On God

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Elisa Choi

I have known God since I was a little girl when my parents enrolled me in a Catholic school. I know him in the stories of the Bible. I know that I cannot see him but I can possibly hear or feel him. But he sees us wherever we are.

God is my everything. Words cannot be written to explain the grandiosity of God. Arts cannot be created to reveal the beauty of his majesty. All I know is this: I love him. I accept him. I adore him. I believe in him. I will do everything for him. Praying to God alone brings tears to my eyes. He moves me. His love for us surpasses those of human beings. The lack we have in life he fills it with his overflowing love. All the fears and worries of tomorrow are gone because he is to come. He is for us. He is yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is nothing to fear.

We do not need to do good works to impress him. We do not need to be someone else. We do not need to be excellent in what we do. Because it’s been done. God has given to us his only Son Jesus Christ whom he so loved to redeem us from our sins. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

As Christine Jeske said in the book This Ordinary Adventure, “God loves us unconditionally. When we believe it, claim it and own it, we’re free. God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us generic Barbies with our legs falling off. That’s called grace. It’s a good time to ask if we’ve been trying to prove ourselves to a holy God who just wants us to stop trying so hard to impress somebody, who just wants us to let him love us. There’s something magnetic about people who are transformed by grace. They live completely certain that God finds them beautiful, cool, approved and beloved, so they never have to try to earn God’s–or anyone else’s–approval. They live not trying, but trusting. They live not accomplishing great things in order to be loved, but accomplishing great things because they are loved.”

I read the Bible every night and write my devotions for him in my journal. Instead of Dear Diary I write Dear God. Sharing with him every corner of my heart and soul. I pray. I treasure and ponder on the Good News. He is the best listener. He loves us dearly.

I painted this piece intuitively in acrylics. It’s almost as if my mind is somewhere in solitude. Praise God everyday of our lives!

Fall Fearless and Fly
Headline Prompt: Divided by God: What does “God” mean to you? How do you access “God” or the divine or the sacred in your life?

Merry Mail Swap

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Elisa Choi

It’s actually a first for me to join a mail swap from my own country as I’ve joined most from other countries. LOL. I am happy and thankful for this Merry Mail Swap hosted by the creative Mansy. She sells wonderful washi tapes too! I hope to get my hands on two of my favorites washi tapes soon! :D

We are to fill a 6 x 9 package with something Christmas-y. My assigned partner was Lisane B.

She loves to make art, travel, read books, bake and many more. I decided to fill the package with bits of things that speaks about her.

Since she loves to travel I painted Nature Travel on a notebook cover for her to write anything she likes. Before I put on paint I collage it with pieces of magazine then apply Gesso over it to create texture.

“Nature Travel” in watercolor and acrylics

Paper goods!

Assorted stickers.

Some art stuffs that she can use for texture (MCDO coffee holder), dried leaf and flower, a brush, color pen, gift wrapper, old book page, mail stamp and sea shells.

Hand painted bookmark.

Fabric cut and painted Handmade is Love.

My Christmas gift for Lisane. I inserted all the goods inside the notebook. I hope she will make use of it! :)

It’s a pleasure making things and giving gifts to others–whether we know them or not. There’s no need to buy expensive gifts for friends or to impress them with glittery adornments. The truth is people appreciate the simple things– things that come from the heart.

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you will rejoice and be glad in Christ! :)

*~*

My heart in prayer for those who have lost their loved ones in the Newtown incident. As artists we can create art of healing and prayers for those in need. We can send them at Messages of Condolence for Newtown, P.O. Box 3700, Newtown, CT 06470 (from Sandy Hook Elementary victims). May God’s love fill them with peace and comfort.

PPF!

Christmas Card Swap

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Elisa Choi

I joined a Christmas card swap over here at Willowing. My partner is Amy Malaise and among the many interesting things about her I decided to create a painting of a Christmas book display inspired by a photo in the internet. She loves books a lot!

Christmas Book Display: Acrylic painting on 5 x 5 watercolor paper

I also painted a bookmark for her with a black cat because she adores them. Now she can read many books at once!

Black Cat Joy: Watercolor and acrylics on cardboard

Painting makes me feel so alive. Imagine finishing 5 paintings! That’s what happened yesterday. I am high! All glory to the Lord! God bless everyone!

PPF Rocks!

Lifelong Fan

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Elisa Choi

To all of you Artists,

who think that this dream seems impossible because of a lot of reasons but still make time to create something simple everyday,
who struggle with obstacles and challenges in life but never give up,
who paint fearless,
who create God inspired artworks,
who take a break and pause and thus become more aware of being alive,
who use time wisely with plenty of play,
who give lovely comments and provide helpful advice,
who share your inspiring stories about doing what you love,
who say yes to opportunities without fear and just figure it out from there,
who share techniques and processes and guide and coach other people on their creative lives,
who host art challenges, prompts and themes to encourage other artists to take the first step,
who provide tutorials for free, give and share to others unconditionally,
who don’t give up just because the first twenty artworks are not “good”,
who practice practice practice,
who create a habit of discipline and endless perseverance,
who listen to other people’s remarks and criticisms but do not allow those to define their works,
who are thankful everyday for all the blessings. Gratitude overflowing.

You are awesome. This is for YOU.

watercolor and acrylics on sketchbook

I am glad to have known some of you. And glad to bump into most of you via the net.
You guys are my lifelong fan.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

~*~
Headline Prompt: Lifelong Fan: What or who have you consistently valued or looked up to in your life? What lessons have you learned from people you admire?
Color Prompt: Your favorite color now or from childhood or both!

Fall Fearless and Fly and Paint Party Friday!

Holiday 2012 Handmade Gift Exchange

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Elisa Choi

This is my second time to join the handmade craft exchange hosted by Linda Gardner. And this time it’s a holiday gift exchange! We are assigned a partner wherein we will make and give each other a handmade gift.

Hello to Nicqui Scott from UK! She loves to cook, bake, knit, sew, make quilts, tea parties and many others.

I wish I know how to knit or make some patchwork but since she loves to cook I decided to buy a blank cotton canvas apron and do fabric painting! It’s a first experience for me.

Materials:

1. Blank cotton canvas apron

2. Fabric paints like FolkArt fabric paint from Plaid–they’re the best and safe too! I use 3 primary colors plus black and white. I bought them at Deovir at SM Manila.

3. Brushes (watercolor brushes are okay) , palette (I use two to mix more colors), palette knife to mix in the colors, notebook to sketch ideas, scrap paper to test the colors, pencil, kneaded eraser.

Instructions:

1. Pre-wash apron to remove any stains. Iron it to ease the crease for easier painting.

2. Put several sheets of paper (i.e. newspaper, Manila paper, sheets of magazine) on working table to avoid transfer of paint from fabric to table.

3. Sketch my ideas on a notebook and lightly sketch it on the apron.

4. Shake the bottles of paint well before starting to paint! Paint like you would when you paint in watercolor.

5. I painted till the night with many breaks in between. At some point I have made a lot of small mistakes like accidentally brushing paint onto the apron. I then transform it into some sort of a leaf mustache (as my bf calls it, LOL). Also you can wet the brush a bit while applying paint but not too much as it would create a light color wet effect on your design which is not good.

6. Finish up work by ensuring the proper contrast and fix anything that you think needs fixing. Clean up supplies while paints are still wet with soap and water.

7. Allow air dry for 24 hours. Then iron the design without steam for some minutes to set it. You can machine wash after 72 hours in cool water.

—–In detail—–

Poppies in detail

The name of my partner

Sweet baked goods.. (and the leaf mustache!)

The Personalized Apron for Nicqui Scott

I hope you like it Nicqui!

Joining arts and crafts activities certainly stretches my creativity. The possibilities of making a handmade gift for someone are endless! Imagination is the limit! I hope you enjoy my simple tutorial and make one yourself. Thank you Linda for this great party! Have a great day everyone!

PPF!

Small Kindness

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Elisa Choi

I will never forget the small kindness that a stranger from Macau has done for me.

My family and I were on vacation and we visited the Museum of Macau. After that we were at a garden and Mom told me to take a photo of the Grand Lisboa at the other side.

Whilst there I saw a man also taking pictures of the beautiful landmark. I captured mine in a very simple shot.

Then I proceeded to take photos around me. Suddenly the man appeared. He must have noticed that I was taking a picture of Grand Lisboa. He started talking to me in Cantonese while showing me a place where I can see a better view of that building and take a better photo of it.

I don’t understand Cantonese but I listen to his body language. Apparently there is a big hole in a wall where you can see through outside. He said I can photograph a better view of the building by taking advantage of the hole. He showed me his photos in his DSLR. They were awesome!

So I took three shots and I chose the “best” one here. Can you see the difference? Better view no?

I smiled and thanked him a lot. He continued to talk and I just nodded at him all the time. Lol!
I can never forget this man who have shown his creativity and kindness by sharing it to me. Who would have thought that a stranger wants you to take awesome photos too?

Ahh.. thank you Lord for him. Thank you for kindness. It certainly makes the world go round.

***
Joining and celebrating Small Kindness with Fiona Robyn and hundreds around the world today. If you want to join go here.

Do what you love. Love what you do.

Yearly Archives: 2012