Painting of Day: "Mutiny"

  "Mutiny" by Samantha Keely Smith

  Samantha Smith's style has evolved over the years– from a more abstract style to a more impressionistic landscape style. I prefer her current style. The brilliant use of colours to represent a scene. It's again a matter of how much details one can remove while still having the painting "read correctly".

  It's an exaggerated depiction of the sea. The line between the sky and the sea is blurred. The wave seemingly swallowing up everything. The beautiful play of light on the crest of the wave; a beautiful rendition of a warm yellow against the deep, dark blues. You can just barely see the horizon in the distance, which gives the painting a sense on depth. As for meaning behind the piece, I think the hint lies in the title the artist has given it.

  Mutiny

 An open rebellion against authority; especially by soldiers or sailors against the officers.

  Perhaps, then, the piece is an interpretation of that word. How rebellion against authority is similar to a raging storm. Or perhaps, it's an analogy as to how difficult it is to go against traditions and people who have a higher influence than you do. Either ways, it's a breathtaking piece with a beautiful title attached to it.

  See more of Samantha Smith's works here.

Update: "Hazel Bird"

  An update on my latest work titled "Hazel Bird". I think it's my best work so far. This piece was *coughs* complicated. I started it last year and was inspired by my dad's works. [See his works at http://www.chenshimo.com/ ]

  I later abandoned this project because I felt I wasn't skilled enough to move forward with it. But this year, I felt it was time that I finished it, but I have been procrastinating... However, I have lots of new project ideas in my head, and I've promised myself that I have to finish this project first before moving on with other projects. There's just the bird's plumage that needs some tweaking and the branches have to be finished, so I hope to finish it by this month. (Wish me luck.)

  I'll be posting a new "Painting of the Day" segment tomorrow so stay tuned for that. And leave me a comment in the comment section below telling me what you think of my work. :)

Recommended Artist: Calvin Nicholls

  Calvin Nicholls creates amazing art pieces using just sheets of paper and a scalpel. He cuts the component pieces to fit the final drawing and assembles the low relief artwork under studio lighting. When the sculpture is complete the lighting is adjusted to bring out the subtle form and texture. Finally, a large format camera is used to capture the detail on 8x10 film prior to scanning for print applications or art prints, and the results of this process can be seen below.

  There's no need for me to say this as I'm sure you can see that Calvin Nicholls's technique is superb. The clean cuts. The amount of details he puts into each pieces. The brilliant use of "out of the frame" method to give an illusion of depth. I'm also completely enthralled by how well he has portrayed fur and feathers.

As much as I'd like to talk about about how cute the hedgehog is, I'd rather focus on the last piece in this post- the one of the ship. Artists are well known for using symbols in their works, and sometimes, when you never intended for the art work to be "read into", some people still over-think your art work. It doesn't bother me when people do that. I rather enjoy it when people tell me what they see from my drawings and doodles. Perhaps Calvin Nicholls never intended for people to "read into" his beautiful portrayal of a ship at sea, but I did find myself linking symbolic meaning to the piece.

  In Christianity, the sea is often a symbol of the unconscious, and the ship one that represents the Self. Do the winds blow in your sails, or do the storms rock your ship? In life, you'll always face hardships, but it is the overcoming of these hardships that makes you stronger. People often say that the sunshine comes after the rain. Whatever you are facing at the moment, just remember to keep your chin up and keep on keeping on, because you'll get through this obstacle and in the process you'll learn something new.

 "May the sails of your soul always billow with fresh winds of wisdom."

  See more of his works via this link.

Painting of the Day: "Second Thoughts"

"Second Thoughts" by Pino

  The bold brushstrokes and the mirad of colours was what drew me to this piece. The focus is on the beautiful model's face. Her skin soft and smooth; her gaze focusing on something out of our view. She seems to be in thought, and as viewers, we are left to imagine what might be on her mind. The muted greys are gorgeous, and the accents of magenta and the background of pure blue, navy, and green perfectly balance the piece. And as always, I'm very much intrigued by how little details is actually needed for a painting to "feel right".

  Visit his website here.

Painting of the Day: "Rafa"

"Rafa" by Gabriel Moreno.

  The juxtaposition of the monochrome of the model against the colours of the cloth is what made me like this piece. What is the main subject in this painting? Is it the girl, or the cloth? As artists, we're taught to place details in the main subject, so did the artist intentionally place details in the cloth? The artist has a background in fashion illustration, perhaps that might be the reason. I also loved the detail of a tattoo on the girl's left arm, and the beautiful flourish of lines that represent her hair.

  Visit Gabriel Moreno's website via this link.

DIY: Custom iPhone Case

Step 1: Buy yourself a clear iPhone case.

Step 2: Trace the outline of your iPhone onto a paper of your choice. I recommend using slightly thicker paper, and you could use any kind of coloured paper. I used some high-quality drawing paper that was left over from my other projects.

Step 3: Cut template out. Remember to also cut out the shape of the hole for the camera. Fit the template into the iPhone case to see if it fits well.

Step 4: Get artsy. Go crazy with the design. Use glitter pens, coloured pens, or even collage over it. I did some zentangle on mine.

Step 5: Place the template into the iPhone case, then fit your iPhone into the case and you're good to go.  ^_^

  This DIY project can be re-done as often as you'd like. It's easy to do, requires very little time to complete, and could also make for a great personalised gift for family and friends. I hope you've found it useful, and leave me a comment in the comment section below showing me a link to your own creations. I'd love to see what designs you come up with.

Stephanie's Sketches: v.2

  I've been busy, busy, busy these few days. :) A good kind of busy. I've done loads of sketches and I thought of showing them to you.

 "Broken Green"

It was done with the idea that it would become the art work I would put on the front page of my website. It didn't go as planned and I'm not 100% happy with it, but I think it's still alright. It's too "broken up", in my opinion. Too disjointed, and a little too messy.

"Doodle_1"

I still have not signed it in ink because I'm still trying to figure out whether I want it to be a horizontal piece or a vertical piece...

"Eden_Typography"

Eden means "heaven" with its biblical roots. This one is written in Greek and was for someone I knew.

"Green Koi"

Seems like I have a certain soft spot for the colour green. :) I like this one quite a bit.

"Random Colours"

I actually didn't intend for this to become a doodle. I was just laying down random colours on paper out of boredom and when I found I was going nowhere, I abadoned the piece. I thought it was rather odd for one piece in my sketchbook to be left completely unfinished so I drew "Paradox" on it and the above was the result.

"Stream of Conscious"

Didn't know where I was going to end up when I began this piece. It has become one of my favorite pieces. :) I like the fluidity of it and how everything fits together very nicely.

  And that's about it. I've also updated my website, and if you're interested to take a look you can view it via this link: http://stephaniejennifer.webs.com/

Recommended Artist: Irina Vinnik

  Irina Vinnik's lines are carefully planned and yet do not feel overly constricted. There's a sort of glow in her monochrome works that bring much charm to the pieces. And her watercolours are harmonious and compositionally balanced.

  I needed to remind myself of the beauty of a simple line. How funny it is that outlines do not exist in the real world, and yet that is the first thing a child learns when he or she draws– to outline the object he or she is portraying. We reward our children for keeping their colours within the lines and yet we forget that more often letting creativity take us on a journey leads to much more interesting results.

  Visit her website via this link.

Recommended Artist: Juan Francisco Casas

  Juan Francisco Casas draws brilliant hyper-realistic drawings, and the best part is that they're all done with just ballpoint pens. The humble ballpoint pen... Just let that sink in for a bit. I was going through his website and I was continually amazed by how much talent he had. Then I found out that the pictures he uses as references come from nights out with his friends, and I began to think.... He uses pictures that one would typically post on Myspace or Facebook, and elevates them to a status of Fine Art. He's using his talents to keep viewers engaged, but the subjects depicted sometimes make you uncomfortable. Yet, there is no rule that said art had to be of deliberately posed figures, or of flowers, or rainbows or scenery. So then, why are you uncomfortable?

  I've begun to question where the line is drawn to differentiate the erotic nude and porn. Gustav Klimt created many controversies in his time for being overtly open about the sensuality of women, so perhaps Juan Casas is the Gustav Klimt of our time... His artwork is beautiful because he has caught people in their crazier moments when they were being true to their emotions, because he does hyper-realistic works but they depict raunchy scenes, he goes against the rules that society has of how women should be depicted in Art. And I guess that's why viewers keep wanting to see more.

  Also, "Fuck Art, Love Artists" is a brilliant slogan. Maybe that's another message he's trying to send across to viewers– that Art is defined only by the viewer and that, really, anything can be Art and so the standards that society has that state that "abc is Art but xyz isn't" is nonsense and that an artist should be supported as long as what he/she creates is good, even if he/she goes against those standards.

  I deliberately chose works of his that were more... conservative (let's just put it that way...). To see all his works, visit his website via this link.

Recommended Artist: Adam S Doyle

  The beauty of a mark. The flick of a wrist, a brush onto canvas. Adam S Doyle makes sure that his brushstrokes are visible in his final works. I find that bold, daring, and very technical. As artists, we're always fussing over making out Art pieces perfect. We always want everything to look 'just right'. But correcting time and time again makes the painting lose its spontaneity.

  I think Adam S Doyle's paintings remind us that there is a whole lot of beauty in a brushstroke. Eliminate the details. Stop fussing over perfection and just enjoy the process. You might be surprised at the outcome.

View his website via this link.