IF: Teacher

The Teacher Mandala

I have been playing with a lot of mandalas recently. Maybe too many mandalas. So why not with this week's topic. Here is a mandala to all those multitaskers in education out there.

Illustration Friday: 'Freeze'

Freeze

Besides a painter, I am a hiker, and as I hike, I tend to watch the ground in anticipation for traces of animals and plants around me. I'll be hiking and all of a sudden I will say, "Where's the maple?" or "There is an oak nearby" only after seeing a leaf or a cone at my feet. It's these clues that makes the natural world more intimate for me. It's almost a kinda of game or puzzle I play. It's fun watching for these clues when you change elevation and the vegetation changes zones all of a sudden. So 'Freeze' is just a little homage to the tiny clues on the trail, the intimate moments that one can find in the natural world.

Illustration Friday: Lonely

Loneliness (one petal at a time)

I hadn't put much thought about this topic until last night and I threw out a couple of sketches and some random thoughts into my notebook. Once the idea was there, it was just a matter of jumping onto painter and here it is. So, let your loneliness bloom like a wilting flower. Have happy, fun drawing everyone.

IF Topic: CARRY

Recently, I have had the urge to dip my brush into some wildlife illustration. Generally, I love drawing animals straight from nature. When there is a zoo easily accessible, one can find me sketching the animals. (Check out these sketches in this blog.) So after looking at the internet, I made a few mental images and sketched them out and played with the colors on me olde laptop.

I wanted the piece to be more colorful and painterly, focusing on the gestures and facial expressions rather than on the details. I do love the color palette and the grass I created was super fun and simple through painter. That was less than 10 minutes of work. The grass was completely an after thought that worked out.

One thing I am trying to get braver at is using bolder expressive lines while not being distracting. You can see it with more of my illustrative style as compare to my more naturalistic style. Sometimes it is hard to go more abstract when you want to be true to the sentiment of the piece. Maybe if I have the chance, I'll try working this out in more abstract ways.


Here's to a fun week of painting.

IF 'Lost': Hansel and Gretel

The Trail of Breadcrumbs

I was a little afraid of the composition of this one. When I first conceptualized this, I imagined doing an enormous watercolor with a massive forest and a tiny trail of crumbs. Then there was the question whether this would be even readable on the internet. But then I thought I'll give it a try with Painter. There it would be easier to judge its digital capabilities and see what kind of damage I could do with Corel at the same time.

Some might argue a case against these colors, considering that the children are entering a forest inhabited by a witch. But if the forest was dark and foreboding, why would Hansel and Gretel even take a stroll through it. It has to be warm and inviting, a forest I would want to stroll about in. Thankfully, the forests I hike are witch free and the trails are well marked.

IF: Suspend

Suspended Sun Over Small Harbor

This is the view at sunset for every evening from my house on the island of Jeju in South Korea. I have been meaning to do an image of this for some time now. Now the sun can be permanently suspended above the ocean side town.