Colours of the sky, and larch trees in autumn

Is it too early for a reflection-on-the-whole-year sort of post? Well I didn’t intend it, but I wanted to post a sketch from Mongolia, and I think reflection necessarily comes with thoughts of Mongolia.

(Again, kind of surprised that I still know how to use Photoshop, sort of.)

2016 is, as a whole, a pretty sucky year. Except that I went to Mongolia this year, and that may very well make up for the rest of the year. I’m not sure if I can put into written word the special-ness of that trip without being incoherent. I spent almost the entire trip fretting and praying that I would not fall off my horse and down the hills and to my death. And then I spent the following week back home feeling, in place of those said worries, not relief but hollowness. I think, maybe, that may just about sum it up and anyway I never intended this to be a wordy blog.

And then, of course, since Mongolia, a lot of things happened… both far away and closer to home.

Much more recently, I finally visited the new National Gallery of Singapore, with Mas. I really enjoyed Iskandar Jalil’s Kembara Tanah Liat collection. But the beauty of the shapes and the colours are quite difficult to capture in drawing. So on my journey home, I embarked on attempts at Georgette Chen instead:

out of shape/proportion.

still pretty out of proportion in the facial features, but I liked it enough to play around with.

I guess despite all the sucky things that happened this year, it has been a sobering year. And I am quite thankful for that.

As the Foo Fighters say, “It’s times like these / you learn to live again; It’s times like these / you give and give again”.

Or maybe that’s all bullshit, but I don’t want to stop trying.

cobbled walkways

From late 2011 (something not-so-old!):

 

Doodled when I first decided to join Tamie on her Euro trip, and when I had the brilliant idea of visiting London as well. I don’t think there are that many cobbled walkways in London anymore, or much of Western Europe, but somehow this is the image that sticks in my head of walking through European streets.

the young ladies and their bare shoulders

I have been thinking a lot about drawing lately. Since yesterday, actually. In fact, doing more thinking than the actual drawing. *shifty look* It all started with the Europe plans, and my decision to spend two weeks in London alone. I decided I will try to commit the alone time to draw, in a place that is so warming and inspiring to me. 🙂 And just now I watched Tangled (instead of doing my work, thanks to my brother), and watching the credits roll after a good animation film just rekindles that old dream of one day having my name among the credits, too.

-insert wistful sigh here-

Well in honour of the princess-y mood of Tangled, here is a princess-y sketch from (way) earlier this year:

(Incidentally, this was drawn while I was on a solitary trip from London up to Edinburgh.)

Have a floating fish as well!

fat-bottomed girls

From 2010:

From the time when I got REALLY obsessed with Queen! I really like ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ because it is just such a funny song. xD But I think I like ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ the most because it feels like one big exhilarating rocket scooter ride. Although I listen to contemporary music, the fact that I go through obsessive ‘phases’ with The Beatles, Queen, Fats Waller and even Rod Stewart (wtf, I know) leads me to believe that I have old-people taste. 😐

On an unrelated note, I rediscovered an online manga which I used to follow religiously, and spent a whole day reading everything that I had missed on. Dx I rather fell out of love with the artist a few years ago I think, because of her stylistic changes, but now it feels like her current work marries the Heart that was in her old work with her improved abilities and I really respect her work more than ever before. *geek mode* 😎 A link to her online manga, Carciphona, is newly added. –>

forgot something

Favourite sketch from 2010:
(click to full-view)

meant to be Jude, as in one-half of my little Ted & Jude story. Their exact personalities and their story are still in the works. Perpetually in the works, but I don’t mind. They’ve both got professions and missions (it feels like playing Sims :-0) and the rest will hopefully continue developing at the back of my head.

Hello new blog! I wanted to start a sketch/doodle/general-messing-around archive, with no rambling unless relevant. Hopefully encourage myself to at least doodle something everyday. I’ve been inspired by a self-help book (gasp!) and the guy behind Savage Chickens. I really want this one to last!