Saturday, June 29, 2013

41. Hermit Hole


This is my dog, Winston and I. I was giving him a kiss and this shot took me three tries before I got it. After this successful shot though, he leaped up because he wanted a real kiss!

Anyways, after I took this picture, I left for the University to look at a place to live for next year. We found a great place and it was really spacious and included all utilities (expect Internet) and the rent was a steal! We looked at the place and quickly decided that this was it. It was kept really clean and the distance to the University was pretty short as well. By bike, it would probably take me around five minutes. On foot to the nearest bus stop took me two to three minutes. The location is convenient and the manager people seemed really nice! I'm really glad we were able to snatch such a great place! I can't wait to live with my friend(s) next year together! But, aside from affectionately calling this place our Castle, truthfully, it will be more like our Hermit Hole, for we plan to just shut ourselves in our place (except during class, mandatory events, and going home for the weekend). This is so we can both achieve out goals of obtaining a high GPA and doing well in both academics and clubs. I really want to do well for next year!

Friday, June 28, 2013

40. Recently

I drew a few more of the mini watercolour prints, experimenting with colour and effects.



These are ranunculus flowers. They look like bundled up roses with green, yellow centres, and reminds me of a cabbage rose. I really like these flowers because of the whole bundled up look, but also because of their petals! I drew three of them in different colours and added in some pattern in the background.


This was just me experimenting with yellows. I have three different yellow watercolours, so I decided to mix them together to see how it would look. I dotted yellow mixed with a lot of water at the top, and dragged the brush down to create a manual paint drip.


This was experimenting with different colours and seeing how they matched with each other. Obviously, it didn't come out that well, so I covered it up with some banners, which I filled in with solid colours. For the paint drips in the background, they looked different compared to the yellow experimentation is because I held the paper perpendicular to the table, and blew on it, giving the paint freedom to go wherever it wanted. And, in this case, it did not go where I wanted it to.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

39. Shopping Haul

I went shopping today because summer sales are going on everywhere and I decided to check them out. I went to Zara and bought a simple boat neck red striped box shirt (wow, that is a lot of clothing adjectives). It was on sale for $20 and I really like it! The material is a bit thick for summer though, but I can probably wear it on those weird days where it is cold and rainy. I can also wear it during the fall and winter, so I guess it makes this a good all-season purchase!



This is a picture of me trying it on in the fitting room.


I also picked up my order from Chapters. Two big sketchbooks (one for me and one for a friend) and one little sketchbook. These sketchbooks are pretty good because the pages are somewhat thicker than most, and are tear-able, which means if I drew something that I really liked and wanted to hang up or give away, I can tear it out nicely!


This is a picture of the smaller sketchbook, but the large one looks basically just like it... but bigger, so I didn't bother taking a picture of the same product, but different sizes.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

38. S/S 2013 Wardrobe: Red

Surprisingly, I don't have a lot of reds in my closet for the summer. I do think red is an amazing colour; it is very vibrant and visible, and overall, it gives a statement. No matter if it's a small accessory or an article of clothing, it will stand out. With my closet of mostly monochromatic colours of black, white, and grays, having accent colours like blue or red changes it a lot.



This is a floral dress with frilly layers. I haven't wore this out much because it is a bit tight on me. But, after my diet is successful and my ideal weight has been reached, I will definitely be wearing this dress a lot more often! When I did wear it out though, I wore a white t-shirt underneath with a black sweater on top and tights and black shorts on the bottom with black ribbon flats. This was during the winter so I bundled up. I really liked how the dress peeked out from under the sweater, showing that cute frill of floral pattern. But, if I wore to wear this during the summer, I would just put on a cardigan, some sandals and perhaps a big, floppy sun hat.



Similar to the anytime, anywhere blue striped blouse I posted here, this shirt is also one of my go to shirts because of it's casualness. I usually just wear a pair of jeans, a black tank top inside, and layer it with this shirt. But, if it's a bit cold outside, it looks amazing paired with my black leather jacket! It toughens the look up, yet still making that red statement

Sunday, June 23, 2013

37. S/S 2013 Wardrobe: Blue

These are my closet essentials for the colour blue!



This is my first ever denim shirt and you have no idea how long I have been looking for the perfect one. When I saw this at H&M, I knew I had to have it, no matter how much it was. I've been wearing this for its worth and I love it. The material is not too light and not too heavy, so I can still wear it during the spring and summer without feeling hot nor cold. This is my go to shirt for those lazy or chill days. I usually pair it with a simple shirt or tank top inside (depending on the weather), jeans on the bottom, and flats or boots to match (again, up to the weather). This shirt matches everything. It makes everything casual and has this playful, yet feminine feel.



This blouse I bought from Jacob on sale and it was the white lace collar that caught my eye. The collar was too cute not to pass up, and on days when I want an informal professional look, I just wear this with a pair of nice jeans. During the winter, I also make the most out of the cute collar but wearing a gray sweater on top, with the collars popping out.



This is one of my formal occasion blouse that I have only wore once or twice. I expect to wear this much more often during my university time. I am a huge fan of stripes (it comes from my mom), and I love this simple and sophisticated style with the button details. The sleeves are my favourite part where there are four buttons adorned. It makes the wrist area look skinnier, which is also a plus!



This one is more of my versatile blouses. I can dress it up, or wear it informally with a pair of nice jeans and red skinny belt. I can also dress it all the way down to casual by unbuttoning the blouse and matching it with a cute skirt and tank top. Overall, I have wore this blouse many, many times. It's very lightweight, so I would usually bring my leather jacket or a cardigan on those windy days. But, when it's sunny, this is the perfect blouse to cover up the arms from tanning!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

36. Some Watercolour Prints

Here are some watercolour prints I did this past week. I copied the idea from Chenyue with cutting up a sheet of watercolour paper into smaller rectangles. This way, I can draw whatever I like, whenever I like, without worrying about filling up a whole piece of paper. I feel less wasteful this way too, because I have a tendency to not finish using up a whole piece of paper when I'm drawing.





I really like drawing and experimenting with patterns. It gives me a very free feeling, as if there are no restrictions. I used masking (a technique where you use tape to create a shape, so when you add colour over it, that space will remain white) and shaped out a garland of triangles. I don't feel too good about the background. Looking at it now, I should have done them randomly in circles instead of in strips. It looks too uniformed this way, and block-y. "A beautiful mind" was what I thought when I looked at the finished product, because rainbows are beautiful and the patterns are just so free. I would want my life to be this colourful, simple, straight-forward, and free.


The circles with the paint dripping and the patterns on top (left) is by Chenyue. I tried to make my colours similar to hers with a twist (right). The colours that I used were more earth-y, and my style of patterns is more dark and bold. I really like her paint drips, and she drew them on, making them look like the real thing! For some reason, I feel like mine is really empty. I was thinking if I should add a few things to transform it into hot air balloons or Chinese lanterns, but in the end, I just left them as they were. For now, until I think of what I can do with them, I'll just leave them be.


This flower pattern is very much inspired by Marimekko. It is a Finnish company that creates beautiful patterns of fabric and other things, such as dresses and bags. I really liked this pattern, so I thought I'll change it up a bit by just sparsely arranging them, instead of crowding them together like what Marimekko did. If you can, do check out her fabric collection! There are a lot of amazing and fun patterns!


The strawberry-shaped hot air balloon (left) was just drawn on a whim. I had this hot air balloon phrase back in high school, and I think it's going to stick with me for a while. The idea of hot air balloons is very fascinating to me. There are a lot of designs for one shape, and this shape can manage to lift itself into the air and travel through the clouds. There is just something so romantic about it to me. If I can, I would love to ride in a hot air balloon on a beautiful, sunny day. Anyways, I was thinking of adding other fruits into it, but maybe I'll save that for another time? As for the flowers overlapping each other (right), you can probably recognize the design from my 52 Weeks of Drawing, Week 3 Plants. I really liked the design, so I decided to transfer it onto a smaller sheet of paper. This time, more fuller, more crowded, and just basically, more of it with different coloured petals. I like how it overlaps with each other - more shapes (yay)! I was listening to "Her Morning Elegance" by Oren Lavie, and I felt the song title really suited these flowers, so on the back is the song title's name.

I plan on painting more of these because they're simple and easy, and best of all, look amazing! As for the white gel pen I bought and was so excited to try out, it really sucks. It's not white enough and when I tried to use it on dried watercolour (which has been dried for at least two days), it did not work. I had to either go over it many times again, or just give up. Also, the pen tip transfers colours. When I used it on a green coloured background, and then used it on a blue coloured background, the white pen gave me a green ink instead. I'm heading to a proper art store next week, so hopefully, I will be able to find a proper white gel pen!

3 / 52




Friday, June 21, 2013

35. Thanking Friday #3


I missed last week because I slept over at Chenyue's house. But, this week, Thanking Friday is back!

Some things I'm grateful and thankful for are
- How my mom raised me. Some people might not realize it, but our parents really do put in a lot of effort.
- All the artistic inspiration I'm surrounded by!
- Having my own camera (this is one of the few things that I am so glad I bought - the money was totally worth it)
- Flowers! Be it fake or real, they really are soothing to look at!
- Having watercolour paper, because this paper is amazing. It's just not the same with drawing on plain paper versus this glorious 300 GSM watercolour paper that's 25% cotton rag with a cold pressed surface and acid free! (Yeah, I totally copied that from the watercolour information sheet) And, in case you're wondering, I bought it from Chapters, but here's a website link that you can probably get it from as well. The paper is really, really, insanely thick.

34. Craft Haul

I went to Michael's today and bought some things.


I bought four bundles of fake flowers. They're all on sale at 70% off! I'm planning on using these as decorations after I've made a flower crown. I really want to make one, but I don't have a glue gun. So, I need to go back and get myself one sometime. These flowers are so bright and vibrate! Although they do look fake, in the pictures they actually look alright!


I also bought a white gel pen for my watercolour pieces. Hopefully, this pen will work nicely without me shaking it for ink all the time and no clumps as well! Also bought this 2014 weekly planner. I got ahead of myself and this was on sale for $1.50. I might as well be prepared, right?


Then, I went to Pier 1 Imports and saw this beautiful work of pottery. Although it's hard to tell from the picture, but this cup is actually not a regular cup. It's a soup cup. I like soup cups a lot. Why? Because I drink water like a camel. I can gulp down 2 liters like it's nothing. So, although a bit odd, but hey - you gotta make due with what you got. And this cup, I will definitely be using it for its worth.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

33. S/S 2013 Wardrobe: Black

These are my current closet essentials for the colour black!



Everyone needs a little black dress, and I got this lace detailed one two years ago. I really, really like things with lace. They just add that extra cuteness. I usually wear this dress with a blouse on top, tights on the bottom, and black flats.



I bought this sexy shirt from H&M and I really like it. It's not stuffy when I wear it because of the mesh detail at the top and the material is very thin and somewhat stretchy. There is also a gold zipper at the back, which I love! I usually wear this on special occasions, like concerts or presentations, with a blazer on top.



And, of course, the leather jacket. I believe that every girl should have one. Instead of a spring jacket, I would opt for a leather jacket. Why? Because, it's stylish and it keeps you warm, yet still refreshing. I usually just throw this jacket on whenever I go out because it simply completes an outfit. But, this leather jacket of mine has one downfall: it's too heavy. Whenever I leave it unzipped, it really hangs on my neck and gives me a really bad neck ache. For that reason, I try to zip it up whenever I wear it, or hang it on my shoulders instead.



This blazer is from H&M as well, and I was captured the moment I laid my eyes on this beautiful, structural piece of art. A bit exaggerated, but I really like the blazer. This is my first blazer and although it does not have pockets (which was somewhat saddening, but I got over it), the lining on the inside is so cute. Although the outside is formal, the inside makes it more feminine. When the sleeves are rolled up, the pink lining also shows through! I love details like these! There is also just one button, but I don't really like buttoning it up (because then it would hide whatever nice top I was wearing inside!).



And lastly, a simple, black cardigan. During the spring and summer on those warmer days, but slightly still cloudy, I love wearing just a simple cardigan. And because my closet is already pretty dark, why not wear a black cardigan to match it with? Nah, just kidding. My closet has gotten better with some bright, new pieces, but majority of them can still be paired with this black cardigan, which is great! Black is just such a versatile colour, and it makes you look skinnier! Two birds, one stone!