UniqDesignsCanada

Fall is such a fascinating time that I want to capture it. Not only that, one of my friends wondered what would be my take of Fall's changing colours. So, here is one attempt. Let the pictures speak to you. Still amateur but as Malcolm Gladwell said, you need to put in 10,000 hours for mastery. So I am putting in my hours. When you do something you enjoy, the hours pass you don't even notice it. It's just amazing.

I am learning new techniques and applying them to whatever I paint. Sometimes, the results are stunning but at other times, the colours get muddy and they are throwaways. Not necessarily. I can learn from these. Here's one painting that I overworked so much. How? Muddy Colours  First, I wanted the green leaves to take on the colour I envisioned it to be so I kept adding on top blue or brown to see how I can get just the right green. I should have done this when I mixed the paints the first time and not do it right on the paper after I have already painted the green leaves. But, honestly, I had no clue. After doing this on the leaves of the violets and on the petals, I killed all life int he painting. It became so lifeless even I realized I overdid it. I did it wrong. I did not know so back to learning. I went to the Library to borrow some books on watercolours. It was indeed a lucky day for me because there, on the shelf of books that the Library is getting rid of, is a b...

I just finished reading an article, 8 Pointers to Painting with Watercolor . In here, Denise McGill mentioned the uninhibited approach which she says produces surprises. I love this, knowing that seasoned painters like her confirmed what I had been doing and how I paint. Copying has been something I have always avoided because I was never good at it. I always change something and it makes me feel so bored.  So, when I paint, I just abandon myself to where the water and paint flow and see what I can do with it. I use my intuition, I suppose.  I just let my brush and my intuition guide me and somehow, something happens.  Here are some of the recent paintings I have done. I think, I still need to loosen up. As a beginner, I still lack the skills to fully let go so here they are: African Violets Orange Flowers Flowers Not yet masterpieces but they are something I enjoyed creating. What do you think?

A New Bloom I am like this new bloom. Waking up to possibilities. A new life. I doodled and painted and learned. Little did I know how much I would start learning once I made the decision to do art again. I even explored other sources of art supplies close to me and I was amazed at what I have discovered. Little did I know that there are treasure troves in the streets close to me but remained so far unexplored in my old boring existence of same-same. I watched videos and read articles and really learned from these efforts of many people to share whatever they know. This morning I read an article entitled, 10 Things to Learn to Improve Your Painting Skills . It was just the article I needed to read to enhance the paintings I have done. You will have a better idea of what I meant if I show you my paintings before I read this article. You have already seen the Christmas winter scene but to refresh your memory, I'll put it up here again. Winter Scene As you can see, ...

It finally happened. The Plunge took place. I dedicated the other room in my Condo to my painting.  Painting Studio I also work on the coffee table in my living room as the television is there and I try to learn from YouTube videos on how to proceed with watercolour.  Watercolour is my choice from the very beginning. I love it as you can see on the walls of my Studio. There are two watercolour paintings I recently bought in the Toronto Art Show. It was done by one of the new artists whose work garnered a price in the show. She came from Iran and I thought it would be a great idea to support her.  She was in the show with her husband and little girl and to see them work as a couple sort of touched my heart so I bought two of her paintings. I thought it would inspire me to venture into my creative journey. I watched many shows and learned from them. Because of this learning, I went and got the best brush I was willing to pay for given that I am on my fi...

Listening to Fear. Source: aesta1 I have to say I have myriads of fears, especially around my writing and art.  I have not expressed myself in my art, maybe my mind but never my heart. I always kept my heart to myself and guarded it really well. Why? I fear that if I open up myself, it might be trudged on. No one has ever done that to me as far as I can remember but the fear is there of opening up. So I remained closed. I did my designs from my mind and they were alright. My writing, some of my friends would say, were cynical. It was because I did not express the inner me. It was only an expression of the mind. There was no soul to it. It wasn't me. This realization dawned on me only recently when slowly I listened to my inner self and allowed it to express itself. It felt light. It had no complaints. It just did. Yes, our inner self is that. It is in itself an expression. It is always trying to get through the walls of fear we have put up. It is such liberation when it...

Many of us don't invest time to develop what we really want to do because of many reasons but foremost of these is FEAR.  Singing in the Park. Source: aesta1 Yes, the FEAR factor has stopped many of us from even thinking about what we really want to do. Some of us fear that maybe we don't have enough resources for what we are thinking of doing. We may not even have enough for our basic needs so why indulge in something that is beyond our means? Some of us fear that we are not that good and will never be good at what we think of doing so why invest time and energy as well as resources to develop this. It is better to just do the things we are good at now. There are some who fear that getting into something they have not done before may just open them to being vulnerable. One never knows what will happen when one opens up to something they have never done before. For others, it is just the fear of the NEW. While NEW challenges us, it makes us also wonder what would...