Friday, July 25, 2014

Rolling with the Punches

So now that summer's running full steam ahead, I'm out there in the open with no classes to attend,  no studio sessions to go to, no official super long projects to complete, no models to draw, no models to draw and no models to draw (I know I mentioned it three times!)... I can lose sight of my navigation at times especially when the year has ended. But life will always be filled with surprises, and all it takes is a little adaptation to turn regular everyday mundane situation and turn it into opportunity.  

European Boxing Union welterweight reigning champion Leonard Bundu is training in town because his coach and mentor, Boncinelli, lives here in Florence.  The match will be in London come August 1st.  This reminds me of two things: Chlorine and the Rocky movie series we used to watch at Tae-Kwon-Do camps!! (Wait! Why do I hear John Cafferty's Hearts on Fire? )

It's great seeing people passionate about their thing in life! But enough of reminiscing the past, here are the short poses that I did. You only live once.  Make it awesome!  To Leonard... in boca al lupo!! 

Coach Boncinelli (right) and Leonard before the training begins

 It took a while before I got used to the speed 

Short poses #1 (graphite, full pad)

 Short poses #2 (graphite, full pad)

 Short poses #3 (graphite, full pad)

Short poses #4 (graphite, full pad)

Friday, July 18, 2014

Can't Hurry Curry

I completed my first full still life piece recently in Martinho's Workshop and titled it Can't Hurry Curry. I named it so because making a good curry paste, like painting, takes a while to do. And you sure can't rush through the process! Having said that, I had about 10 days to bring this piece to fruition (a far cry from the Academy's 7 to 10-week duration for the first still life project) - from creating the shadow box to prepping up the individual ingredients, to tracing the drawing onto canvas and finally painting it. Setting up took a little more time then expected as it wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be.  I had over 10 ingredients on my list (see image A), but had to cut down on the number of items so as to avoid clutter.  I spent the time arranging the items so that the turmeric would be the centre piece enclosed in a triangle so it keeps the eye moving around the canvas. 

The most fun part of it all was painting the mortar and pushing it, so even though it's a solid object, the reflections of the surrounding ingredients look like it's going into deep space. The next thing I enjoyed working on were the red hot chilli peppers (I just had to say that). 

I added a brightly coloured and highly decorated cloth as the background to hold the entire image together. But its other purpose is to also showcase the Peranakan culture and their cuisine that is very unique to South East Asia. 

Who's hungry now? 

image A


close-up of the chillies


behind the scenes

38cm x 50cm
Oil on Canvas

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Still Life

The summer workshops have begun!! So I guess it's officially SUMMER!! And this time around, I'm assisting Martinho for Still Life.

These are really addictive to do.  Once you know the technique, it's paint, paint, paint all the way. While working on a large 40cm x 50cm piece, here are some small studies for your viewing pleasure that I did during this past week. In the meantime, you can try to guess what the final piece is.  Hint: These images posted here will give you an idea of what I might be working on ;)

 
(My first ever still-life!!) 
Pomodoro e Aglio
10cm x 15cm, oil on canvas board


The Dragonfruit
20cm x 30cm, oil on canvas


Mooncakes
20cm x 30cm, oil on canvas


 Sticky Rice Dumplings/ Zongzi
20cm x 30cm, oil on canvas


Salmon Sushi
10cm x 15cm, oil on canvas board