gray

 

self portrait with ladder

I used a soft brush and it felt so much more natural. The colours I used are cadmium red deep, yellow ochre, black and titanium white. Oh, and a little viridian green for the blouse.

Self Portrait with Ladder, acrylic on paper

self portrait in poor lighting and feeling really lousy

Sometimes making self portraits is a way to confront personal issues which I find hard to deal with. The bad thing about it is that when I make something horrible it only makes me feel worse. LOL. By horrible I mean when I end up making everything bloody unnatural-looking. Today I went to buy  a pretty small mirror with lilac coloured frame and stand, and in poor lighting I painted what I saw in the mirror. This is what I saw. I like it. It is real.

Self Portrait In Poor Lighting and Feeling Really Lousy, acrylic on paper

self portrait with hairband

Self Portrait with Hairband, acrylic on paper

 

Tried a new combination of colours today. Yellow ochre, titanium white, permanent rose, coeruleum hue( a sky blue colour), portrait pink, and primary blue. I really wanted to use just 2 to 3 colours but I needed the white to lighten and a dark blue to get deeper colours. The portrait pink was not necessary at all. Anyway, it is always fun playing with new colour combinations.

it can be a little confronting making a self portrait. This one is less so to me.....I dunno why, maybe because of the "fun" colour combination, maybe because I was wearing a hairband. When I resized the photo on my computer I accidentally clicked on a "paint bucket" option and it gave my painting a look that I find interesting. it actually feels more me than my original painting, so I am putting both versions here.

self portrait

 

self portrait in striped tank top, 2021, acrylic on paper

It is a little confronting painting myself. 

The colours I used are yellow ochre, crimson, coeruleum hue, primary blue and titanium white.

below is a self portrait I made a few years ago, with gouache. how different.

self portrait with phone, 2018, gouache on paper

Soo Moey

 

Soo Moey, acrylic on paper

the colours I used are yellow ochre, crimson, coeruleum hue, primary blue and titanium white

i grow hair!

 an animation by my nephew Gylan. :)

clowning

2 portraits

Gray Flowers, acrylic on paper

 

Waiting, acrylic on paper

2 different portraits from the same reference. the colours, the sort of paint used, the paper and brushes may change how things end up looking, but it really is the way I approach a painting that makes the difference. every single painting is different. I see different and new things when I paint. there is much to see. I think the day I stop painting will be the day when I stop seeing. often it is easier not to see.

my neighbours part 1

Here are some of the portraits that I have made for an on-going project I am working on. They are based on and inspired by the people I see in my neighbourhood.

I saw her whistling on her bicycle, looking happy.

He takes his pet parrot everywhere he goes. There is a chain around one of the bird's feet but I have forgotten to paint it.

"I am 77. My husband had a stroke when he was 68. My shoes cost $5. I circle the block 3 times every morning. " She is one of the most jolly-looking old ladies I have ever met.

She sits there talking to herself, clutching a box.

I don't see him anymore. What has happened to him? All the senior members of the Senior Citizens' corner are not around anymore. 

He had a stroke and can no longer walk. I used to see him standing by his window everyday looking at the chicken and her mate. Then the chicken and the rooster disappeared. And I stop seeing him standing there when I walk past.

He jogs every morning, rain or shine. He has badly bent legs and looks like he is about to fall over with every step he makes. 

He has a corner of the void deck set up with a swivel chair, a small bookcase and a table. He used to walk around with his crutches. Not anymore.

The boy has an in-toeing gait. He does not wear proper school shoes but sandals with socks. His young mother is always in a hurry. He has black, uncombed hair.

She is always seen with a crutch and glittery eye shadow. She has eyes that stare blankly past you.

She inches with effort as she walks but refuses to have a walking stick. She thinks that love and freedom are the most important things in life.

"Stop staring at my daughters."
 The sun made her squint.

She slaps her face as she walks to the shops to buy food. Then she slaps her face when she walks home.

She lugs a trolley around calling out to the cats living on the streets. She feeds them at the same time every day and has a name for every cat. 

She has big, red hair and wears the same clothes every day. She bought herself a part of the moon from the 24-hour supermarket one evening.

She is always wearing her crochet beanie. Her husband is always behind her with rolled up newspapers.

She always sits on the stone bench at the void deck, with a cup of ice water. Sometimes she makes these sounds with her mouth open and her tongue sticking out.

My Neighbours picture book

I am currently woking on a series of acrylic portraits of some of the people I see in my neighbourhood. Here is the cover. Check this space for the finished work!

Album cover

I was commissioned to design the album cover for Jon Duncan's upcoming album Tethers, coming out on Half A Cow on 19 March. Here is what I did, in one of my all time favourite mediums- colour pencils.

The Pebble(2D animation)

 

New Clothes

Family Portrait

 

Dad in his hat

 

Dad in a daze

 

25FEB2021

 

Painting my father

Portraits

 

Under This Tree

bird sits on my shoulder

Inspired by an Indian neighbour who takes his pet parrot everywhere he goes. I saw them reading the newspapers today. Also, I noticed, for the first time, that the bird was chained. I imagined that, not only can the bird talk, he also has a sweet tooth, and especially loves Gulab Jamun, an Indian sweet so sweet it can make your nose bleed.