Illustrating for Freya Pickard

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Last year, author Freya Pickard and I had another collaboration. She wanted me to create a series of illustrations for her newsletter and Pure Haiku for 2022. The first one was a volcano for Pure Haiku. She wanted the left side to be grassy, with flowers blooming and a dormant volcano, while the right side is a dark sky and lava pouring from an erupted volcano. I lightly sketched the elements and created a dividing line. I used watercolor to … Read More

How to Create Loose and Energetic Sketches and Paintings

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Locals chatting during breakfast in Sapa, Vietnam Recently, an artist commented that my sketches were loose and energetic. She said that she likes to sketch but often get caught up with perfection rather than capturing a moment. I told her to sketch with a pen. Once she use it, she will realize that the marks she make will (obviously!) be permanent. Her brain will force the eyes to see better in order to express better. She will learn to appreciate the wobbly line that adds character to the picture. She will savour the … Read More

Turn Mistakes Into Something Wonderful (and a Giveaway!)

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Eiffel Tower Painting in acrylic by a 7 yr old artist “Oh no, I have blobs of black paint on the sky!” Previously, I would have been frustrated by my student’s lack of focus. I would have reprimanded her carelessness and utter many words of do’s and don’ts. I would have thought of ways to remove or cover the black blob, perhaps asking her to repaint a portion of that sunset sky… That was my old “trying to be firm with my students” … Read More

(New Online Class) Sketch Your Life 2

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Creativity is such an important aspect in making art–a precious ingredient in making our artworks unique and personal to who we are as an artist. Honestly, creativity is something that I have struggled (a lot!) because of a variety of reasons like criticism and comparison. Nourishing my creativity back to life is a work in progress and I am thankful for each moment that I am given to create for the glory of God. When I see my younger students struggling with … Read More

On Nourishing Creativity and Imagination

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Telunas Beach Indonesia (watercolor and pen on paper) Creativity is about making time to create something meaningful. Children are one of the most creative people that I know. They think of ideas, try them out and get their hands dirty. They create from a place that is full of wonder and joy. The truth: we are all creative because God is creative. However, it slowly began to diminish the moment we get affected by criticism and lack of support, consume too much media, … Read More