Blog

I grew up in a time where the use of these manual typewriters were slowly being replaced by the electric ones. By the time I was working, they were considered antiques.

Don’t know why, I have always been fascinated by this ‘mysterious’ machine. Every time I see one, I could not resist studying and caressing it, wondering about the person who used it and what did he or she typed on it, my mind will go into imagination overdrive.

I came across this antique typewriter during my trip to the United States last year. It is  a Remington Standard own by an artist friend of mine, Dianne Peters Gruber, who lives in Glenn Rose, Texas with her husband Pete. I was very fortunate to be invited by her to live in their house for the duration of my trip there.

I had only noticed the typewriter

WEATHERED  
8″x8″ hot-pressed, 300gm Lanaquarelle watercolour paper. Faber-Castell Polychromos, own photo reference.

Now, the story of behind the hand…

This drawing of the hand was done specially for the DRAW Portraits in Colored Pencil. I received an email from Ann Kullberg back in August 2015 asking me whether I am interested to be one of the contributing artist for the book. I was taken aback because I am not known as a portrait artist. I have done a couple of hand portraits of my late father and my mother. And that was the specific subject I was asked to contribute. Needless to say, I was over the moon that my hands portrait were noticed and there are people who thought it was not bad.

In my opinion, hands, after the eyes, are one of the most difficult subject to tackle in any portrait drawing/painting. Especially wrinkled and weathered hands, it tells a lot of

It has been quite a hectic couple of months since I got home from my trip to the United States, attending the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) convention in Atlanta,GA. I have not been posting any work on social medias but it did not mean that I am not working.

Immediately after I got home, I received the news that I am one of the 12 selected local artists for the Faber-Castell Malaysia Inaugural Art Exhibition which will be held sometime in March 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. Faber-Castell Malaysia took the initiative to organise this art exhibition not only to amplify its brand image amongst art enthusiasts but also to highlight the pool of local artists that exist locally and also to provide local Malaysian artists a public platform to showcase their works. They aim to ultimately make this exhibition a highly anticipated annual event.

This

I really do not know how to describe my feelings when I walked into Double Tree Hillton Atlanta on the 29th July 2015, Wednesday where the 23rd Annual Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) convention was held.

I remembered registering myself at the CPSA meet and greet counter where I received my goodies bag and also my name tag and the minute the person behind the counter realised that I came all the way from Malaysia, she and her friends, who are the CPSA Atlanta DC107 Chapter,  gave me such a very warm welcome, I was blushing by then.

The set up in the Hospitality Suite, with so many ‘treasures’ was a sight to behold. Better than any art outlet I have ever been in Malaysia because it was all things colour pencil. I was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many freebies by sponsors and we were free to pick anything we

To travel 23 hours, going through 2 different time zones half way across the globe for a holiday with friends and family is quite a normal thing BUT to travel alone, meet and stay with people whom I only know through social media is an adventure!

Some say it is a risk I am taking, considering that I am already a 45 years old woman, adventure time should be way over. Now, how did this came about? Well, I can proudly say that it is all because of colour pencil art. Strange but true, because I live to tell….

The story begins with the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) where I am a member of since 2014. I have participated in their 22nd Annual CPSA International 2014 and was very fortunate to have my art work selected for the exhibition in Florida. After seeing all the photos of

This is not a good photo of my art work, it is not sharp enough and the colour, compared to the original, it is slightly off, but I guess it will do. I am so not a technical person when it comes to any type of gadgets. I will have to wait until I get it properly scanned by my framer.

Bougainvilleas is a very common flowering plant in South East Asia. We have it along the highways and almost every street in town and residential areas in the whole country. It is something we Malaysian takes for granted.

This breed of bougainvilleas that I have painted is a mixed breed, made popular in Thailand. It is a hybrid of various types of bougainvilleas. When it blooms, you can see all kinds of colours and they bloom in huge bunches. Especially when under blinding

Looking back…

All 3 volumes of CP Treasures by Ann Kullberg

I have decided to get all three copies of the CP Treasures by Ann Kullberg during their recent sale. Well, it does cost quite a bit looking at the current Malaysian currency compared to USD but this is something I must have to remind me of how far I have come in my colour pencil art journey.

About two and a half years ago, when I came across the cover of the first volume, that hand caressing the water surfaces (by  Adolfo Fernandez Rodriguez from Spain), I was in awed. At that time, I can only afford to browsed and see some snippet of the published work on social media.

After the second volume was published, I told myself that I must try my luck and submit my art in the next publishing, without having much confidence but by my ‘thick skiness’, I

‘Resonance’ 23″ x 15″, 140lbs Bristol Vellum. Faber Castell polychromos.

Every Morning, after husband and daughter leave the house to work and college, I will have my coffee at the dining area, looking out to the garden and savouring the quiet time by myself before I start my day. That particular morning, the sun was unusually bright and everything looked so refreshing.

I have rows of river pebbles lined up the edges of the house perimeters, they are usually quite dull but on that particular day, those pebbles somehow looked so beautiful resonating under the bright rays of the morning sun. The shadows cast from the frangipani tree added to the serenity to the whole scene, I knew that I have to paint this.  I have painted rocks/pebbles before and I find them calming to paint because there is no set rules on how a rock surface have

“Renungan” 11.7″ x 16.5″, 90lbs (150gm) Canford black paper. Caran D’Ache pablos colored pencils.
“Renungan”  in the Malay language means ‘reflections’, ‘musing’ or even ‘contemplation’ in English. I figured that since orangutans are mainly found in the Malay archipelago, it is befitting to title this piece in the Malay language.

This portrait is an auction piece for the Orangutan Protection Foundation http://opf.org/ This organisation has been promoting the preservation of the wild Orangutan in their natural habitat and the advance of the public benefit in the study, preservation and protection of the wild Orangutan.

I have been a member in the Go APE for Art on Facebook since end of 2013. It is a group for artists of all medium to contribute work of Orangutan for this organisation. This year, OPF is planning a month dedicated to the Orangutan in August. This coincides with Indonesian Independence Day and World Orangutan Day. It will

For One More Day
‘This work sets a distinctive mood in the “portrait” of a clock. The artists has created a wonderful composition using a range of values that communicates much more than the time.’
– comment by judge Elizabeth (Betsy) Holster, CPSA

 Still could not believe it!!

This is my very first ‘win’ in an International online juried competition. What more, it is Colored Pencil Society Association’s (CPSA) 2015 Spring ArtSpectations.

ArtSpectations is CPSA annual event. I have entered twice, 2013 and 2014 but both were not successful. It is not an easy feat to win anything because all the entries are spectacular!

I still remember the judge for the ArtSpectations Fall 2013, Jeff George CPSA, who is a very accomplished artist himself. Even though my entry for that year did not win anything, he private messaged me, thanking me for participating and encouraged me to keep