my drawing and painting..realized it's been a long while since I last let myself immerse in this other world. I have been lazy to create handmade cards or other handicrafts from scratch these days..drawing is such a nostalgic activity for me; it reminded me of my childhood days where I used to draw and colour almost every day. I hope it's not too late to pick up this skill now. I think the biggest difference between the young me and the current me is the originality in my art work. I was so eager and motivated then to draw images from my imagination..now I usually settle for copying a design that I like and find manageable enough. I feel that I have lost my sense of innovation and creativity as a child. I hope that soon, I'll be brave enough to paint original scenes and not be afraid to make many mistakes before I get my perfect picture.

Anyhow, here is my little attempt at drawing Bambi!

before applying an outline

after outlining with a thin brush..i kind of prefer the one without, it has a more vintage feel to it!

just a little intro on my new blog skin: background photo taken (ironically) at a fish farm in stratford-upon-avon, UK; header photo is a silhouette of the mountains & me watching the sunset in lamington national park, gold coast (taken by zk)!

wisdom

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one’s own acts, done and undone. – The Buddha.