CH197: Commissioned

I was telling my sister and brother in law a couple of days ago in our family group chat how their walls looked white and barren. Considering they're expecting a baby soon, I told them they should probably hang paintings.

So the other night I asked my sister:

Me: hey, give me 3 words you want to be the central theme for a painting I'll do you.

Sis: okay! Paint me, healthy beautiful baby.

Me: that's just 1 word with baby being the subject!

Sis: okay, paint me new year, reunion and baby!

Me: OMG! That's so simplistic!

Sis: what do you want? Okay paint me New Zealand, Singapore and philippines!

Me: haha I'm not that good of a painter! Nevermind! I'll think of the themes myself. I'll paint you, baby, family and God (Since my Sister is quite religious)

Here's the result of 2 hours painting at Arteastiq at Mandarin Gallery. For 50-60 sgd (I didn't check the price that was charged earlier lol).

To explain the themes, the four panels represent each member of the family.

Mom and dad. Mom being the (red) heart of the family, and my dad (in blue green to symbolize that he was the money earner - green dollars)

My sister and brother in law. My sister in pink coming from my mom's red. My brother in law in brown as a neutral color and pure Filipino descent. And the baby, because we don't know the sex yet, symbolized by the circle in pink and brown.

My brother's family. My brother in green stemming from my dad's blue green. My sister in law in purple. My nephew in yellow striped white because yellow is his favorite color. And pink and red flowers for my niece simply because.

The last panel of course is for myself. The blue comes from dad, and the mushroom stemming from CP calling me shroom because according to him, my head is "shroomy."

The cross at the center of the picture will be representative of God. I may not be very religious anymore, but For my sister I had to incorporate it haha. It's still symbolic of what binds the family together.

All in all, a pleasant afternoon after an early afternoon at the gym. Now I just have to figure out how I can send the commissioned art work to my sister in LA!

[Random] Productive Uses of Time

So, I recently downloaded an app for drawing and painting on my iPad and consequently got myself a stylus. I've been spending my time coloring and just doodling or whatever.

Saves on money and time to buy brushed, paint and canvas (haha feeling artist?!). But understandably, I still miss the feel of the brush in my hand and the texture of canvas and acrylic. Makes me want to go Arteastiq's Mandarin Gallery branch to paint.

I colored and painted a first one that's too cheesy to share haha. The one below is the second one I finished and I call Tendrils. I honestly wish God gave me more than just logic and analytics. I know for myself I lack the imagination and vision to be artistic. Fashion and taste of course are learned and refined - haha just so I'm clear. I don't want that statement to be misinterpreted as my admission to be baduy.

CH187: Siem Reap Part 1

It was interesting to hear from my tour guide how Siem Reap does not have its own power generation. Cambodia sources its electricity from Thailand. There could be times when for two weeks there's no electricity because of shortage.

Traveling always gives me a fresh perspective and an appreciation of where I am and where I came from. That is not to say though that I am happy because people elsewhere have it worse; rather, in the scheme of things, there are a lot of things to be thankful for. I firmly believe that culture is not something someone is born into. Being cultured is achieved by studying history, learning how to appreciate art and traveling the world.

The first two days of my stay in Siem Reap has been a blast! This would be my second trip abroad by myself. The first one was to Rayleigh, Krabi Thailand. So far, I've just gone around town (Pub Street), the Angkor National Museum and Temples (Pre Rup, Banteay Srei, Banteay Samrei, Banteay Kdei).

Note: Banteay means citadel

Like I mentioned previously, I have never really been exposed to the same kind of appreciation I've developed for European and American art I have now for Asian culture and art. It was interesting to hear about the history, symbolisms marked on the lintels, columnettes, pediments and "walls" (I forgot the right term haha). I have an information overload of Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and other Hindi gods that pervade the temples I've been to thus far.

Some interesting learnings so far I can remember in my knackered state from drinking wine and cocktails:

1. Hindu was brought to India by the Aryans

2. Vishnu created Brahma when a lotus flower blossomed from his navel and shiva from his heart

3. HIV started spreading in Cambodia when the UN army went in 1992/93

4. For centuries, Khmer people buried their dead for a year then have them cremated. Yes they exhume the dead to cremate them.

5. Tourism boomed from 300k per year to 1-2 million after Tomb Raider was shown

6. Cambodia's top tourist sources are Vietnam, Thailand and China

7. Gay pride and acceptance started off when Khmers had TV shows where people were coming out seeking help from their grief and gender identity issues

8. Temples were built using lava stones (from Tonle Sap lake and the mountain) and sandstone

(More to follow in Part 2?)

It was also interesting to hear that the temples were mostly abandoned and left uncared for after the capital was moved to Phnom Penh. Since Khmer people were largely animists, they didn't bother to care for the temples. The French during their colonization of Cambodia rediscovered the temples and restored them from ruins.

It was more interesting to hear as well from my guide about his opinion on French colonization. He was largely thankful because had it not been for the French there wouldn't be any Cambodia for a number of reasons like they will have been overtaken by Thailand and Vietnam as well as they wouldn't have had the temples rediscovered, and the progress they have had won't be the same. Being the cynic that I am, I retorted the question: without the French there wouldn't be any Khmer Rouge right?

Anyway, pictures!!

CH186: Epicurean and Cultural Sunday

I've been meaning to go see the Pinacotheque exhibit at Fort Canning Singapore ever since I saw the flyers for it. There wasn't any expectation how huge the exhibit will be as it does point out it's just starting off creating and establishing the collection here in Singapore from Paris.

So, I messaged my good friend Ange if he's free to meet up this weekend to go see it. He suggested to do a guided tour of SAM as well and I was more than agreeable as anything to do with dipping my toes in the arts is always a welcome experience.

Admittedly, I realized while I was in the shower that I have no names I can recall from the top of my head for Asian or Filipino artists I admire. From the top of my head, I can say European or American artists I admire are: Matisse, Munch, Picasso, Chuck Close, Pollock, Warhol, Van Gogh, etc. I do remember visiting the museum in PH in Manila but I can't recall their names. That's a fault on my part as I wasn't keen then on noting them down as keen as I was during my visit to the grandiose galleries in New York (Met, MOMA) and London (Tate, And that one in Trafalgar Square I can't quite remember the name).

I'm still trying to figure out exactly the art, techniques and whatever that pique my interests but I'm starting to get an idea of it so any excursion to the field of arts is always a joy.

Ange and I had brunch first of course before the adventure. We ate at 4Fingers Bon Chon and Hoshino Coffee where we had a heavy French toast dessert! :-) yum!

(I'll write about Part 2 sometime of Second Wind once I'm in a better state of mind - after my Siem Reap vacation this week! :-) )

Pigging out

French Toast with cream and syrup on the side

avoiding coffee if i can - to avoid staining :))) matcha is always a good choice

Twi-Forma - Anthony Poon

A World of Ice and Snow - Wu Guanzhong

Some artist from Thailand (didnt get to ntoe down the name)

My favorite piece from the In/Sight exhibit - Wild Vines with Flowers like Pearls - Wu Guanzhong

Fort Canning Center

With some photobomber

Landscape with a river, city of Weesp - Salomon Van Ruysdael

Candid shot

Ah! Picasso - Jacqueline (Tapestry - Wool)

The Descent into Limbo -  Pieter Huys

Composition with Cubic Forms - Jackson Pollock

Christ Carrying the Cross - Sandro Botticelli

Untitled - Chu Teh-Chun

Camwhoring the 12SGD entrance lol

Camwhore!

with a Warhol piece (I still have an overdose from Warhol after seeing his extensive curated exhibit when I went to NY last year. Not to mean it's any less, but to have seen a lot of his works in a condensed space, was just...WOW -  strictly no pictures though)

Stolen shot (there's another pose uploaded in facebook I was preparing for when Ange took this haha)

CH159: Easter Activities

Despite the long weekend, I didn't go out SG. A weekend of activities all spent in SG. Surprisingly, Easter came by quickly with excitement, adventure and fun!

Good Friday-
CP and I went around the National Museum of Singapore (with entrance fee - I forgot how much) as well as the Singapore Arts Museum (was free that day). It was a very cultural experience. My feet aches from all the walking we did after the day was through.

Having been to the MET in NY which had an enormous collection, I would say the NMS was dwarved in scale and collection. It did however compensate with how it presented its curated exhibit. The same can be said for the Singapore Arts Museum which has a good collection on display right now till June/July.

For people in SG, id definitely suggest going around both to experience something different from the usual past time of running, gym, billiards, sports, shopping etc. Go and visit the museums and enrich a different side! :-)

Black (?) Saturday -
CP and I just decided to go about the day at a slow pace. All we did was swim, go around Orchard and shopped. Took an afternoon nap. Ate dinner at Oreole in Somerset 313. Watched Side Effects (with seeing).

Easter Sunday -
We went back to Pulau Ubin. This time however, we tired the Black Diamond trail. Considering I wasn't wearing any protective gear, fear took over lots of times and I opted to get out of the bike and just push it up an incline or hold on to it going down a slope.

It was super extreme IMO. Can't imagined what the double black diamond would be like. I fell several times, got scratches and experienced getting thrown off a bike (with near flip and cart wheel) because I got distracted by a shop selling coconuts.

After a weekend of supposed solace, I've been enriched culturally, and lived through with scratches and gashes and a sprained finger (from falling).

As the young ones say - you only live once!