Can You Say OMG?

          I hadn’t plan to update here until next week, as I’m currently bogged down with my class assignments and presentation. However, something amazing happened today and I have no choice but to share the joy with all of you. 😀

          I received a phonecall late this afternoon, and it went like this:

          Leonard     : Hello?

          Male Voice: Hi, is this Leonard?

          Leonard     : Yep. Who is this?

          Male Voice: Hi, I’m from LG. Have you been to our website recently? You submitted a video for our competition.

          Leonard     : I did. Is there anything?

          Male Voice: Oh, so you haven’t been to our website recently. You are our third prize winner!

          Leonard     : Oh, cool. (*mouthing OMG to Pooi Yee, Dionne and Kel Zoe)…

          He, the organiser, further explain the results, prizes and the details on collecting my prize after that. To be honest, I was not paying attention because I was still reeling from the shock ( a good, no. Great shock that is) and my friends can testify to that. Pooi Yee even joked about how I will still be smilling dreamiliy even if she slapped me in the face…hahaha…

          A visit to the aforementioned website showed:

          Everything sets in when I saw my name and video on the website…hehehe…a closer look…

          Anyway, according to the organiser, the prize is a LG handphone and a DVD player which in total amount to RM1000…not bad eh? Haha…well, the video was a joint effort by my crew in CRR class last sem…they are Pooi Yee, Dionne, Kel Zoe and Wong Woei. My lovely muses…hehe…thanks guys! We will go celebrate soon! 😀 

         Do check out the winning videos if you want. Just click here MyLifeMyWay and click the “winners” tab on ur upper right corner. I had also uploaded the video on youtube and this blog previously. Here’s the one on Youtube.

         Cheers. 😉

DIY Days

          Classes have finally started this week, it’s a little weird to be sitting in on lectures after such a long semester break. Very soon, assignments will be piling up, even now the thought of having to go through all those readings for the subjects make me nervous. I’ll try my best to continue my illustrating and crafting though, that’s a promise…but maybe not as often as I would like. 

          Anyway, I’d been toying with the idea of DIY-ing some of my old t-shirts so that I can wear them again and not just put them on to bed. So, I got myself a black fabric marker (always safe to start with black) from this art supply store at The Gardens and the inspiration came from a magazine I was reading during the road trip with Didi, Nikki and Kenneth.

          The things that you will need to do this are a plain t-shirt, fabric marker, cardboard to place inside the t-shirt in order to make it easier for the drawing and also to prevent the ink from seeping to the other side of the fabric as well as a rough sketch of the motive that you plan to draw on the t-shirt. With all that, you can start drawing!

          One tip is to always start your drawing from the middle, that way you will get a balanced image on the t-shirt. Put the t-shirt on from time to time so as to check how the image look when worn. Just in case it’s off-center, just pretend it’s supposed to be that way…haha…sometimes it does make sense.

          Here’s how my first attempt looked like. Not bad right? I got friends thinking that it was a ZARA or a DKNY…I guess that’s a compliment…haha. What do you think?

          Continuing of with the DIY spirit, I did some gastronomic experiment in the kitchen as well. It all started when I had this nice drink made up of red beans and cincau at this restaurant next to Kim Gary in Sunway Pyramid (sorry, can’t remember the name of the restaurant). This is how the drink looked like. 

 

          I was figuring what to have for lunch one afternoon when I managed to find red beans and milk in my fridge. So yeah, I decided to recreate the drink myself.

          Here’s my version of the drink (minus the cincau that is). It was just ok, it could have been better if I had added some sugar in it, but then again, I don’t have any sugar and was too lazy to go get them…haha…

          I got myself a makeover for the new semester. Went to the saloon to get the hair shortened ala the Dior Homme boys… :p

          Before the cut. Messy and puffy…

          After the cut, clean lines and I’m glad I kept the fringe.

          On top of that, I got my left ear pierced on the same day. It’s my second try at piercing since my eyebrow piercing in November last year, which I’d already removed.

          Ironically, I was more scared of getting my ear pierced than when I got my eyebrow pierced…I don’t know why.

          Besides that, I’d been working on some logos for our scholars club in college. It’s called Dream Inc. and we are in the midst of setting up the club’s identity and that’s where the logo comes in. Here are some of the ones I did. They are mostly variations of the word ‘dream’ or ‘d inc.’

          I was walking back from college the other day and I saw this:

          It was right in the afternoon and it was not cloudy or anything. But still, the street lights were on…tsk…tsk…tsk…

          That’s me being an agony aunt. Miss you darling.

Of Craft, Food and Fashion

         Meet Mr. L. He’s my second attempt at making a doo doll after I tried making the first one last year (which was named Ms. Cici after my cat.) With my limited sewing skills, I set forth on this particular craft project with a different approach. Instead of reverse-sewing the fabric and stuffing the doll with cotton, I made a paper template of the doll and pasted cotton pads straight onto the template before wrapping it with fabrics (a slightly larger version of the paper template) and then gluing it and finishing it with stitches. It turned out pretty well and this new method is actually less time consuming as it requires not much sewing. 

         The doll was given to Baby as it was essentially made as a Valentine/Farewell gift. Mr. L currently resides with Baby in Melbourne 🙂

         Nikki and Didi suggested that I make more dolls and sell them, but I’m not sure whether my beginner-craft is sell-able or not. So, I’ll work on my sewing and crafting skills first before thinking about exercising my (also) meager entrepreneurial skills.

         Enough of that. Let’s talk about food.

         I went to my favorite shabu-shabu place in Puchong with Kel Zoe and Cel Sin for dinner yesterday. The business must have been good as they have now shifted further down to a three storey building that can accomodate more guests. The buffet dinner was very much Japanese style, the variety of shabu-able food are placed on conveyer belts, very much like in a Sushi restaurant. The food was great as always and the three of us left with satisfaction in our bloated tummies.

          The fast and furious world of shabu-shabu. Grab them before they slip away.

          My usual fares, veggies, mushrooms and pork slices. A well-balanced meal, I say.

          Boiling away…I like brocolli, couliflower and corns.

         The amazing sauce. A dip in it and everything taste soooooo good!

          Me and Cel Sin. Have not seen her for quiet some time now. Glad that she’ll be starting degree soon, it’s back to our old Foundation days! Haha…

         With my god sis, Kel Zoe. My shabu-shabu partner in crime. Hehe…

          I was up and about town today. Road tripping with Nikki, Didi and Kenneth. Nikki fetched all of us to Ogilvy where Kenneth used to interned during the holiday. He was there to pick up his letter and pay-cheque. After that, we went to Menara Star to get Nikki registered for the coming public speaking competition. She has finally agreed to join!

          The highlight of our road trip today must had been our lunch in Paddington House of Pancakes at the Curve. The around-the-world set lunch was good and reasonably priced. What-more, we had free drinks and desserts with our main courses. A lunching place that I would definitely recommend.

          The Brussels set that I had. The thin crispy pancake was served with slices of beef, cheese, sunny-side up egg, baked beans and guacamole.

          Didi’s Mexican set. The minced beef wrapped in the moist pancake was very flavorful and was served with mashed potatoes topped with capers.

          Nikki chose to have the Tokyo set. It was chicken chop with ham and cheese, mashed potatoes and also lettuces wrapped in pancakes.

          Last but not least is Kenneth’s San Francisco set. Dorry fillet with lettuces wrapped in pancakes, mash potatoes and the all-important tatar sauce.

          Kenneth and I were bored while waiting for desserts to be served.

          The girls doing their own thing…

          Their picture wall reminded me of my art wall…haha…

          A funky cow in front of March…it’s red and it’s full of positives. Very ox-picious indeed.

          Dinner was at Darulsalam with Kel Zoe, Dionne, Evonne and Ah Wong. I had my usual, which is kelapa-jeli and nasi lemak ayam. Went back to college after that to check out the new intake’s orientation dinner/party. It was okay, crowded as always. However, there was a slight improvement in the performances. They had a very cool fire act instead of just the usual dance, singing and game routine.

          Did I mention that the reindeer-motive cashmere jumper that I ordered online had arrived yesterday? Well, I’ll be wearing it on the first day of class. It’s very kitsch and quirky. Here’s a sneak preview:

          Does it spell fashion forward or fashion victim? What do you think?

          It’s late now. I better call it a day. Grocery shopping tomorrow.

          Cheers guys. Miss you Baby.

The Wall of Arts

          I’m back. 

          Actually, I was back here in KL for the past few weeks already. However, due to my packed schedule, I didn’t manage to get anything posted here. Well, it had been a whirlwind of weeks, spending precious moments with Baby, going for workshops, meeting up with lecturers and going to the library for researches.

           So, I guess it’s time for me to spend some time here, I’d been meaning to update on my artworks as I’d done a few back in Kedah during the CNY holidays and I’d also found a few old pieces that I want to share here. It’s like my own vintage in a way. Before that, let me recap some of the many activities of the past weeks.

          I attended the Public Speaking Workshop by The Star, ESUM and HSBC in KDU College. The theme for this year’s competition is “Regeneration & Renewal”. It will be on the 14th of March, and I have yet to finalize my speech.

           Celebrated my 20th birthday with a cupcake from Cindy and Kenneth, an outing with Didi and Kenneth, a dinner with Peter Gor, well wishes from friends and family and best of all, a phonecall from Baby.

         Worked as Student Ambassador in the latest Taylor’s College Open Day at the main campus. I have yet to receive my pay-cheque.

          Finally, I had an awesome picnic lunch with Paulene at the KLCC Park. The weather was fine, the food was nice (I cooked) and the company was great. It was a success and I had fun catching up with her.

          Now, the first thing that I did when I came back was to clean up my room, dust had started collecting on the fine layer of dust from the previous weeks and the fan needed urgent cleaning too. While cleaning, I noticed that I don’t have a proper place to store my works as they are strewn across the floor or the bed. So, I decided to paste my works up on the wall, a testament to the time spent in creating each and every one of them as well as to provide inspiration for future pieces.

         The wall will grow through the years as I create more works.

         It felt like having my own exhibition in the privacy of my room, curating it for friends and family.

         Here’s one of the work I’d done back in Kedah. It was inspired by a newspaper cutting my Mum keep in between the sliding glass of a bookcase. It was printed alongside an article that described the miraculous and mysterious phenomenon of a Mother Mary statue weeping tears of blood in America.

” Bloody Mary “

( Medium: Watercolor)

         ‘Bloody’ here refers to the tears of blood, just in case anyone thought otherwise and is offended.

         Come to think of it, I had not done much portraits before or pencil sketches for that matter. I found the work below between a hardcover book in my room. I’d forgotten about it. It was done years ago, when I was still in highschool.

” Angela “

( Medium: Pencil )

         One weird thing about this piece is that people will often ask me if it’s the portrait of my mother. No, it is not. It’s a portrait of Angela Merkel that I did based on a picture of her in the newspaper.

         That’s for now, I’ll share more soon. I found a very vintage work of mine. A published work that I did when I was 10 years old, but that will be in the next post. Cheers.

Going Home

          In 3 hours time, I’ll be on the Ekspres Langkawi heading for my beloved Kedah. The train ride will take approximately 12 hours. Yep. Twice the amount of time if I take a bus (6 hours).

          Many people often wonder why I chose to travel by train instead of a bus. Well, for practical reasons, I have my own compartment bed to lie down in a train while sitting upright in a bus seat for 6 hours can be torturous at times. I chose comfort over covenience. Another reason is that travelling by train somehow present itself to be somewhat more adventurous than the bus. 

          I found myself closing my eyes, listening to the humming sound of wheel against track; the snoring of the man above me and the sliding door swishing left and right in that mechanical motion as drowsy passengers make their way to the loo for some late night relieve. I imagine travelling across the great Dutch farmlands; the crowded tracks of India and perhaps across the winding terrain of central Romania. Haha…I dream a lot because there’s no harm in doing so.

          Anyway, I will bring along some good books and my trusty sketchbook with me. Maybe just to doodle to pass time. I’d been doing a lot of doodling lately. Here’s some sketches I did to brainstorm for an upcoming project of mine.

 ” Stress-free “

( Medium: Pencil ) 

” Positive Thinking “

( Medium: Pencil )

” Lattice “

( Medium: Ink )

          On another note, I finally managed to get my submissions in for the United Malaysians logo competition. After procrastinating for some time now, I finally churned out three designs for submissions. I can do better though. Both with my time management as well as on the artworks. 

” Logo 1 “

( Medium: Watercolor )

” Logo 2 “

( Medium: Watercolor )

” Logo 3 “

( Medium: Watercolor )

          That’s for now. I better go pack my stuffs. Happy Chinese New Year guys!

P/S: Won’t be posting while I’m in Kedah. But will continue painting and doodling. I’ll be back soon!

Open Your Heart

 

  It might be a bit too early for Valentine, but this particular illustration was actually inspired by Kel Zoe’s new necklace from this cute little shop called ‘Doodle’. The engraving on the bird-house and key pendant are adorable and got me thinking of love and acceptance, regardless of whether it is of romance, humanity, understanding and any other things that might pop into your mind. 

 

 ” Open Your Heart “

( Medium: Watercolor )

 Like the girl in the painting, sometimes it takes all our effort and determination to not only open our hearts to others but also to open others’ hearts to us. Maybe the world would be less complicated if all of us are transparent…but then again, we’ll all look like those albino frogs or translucent fishes in the pet shop…hahaha…what was I thinking.

Anyway, below is the necklace itself. 

 I hope I can open your heart. 

P/S: The illustration was given to Kel Zoe as a thank you gift for this inspiration.  

Fashion

          I couldn’t sleep last night and was not inspired to paint anything. However, there’s an urging sense to paint something to make up for the lack of update recently.

          Flipping through some fashion magazines gave me the idea to randomly sketch and paint some of the beautiful clothes by those wonderful designers.

           Just a random deviation. The wannabe designer in me came out for a night.

 

” Fashion “

( Medium: Watercolor )

Have a Cuppa?

 

I guess sometimes what we all want is just a simple pick-me-up to de-stress or even to re-energize ourselves. The same goes for her. 

” Cuppa “

(Medium: Watercolor)

She is (if you haven’t realize) the Starbucks Siren who had been the symbol for the renown coffee parlor around the world. A two-tailed mermaid that is sometimes known as a Melusine who enchants mariners with her beauty and songs became the parallel metaphor for the seductive taste and aroma of coffee.  

The original logo was inspired by a 15^th century wood carving of the siren and I was inspired by the current ubiquitous logo itself when working on this particular illustration. Perhaps after all these years of being branded on signs and mugs, she must have wanted a break and a cuppa herself.

Learn more about the history and evolution of the Starbucks logo from the Dead Programmer’s Café.

P/S: I plan to send a copy of this illustration to the Starbucks Company. I wonder what will become of it. I’ll keep you guys updated.

P/P/S: The above illustration was not commissioned by Starbucks. Just a creative output by myself. Any promotional outcome is not intended.

Genesis

 

Genesis marked the beginning of the humankind with its chronicle of the creation of Adam and Eve, the seduction of the sly serpent and the downfall by the original sin.

A taste from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil brought the wrath of God upon our ancestors and us, but in turn opened up our mind to the profound universe as God had created.

With a similar sense of revelation, I shall have a Genesis of my own.

This blog is created in the hope of sharing my works with those who are interested or share the same interest in the area of arts and writing as well as a medium for commissioned pieces by anyone who would like to acquire my services.

Welcome and enjoy. 

 ” Eden “

(Medium: Watercolor)

” Missing “

(Music video / short film)

This video was made for an in class presentation on the subject of Communication Rhetoric & Reasoning.

” Missing ” tries to examine the intricacies of human identity and existence. It also probes into the issue of self-identification through human interaction. It poses the question: Do we really know who we are?

*Credit: Song used in this video is “Over My Shoulder” by Mika.