Review and Itinerary of Jurong Bird Park

  I wasn't intending on blogging about this so forgive the lack of pretty pictures. But I had more fun than I expected, so I decided to write about it after.

  I went to the Bird Park last week on a weekday afternoon. I bought tickets through Klook and they included tram passes in the ticket price. Awesome! I think it's really worth it to get the tram tickets so that you can cover more ground more quickly in the park. It's just an extra $5 if you're buying tickets at the park itself and it's worth it cause you don't have to spend time walking under the hot sun for too long.

I went with my husband, and our itinerary was this:
1pm: Reach Jurong Bird Park. Take a tram from Station 1 (near the main entrance) to Station 2 (just outside Lory Loft).

1:30pm: Lory Loft
We fed the parrots at the Lory Loft. The enclosure was wonderful and we made a game of spotting different coloured parrots. After that, we had lunch. We had packed a potato salad, a sandwich, potato chips, and a bottle of cider to eat whilst at the park. The good thing about going to places on weekdays is that most places are not busy so we could easily find a bench to sit on and have our lunch slowly. At about 2:15pm, we took the tram again and headed to the third station.

You can get cups of sugared water by donating to the Bird Park near the entrance of the Lory Loft.

2:30pm
We arrived at the Waterfall Aviary just in time to listen to a staff introduce the different birds within the enclosure. Food for the animals can be bought via a donation amount. We skipped this feeding session as I was afraid of the larger birds.

Look at the bird covered with Tipple!

  Instead, we took a short walk up to one of the viewing point to see the world's tallest man-made waterfall. We spent a while there with no one else beside us at the look out point! How amazing is that!

Here's a selfie of me at the look out point.

Then we had time so we took a short walk to the Breeding and Research Centre. By then it was about 3pm. We watched one of the staffs feed baby birds by hand (it was wonderful) and enjoyed the air-conditioning for a while and sat on a bench to rest our feet. Then off to the penguin enclosure in time for the feeding session. There were two feeding sessions- one outdoor at 3:30pm, and one indoor at 3:45pm.

3:30pm
We stood at the outdoor penguin enclosure and again, there weren't any people there! Just my husband and me, plus two other staffs. I made a small donation and received one glove and a plate of fish. It was wonderful to get to experience feeding penguins. I never knew they had small teeth. My only regret is not getting my husband to take pictures of me feeding the penguins. I can tell people I've fed penguins, now. :)

4pm
We took a short walk back to the Hawk Arena (it's actually located next to the Breeding and Research Centre) to watch the Kings of the Skies show. It was a great way to end our day.

  It was, indeed, a little tedious to get to the Bird Park (train transfers and then a bus) but to me, it was well worth it. Remember to put on sunscreen and mosquito repellent, and bring lunch for yourself cause everything in the park is pricey ($3.50 for a bottle of green tea! Gosh!) because it's a tourist attraction. And go on a weekday if you want to experience everything without waiting too long and fighting crowds.

Tiga sketchbook review

  The Tiga sketchbook is A5 sized (5.8" x 8.3", 14.7cm x ), has a hardcover, and has a unique sketch hot stamped in black foil on the front. On the spine is the artist's name (in this case, it's "Peisy Ting") stamped in black foil... Along with the tiga logo in gold foil, and on the back cover is the tiga logo in black foil. Inside are eight sketches by the respective artist printed in various ink colours on various coloured papers. The remaining 128 blank inlay pages are made from eco-friendly FSC certified 150gsm Italian paper. There's also an expandable pocket sleeve inside the back cover, a black elastic that keeps the sketchbook closed when not in use, and a silver cloth bookmark.

  I still remember the sketchbook being packaged beautifully when it first arrived at my doorstep.

A copper toned wrapping with the Tiga logo printed on it.

I also bought a notebook (that I haven't used).
The little yellow card is a thank you note from the artists.

The short foreword by Peisy.

And the back that shows what papers were used.
Acid-free. Soy ink. Recyclable.

The logo printed on the back of the sketchbook.

  And of course I'm going to show you what I've drawn in this sketchbook. This is a long over-dued video. I had filmed one part of the video in FEBRUARY... Can you believe it? Gold medal for procrastination goes to me. Woop woop! I'm already at the three quarter mark of my current sketchbook, so I'm probably going to be making a flip-through video of my current sketchbook soon. :) I was embarrassed whilst editing the video, so I think I've definitely improved in Art... Ahhh~ My new sketchbook is filled with a lot more better drawings than this one.

  (This is also the first video where I show my face. teehee)

  The sketchbook doesn't take watercolours very well. There's a lot of buckling even with just light washes. Coloured pencils are difficult to lay down too as the paper is too smooth. Basically, it has almost no tooth, which is great for pen and ink. After your ink completely dries, the paper holds it very well. I also like how you get a blank coloured page to draw on with each new "section" of the sketchbook. The pages with the artist's drawings also give you an extra boost of inspiration when you need it. I love the concept of it.

  I bring my sketchbook out everywhere with me, so it has held up really well to the amount of abuse use I've given it. The elastic band is still really tight. The cover is a little banged up on the edges but it's holding up well and doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart or anything like that. And none of the pages have fallen out.

  Would I buy it again? Yes, if they featured new artists.

  For now, you can buy a Tiga sketchbook of your own, featuring either Vince Low, Kerby Rosanes, or Peisy Ting via this link: https://tigaartistry.com/collections/sketchbooks-journals

Review of World of Zentangle

  Bai YunYun, a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) from China, approached me in September last year asking whether my mother and I would like to be featured in a book that she was writing. I was thrilled, and agreed in a heartbeat. It took these many months for the book to be completed and printed, then sent from China to Singapore, but I must say that it definitely was worth the wait.

 "World of Zentangle" is a beautifully printed book. The pages are set out wonderfully. It doesn't look cluttered, the text is easy to read, and all the pictures in the book are lovely and sharp. The cover is a sturdy cardboard material that is the colour of Zentangle®'s renaissance tiles. It has a nice border of tangles and the Chinese title of the book is printed in white ink that makes it seem like it is slightly embossed.

  The pages have a slight gloss and the book is printed in full colour. Each chapter is colour coded, which I find really useful for finding a particular section when I want to.

First chapter... And with the Zentangle motto: "Anything is possible, one stroke at a time."

  The book starts off by telling you about the origins of Zentangle, then moves on to talk about different styles in Zentangle art. It briefly touches on materials used to create Zentangle art (even including markers and watercolours). And only after, does it teaches you the 8-steps method and shading techniques. The final few pages gives you ideas on different crafts you can do as Zentangle-inspired art, and the last chapter has tangle exercises with empty boxes that you can draw in. (How smart of YunYun to do that!)

  The book is filled with plenty of pictures of YunYun's own art works, examples of patterns, and pictures related to what she's talking about on any given page. Eight other artists were featured in the book, of which my mother, Joni, and I am included. We truly are honoured to be included in such a wonderful creation.

Here's the section that I was included in.

And here's Joni's section.

Line exercises...

And a spread from the last chapter, where there are step-outs to a few tangles and empty boxes that you can draw in.

  Flip-through video of the book:

  It's truly a blessing for us to have received a copy of this book because we're planning to teach Zentangle classes in Mandarin soon and we wanted to be sure that we would be teaching the Zentangle method using the correct words. This book will really help us.

  I hope you enjoyed reading my review of "World of Zentangle". If you have Mandarin speaking students, this book will be a great purchase. Or if you're like me and just like to collect books about Zentangle, you can currently purchase the book through Dang Dang or through China's Amazon.

Review of "Unwind in the Wilds" a Colouring Book by Derwent

  There's a new colouring book being sold at Art Friend. It's "Unwind in the Wilds" by Derwent and the illustrations within it are by Sarah Taylor. It's retailing at $18.50 (or $16.65 if you have membership). Go buy yourself a set of Coloursoft coloured pencils while you're at it. (What do you mean I have an obsession with Coloursofts... Shhh~)

  It's a colouring book based around a theme on nature... Lots of little critters- bunnies, bugs, owls, deers, song birds, swans... Lots of leaves and trees... There are some pages with just repeating patterns.

  The first few pages are really interesting, too. There's a little guide on how to blend coloured pencils to achieve different tones of colours, and some super basic colour theory. And then you also have two fully coloured pages to give you an idea on what you can do. 

  And scattered throughout the book are a couple of little Complete-It-Yourself pages. For example, one has an owl and you have to draw its feathers and hat. I haven't attempted any of those kind of pages cause when I am drawn to my colouring books, I usually am just craving to handle some colouring materials. So I wouldn't be in the mood to draw. There are other fun activities in the book, too.

Like mazes...

And item hunts...

  Some of the drawings are two-pages spread, and we all know what happens when that's the case... The middle part of the drawings get swallowed up by the binding. *sad face* But I'm happy to say that most pages are single spreads, and some even have nice borders so they'd look wonderful if you cut them out of the book to frame. I prefer to keep my pages IN the book, but to each his own, eh?

  And here's a quick flip-through of the book:

  I coloured a really cute mouse with just less than seven colours:

Yep. Mostly greens, blues, and a yellow. The mouse is actually orangey-red. No browns were used.
Even the background is red plus dark blue. No browns or purples..

And here's a song bird. One of the advice that Sarah gave was to not be afraid to leave certain areas white. That's why I left the flower-y patterns on the bird's throat white.

I rather like the page left this way. Pretty birb.

  Wanna' see another awesome colouring book? Try Enchanted Forest.

Book Review: The Mandala Book

"The Mandala Book: Patterns of the Universe" by Lori Bailey Cunningham

  This book has received quite raving reviews on Amazon.com, and for good reasons.

  Initially, I just thought it'd be a book with pretty pictures. Yes; it does have gorgeously breathtaking pictures, but this book is much more than just a coffeetable book. It goes through the many ideals and philosophies behind the mandala as an art form. It covers the religions that have used mandalas; how the mandala is a symbolic representation of you, others, and the Universe; the shapes that are used in mandalas and what they represent.

  The book goes through chapters; from an introduction to mandalas, to understanding the concept of mandalas; to teaching readers about the symbolism surrounding different shapes- from different types of circles, to the dyad, to the triangle, and square, and pentagon, and hexagon... It then wraps up with patterns that can be found in nature. Finally, there's an afterword, and the book ends with drawings of examples of mandala patterns. 

  I'm also really glad that it is a hard-cover book because I know I'll be referencing to this book many more times in the future. With a whole 297 pages of knowledge and pictures, I'm sure you'll find value within this book. This is a wonderful book to buy if you'd like to learn more about mandalas; if you're a zentangle artist that is looking for inspiration; if you're a spiritual artist or someone who uses a lot of symbolism within your work; and even if you're not an artist, the images and ideas within this book are worth a buy.

Affordable Art Fair 2014 Review

  The Affordable Art Fair happened from the 23rd of May to the 25th of May. Early bird tickets went at $12, while tickets purchased on the event dates went at $15. It happened at the F1 Pit Building, with free parking outside of the building.

  I must say that I'm really elated to see how the event has grown over the years. How the core of the event is still focused on showing that good art can be affordable, and helping lesser known artist gain a foothold in the arts scene, and to also showcase the works of the more well-known artists.

  It was a good mix of contemporary and more traditional pieces. I still think the venue was perfect for the event- easy to reach via car and MRT, spacious, bright, and an overall wonderful space for the booths.

  If you didn't have the chance to go to the event, here's part of what you missed...

by Ocean Wang

by Ocean Wang

by Inho Park

by Jung Eun-Hee

"Building Bridges" by WARSITO

details of "Building Bridges"

Details of "Building Bridges"

Look familiar? This piece is by Jieun Park, an artist that I've featured before.

by Amberlee Rosolowich

by Amberlee Rosolowich

Ironically titled "Grey Flowers" by Julie Hendriks

by Jun Ho. The method he uses is to drop ink into water and photograph that, and then overlay the photos to create pictures that resemble traditional Chinese paintings. I really liked the idea of it.

Another piece by Jun Ho

Coloured pencil roses by Jungai Han. 

"The Ego and The Non-Ego" by Dae-Sub Kim.

This was a really interesting piece. The bowl and the lone apple were sculptures carved from wood and were three dimensional. But the apples in the bowl were painted on in a way to make them seem three dimensional. 

The photo doesn't do it justice though... There were much MUCH more subtleties in the colours of this piece. 

And after, I headed to have an early dinner with some Cold Stone ice cream. They even had a bar at the event. :)

Fair catalogue, promotional pamphlets of various artists, and the tickets I bought (I went to the event with two other friends).

  All in all, it was a splendiferous event. I loved that there was a wide variety of people of different races and ages. I was also pleasantly surprised at how many youngsters there were at the event. The food was great, the drinks were great, the ice cream was mm-mmm good, and the art was of course very varied. So if you didn't get a chance to go to the event this year, make sure you attend the one coming up in 2015!

http://affordableartfair.com/singapore/

Book Review: The New Encyclopedia of Watercolour Techniques

 "The New Encyclopedia of Watercolour Techniques" by Diana Craig & Hazel Harrison is the third edition of its series.

  I found the first edition in one of my local library and read it, cover-to-cover. It had good details, with colored pictures and all, however, the layout of the book was a little off, and I felt it could have used more editing.

  Thus, when I found this edition, (the third) I was thrilled. The layout used is much more cohesive and easy-to-follow, and it has more techniques and explanations.

Enough with design, let's talk about content:
  The book opens with a gallery of watercolor paintings by different artists. I actually really enjoy looking at good Art. (Who doesn't?) Books that showcase other Artists' works are brilliant books, most of the time. The selection of works that were chosen for this book covered a wide range of styles one could achieve with Watercolor, from gestral to tight-and-lots-of-details.

  The next Chapter talks about materials and workspace, which is an improvement from the first edition.The layout, as I've said previously, is much more "cleaner" than the first edition, and covers pretty much everything you would need to know.

  The third Chapter is the meat of the book, the techniques in Watercolor. From basic washes to more interesting techniques, like misting and using textures. What I like about this Chapter is that the authors have scattered other Artists' works throughout it to keep it lively and engaging, and of course, to show readers the extent that the technique can be used.

  Lastly, a new Chapter has been added to this edition- Theory in Art. In the first edition, this information was scattered in the book. However, the authors thought that theory was important and they dedicated a Chapter for it. From palette colors, to warm-and-cool, and working from photographs. It covers most things that an Artist should keep in mind when drawing/painting. Although, if you wanted a real in-depth understanding of some theories, I would recommend reading a book based solely on that topic. (Such as, perspective, composition, and how to render an object to look three dimensional.)

  All in all, there has been a marked improvement in the layout of the book, and if you were thinking of getting this book, I suggest you get the latest edition. I would say though, this is a book suited for Artists looking for a refresher course, or if you wanted to get inspiration from other Watercolorists' works. Beginners reading this book will get an idea of the possibilities that this medium is capable of, but it is no where an instrutional step-by-step guide book.

My rating for this book:
  7.2 out of 10

Which book do you think I should write a review on? Leave me your answer in the comment section below.