Happy Chinese New Year 2017!

Happy Chinese New Year 2017! 

A bit late for posting this post. Just want to talk about this illustration done for the occasion :)

This week of each year is always busy for me as it's my duty to drive my mom around the city buying and preparing things for the event. Chinese New Year is the time for celebration, family reunion and specially for paying homage to our ancestors. We spend a day buying fresh fruits, preparing food like boiled chicken or duck or pork and various kind of sweets and candies. Mom always cooks her famous fish maw soup and we all have a portion of stir-fried chicken to take home. 

In China Town area, they celebrate with dragon or lion dance which became an inspiration for this special drawing. When I think about drawing Chinese New Year, I think about colorful costumes, dragon and lion dance, music, fun activities and lively show. Here is my initial pencil sketch for the ideas.

Then I traced the drawing in Photoshop. The challenge was how to draw the details of the lion dance. I looked at tons of lion dance photos in google and simplified what I saw into the drawing. Next was the matter of colors. Red was generally used for Chinese-related art but in this drawing I'd like to use subtler color palette. Bright pink and cheerful yellow were my favorites and really suited the topic.

 

You may notice that I didn't have the smiley-faced man drawn in the pencil sketch. He may be also called 'Big Head Buddha' and is the main character for the dance. I didn't know this until my husband asked about him. There are different stories about the origin of the lion dance. One of them says that the lion was a troublemaker. He did so many bad deeds that Buddha was called down to earth to put the lion under control.

 

I had fun drawing and painting this illustration. Since this is the year of rooster, here is the rooster proudly walking ahead of everyone. Rooster is the symbol of diligence, honesty, protection and fortune as well as strength and courage.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I wish you all have good fortune all through this year!

Who needs a hug?

 

Trying to get back to draw something everyday. I'm enjoying using Photoshop brushes, still finding the perfect ones though. 

Shall we dance?

 

Tomorrow is Thailand's National Children's Day. I'd like to draw something about children and their imaginary friends. How about your cat becomes a giant cat who could talk, play and dance like human? 

I did this illustration in Photoshop which is quite new to me. I think I managed to maintain my merry style but still have to figure out how to use the program to make my work better.

 

Book I read : Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

This book had been in my huge pile of TBR for years and it became one of the books that told me to stop buying new books (or at least buy less), read and discover gem in what you already had (but shamelessly neglected). It is a beautiful book. The one that makes you feel good when you finish it at night and wake up feeling wonderful the next morning.

Thimble Summer is an old-fashioned kind of book (well, it's an old book written decades ago). A story of a little girl named Garnet and her family. It tells simple everyday life in farm house and her little adventures. Not action-packed or thrilling fantasy, just some mishaps that could happen in your childhood. The book gives you the charming nostalgic feeling of good old days when everything was simple, not so complicated as now.

I'd like to give a bonus point for the book's illustration too. Always love illustrated chapter book. It really adds charm to story. I have just learned that Elizabeth Enright was an illustrator and her simple line-drawings really match the story. Just love it :)  

My favorite cup

I accidentally broke my favorite cup the other day. It's not really a big deal as I also have other cups for coffee in the house. I missed the cup though. I liked its thickness, not too thin, not too thick, and it was just the right size for a good amount of coffee for each day (I limit one cup a day). Or maybe I just feel attached to the same old thing.

Yesterday I found a cup with similar design at a shop. Somehow I just went back home with a new cup, a white plain one with a bit of cute design. Sometimes, it just happens. You intend to buy some specific things but end up buying something else completely different. I guess my mind just wandered...

The coffee in the new cup is not as good as in the old one of course. I guess it's just only a matter of time to get familiar with something.

ps. I'm back to this blog again as my blog in www.onmerryday.com doesn't work quite well. It's much easier to update here in blogger. Promise to myself (again) to post regularly this year :)