Skip to main content

Out in the open


Last year I received a plain black book for my birthday. It used to have a hard cover which my best friend re-purposed into a gadget organizer. Little did I know that time that she gave me a book that would become one of my favorite pieces of literature. Actually, the book remained untouched on my desk for a few months. I just finished it last April.




It highly influenced my fascination with Tigers which lead to the making of this artwork.



"Seamlessly it melted into the tangled mangroves--without shaking its coat, without rustling a leaf, without bending a branch. Weightless and bulkless, invisible as breath, the tiger evaporated into the forest."- Sy Montgomery, Spell of the Tiger


What I really wanted was to capture the Tiger's most important trait--the ability to conceal itself. Then mistakes happened, or perhaps I was simply impatient that time. I have this photo of a Tiger out in the open instead. I thought I failed. And then while I was reflecting on the essence of my work I had to ask the obvious, "how could an animal hide where there is not enough space and greens to help fool our senses?" The art unraveled the answer, there is no way a Tiger could conceal itself in a world where it does not belong.

(Disclaimer: This blog was originally posted from my old blog in July 2015)

〰〰

Thanks for stopping by! I love sharing the ups and downs of building a creative life like studio experiments, everyday joys, and the little sparks that remind us to keep making. If that inspires you to pick up some art supplies and create too, come hang out with me on Instagram, Tiktok, and Facebook, subscribe to my YouTube for art vlogs and Simple Joys casual vlogs, and join my email club for seasonal notes on living creatively. 🌿

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What I learned doing Inktober 2025

Since I started doing art on Instagram , it has always been my dream to do Inktober and complete it. Inktober in a sense that I will be drawing in my style for the whole month. There was a year I tried following the official list, there was another year I tried to do #peachtober by the Furrylittlepeach. I never lasted a week on both attempts.  This year, I took a different route. I received an art journal from my best friend a few months back, I realized it’s the perfect thing to use. Each page had a prompt. My only problem then was time and materials.  This art journal is from Typo Asia & I used the markers from Ohuhu . I’m a mom of a very energetic toddler, so the only chance I draw something is during his nap time. In terms of materials, I just moved to a new place and left all my art materials at my old home. So, I did my research and decided to buy colored markers .  The game plan is, I’ll draw as many drawings I can finish during my kids nap time. To do more t...
Post a Comment
Read more

A childhood dream

I remember I was 7 the first time laid my eyes on the children's book Zip, Public Enemy Number 1. It was through that piece that I developed this fascination with illustrations for kids. I am exposed with only a few children's literature back then but I still fell in love with the art. Later on it became my dream to be a writer and illustrator for children. As I grew up though I got engaged with a lot of "serious" form of written works leading me to a different direction. Today, here I am nearing my 23th birthday, working on fulfilling the dreams of my 17 years old self but at the same time longing to work on my childhood dream. There are just things that we won't forget. This watercolor art is based on a photo from a friend . I've seen the photo years ago, when I was still in college. I am not into watercolor yet that time but I've always wanted to have a drawing based on it because it looks like a scene straight out of a story book. :) (Disclaimer: This ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Works

I saw a pretty  cut out  on Instagram last month that inspired me to create one. I thought it would be easy until I started making the pine cone pattern. I almost gave up because my first few kept on turning out as pineapples. So when I finally had a pattern that slightly resembled a pine cone, I was frantic.    I wanted to use a glass frame but it would be too expensive for this simple d.i.y. project. Instead, I opted to glue the cut out on a cardboard I covered with sheets of paper from an old pocket book. I made this cut out for Clauiee and Jeff so to go with it I inked this quote form Cassandra Clare:  “We Shadowhunters, we put ourselves in danger, every hour, every day. I think sometimes we are reckless with our hearts the way we are with our lives. When we give them away, we give every piece. And if we do not get what we so desperately need, how do we live?” (Disclaimer: This blog was originally posted from my old blog in May 20, 2015) 〰〰 Thanks for stoppi...
Post a Comment
Read more