Chinese Calligraphy

Currently I'm learning Chinese Calligraphy from my teacher LIN LU ZAI 林禄在 at his Art Gallery & Studio every Friday morning. It is very inspiring to learn the basic knowledge of chinese words construction, art appreciation, as well as calligraphy skills in practice. Chinese Calligraphy is not just about using a brush to dip into some ink and write some words on the paper, it involves a lot of patience, hand stability, control of strength, constructional balance, and of course very importantly the passion for on-going improvement.

ROME was not built overnight and skills cannot be acquired just at the click of the fingers too. As what my teacher always taught us, we need lots of practice practice and more practice. Don't be afraid to make mistakes while practicing, as it is through these mistakes that we learn how to rectify problems, hence overcoming hurdles to climb to a higher mountain of success.  

For more information on LIN LU ZAI 林禄在 and his World of Arts, visit his official website which features his paintings as well as his lessons schedule.

http://www.linluzai.com/

Fruits ~ Split NaNa

Split NaNa is a cartoon character of a mushroom cum banana combination. The head is a mushroom attached to a banana body whose skin is halfway peeled upwards, revealing its banana flesh inside. The flipped up banana skin represents a skirt Split NaNa is wearing, and it sort of resembles the blown up effect of Marilyn Monroe's skirt. As such, Split NaNa blushes in shyness with an awkward expression.

Fruits ~ StrawBaby

StrawBaby is a cartoon character created in the style of a half-human and half-fruit nature. The head is a cute Manga style girl with big sparkling eyes, tiny nose and cheerful smile. The body is a red strawberry and it has neither hands nor legs. StrawBaby moves around by jumping up and down using her strawberry body, and her matching strawberry earrings dangles from her ears as she jumps from place to place.

Indiana Pow ~ Constipation

After eating 1 big bowl of Maggie Mee,  INDIANA POW did not have any output for 3 days. She felt so awful with her stomach so bloated.

Suddenly, the urge to go toilet emerged with the sounds of countless drums beating around her tummy, and INDIANA POW rushed to the toilet with a roll of toilet paper clutched tightly in her hand.

As soon as INDIANA POW reached the toilet, her face crumpled up and she squeeze both her eyes so tight she can hardly see anything. With much strength, she pooped 2 piles of output and ended her misery of constipation.

Indiana Pow ~ Maggie Mee

Instant noodles is not something we are unfamiliar with. Most of us cook this as a lazy way of filling up our stomach in a rush of time.

This day, INDIANA POW was starving in the middle of the night, craving for food. She rummaged around the kitchen and cooks herself a big bowl of Maggie Mee, enriched with 2 sunny side up eggs and 1 German sausage. She started immersing herself in the delicacy, enjoying every strand of noodles and every drip of the soup. Then she burped with satisfaction.

Indiana Pow ~ The Creation

The creation of this cartoon character INDIANA POW was inspired by the pow we normally eat, making use of the pow as the head, the paper underneath becoming the body with four corners as her hands and legs.

INDIANA POW has 3 colorful stripes (red, yellow, blue) on each side of her cheek, has long pink eyelashes, a pink necklace, a round belly button and a curly tail.

INDIANA POW can crawl on the floor like a worm as well as jump into the sky like a spring. She is still young and exploring around her world for new stuff. She is cheerful yet playful at times.

Shoes ~ Golden Iguana

Iguana painted on black canvas shoes, with golden sparkling effect

Shoes ~ Purple Florals

Gradient of red / pink / purple base with purple flowers and simple swirls

With "Penny" and "2010" customized at the back of the shoes

Shoes ~ Green Swirls

Gradient of yellow / orange base with green swirls designs all over the shoes

With "Y.Y." and "2010" customized at the back of the shoes

Childhood Scribbling

Since I was a kid, I love scribbling on papers, drawing things that I see around me or sometimes things that I imagine. Outsiders may view it as a day dreamer wasting ink and paper, but to me each drawing includes my thoughts and feelings, showing reflections of my emotions and perhaps ambitions or dreams. 

I remember that me and my younger sister scribbled our drawings on the bedroom walls when we were very young, and we ended up being scolded by our parents and almost gotten a caning from dad. From that day onwards, I know that the walls are not my "paper" anymore.

Passion for art never fade off after the incident though. Mum gave me lots of color pencils, erasers and papers and allowed me to draw as much as I want. So there I go, scribbling again, mostly drawing girls with big eyes with princess-like dresses. Many people may still remember the old days whereby we play with paper dolls with cut-out dresses and ornaments. My best toy was actually self-made paper dolls and dresses that we designed wildly from our imagination. It was fun and enjoyable!

I am regretful than I did not keep any of those childhood scribbles and drawings. To all parents who see your kids scribbling or drawing (be it perfect or imperfect), please keep these drawings or just snap photos of these precious works and keep them for future reference. Who knows, your kid may be a famous artist and his childhood works can be pretty inspiring!