Blind Contour Friday 13

A blind attempt to make my Unicorn statuette come to life...

Sigh... been caught up all week with family stuff, last-minute errands and rush final artwork preparations. My head is now throbbing.... I think I badly need this one week vacation. I will be busy this whole weekend (tons of parties, family reunions and Halloween celebrations!) so i'm posting my illustrations early :-)

My favorite Unicorn (the real statuette actually doesn't have any color, i just added these in...)

So, in my "play hour" with Nicky the other night, i decided to include my beloved Unicorn statuette in the Jurassic play theme happening on his bedroom floor. After a few minutes of watching his T-Rex biting and clawing his Stegosaurus... I got bored and instead took out my sketchpad and did a quick sketch (using a ballpoint pen! I couldn't find a decent sharpened pencil in his bedroom....) of my Unicorn. Can't say it was a great sketch given i only a ballpen on hand, but i think it's pretty much what i'd imagine a horned horse would look like.

I also did a Blind Contour version of the statuette, but this time including the base because i found the flowery details on it challenging to draw. Didn't feel like coloring in the BC, though... just felt like it needed to be kept that way to give attention to all the little details going on inside and around it.


For more Blind Contour drawings, visit Inkfinger.

Blind Contour Friday 12

I recently joined Blind Contour Friday -- a series of fun drawing activities participated in by several illustrators, which will require members to post blind contour illustrations on a weekly basis. The last time I did something similar to this was back in college when my Compos1 (Art Composition) professor would make us draw subjects placed in front of us while our hands and sketchpad were hidden under a giant "bib" (read: Manila paper with our heads poked through). It was a fun art exercise which I looked forward to a lot, so being a part of this group seemed like a cool idea.

Anyway, my first "attempt" at Blind Contour is actually my breakfast this morning. I rarely eat breakfast, because I normally sleep really late the night before (due to work overtime) and end up waking up somewhere between breakfast and lunch. But today seemed to be a good day for breakfast, so I helped myself to some Vienna sausages, bread rolls and a cup of decaf coffee. My placemat had these cute yellow daisies and green stripe patterns on it, so i thought i'd include them in my sketch. I liked my coffee mug a lot because it had a really dainty ladybug on it and it seemed to add to the sunshiny mood of the morning. I struggled with finishing my bread rolls since I was on a low-carb diet, but it didn't seem natural for me to eat my sausages alone. By the time I ended my illustration, my coffee was cold....

Check out more Blind Contour drawings at Inkfinger.

What? Another Tag?

I know, i know... I am aware of just how busy I am these days. In fact, I have three projects i need to submit before Friday (duh, that leaves only today and tomorrow!). But when my head begins to cramp from so much visualizing and pretending to know what I'm doing (hehe), I just have to stop and leave it completely to do something else. So what do I decide to do instead? I answer Crazy Momcat's interesting tag!

I'm to list 20 random things about myself and I'm to tag as many people as it took minutes for me to write my list. Well, I won't tag anyone this time (seems like everyone I know is tag-tired already), but if anyone would like a quiet diversion from whatever he or she is doing, just feel free to swipe it off my post! :-)

20 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I am part Chinese (from my dad's side), part Japanese (my great grandma was from Okinawa), part British (my middle name when I was single was McCann) and part Filipino (from my mom's mom's side.

2. I have never been to any other country (apart from the Philippines) other than China and HongKong.

3. I married a man whom i had known for only 4 months. We've stayed married and recently celebrated our 7th year wedding anniversary.

4. I HATE spiders. As in frickin' scared-to-death of them!

5. I am an only child.

6. I love to paint but I can never seem to finish any of my pieces.

7. I was kidnapped by a crazy man when I was 9 years old. I was with my 8 year old cousin then. We managed to escape. He, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The police killed him.

8. I loved riding BMX bikes and doing all sort of stupid bike stunts when I was in 6th grade. And yes, I loved the movie "Rad".

9. I don't eat almost all kinds of fruits. The most I can take eating is a banana.

10. I had never had a major stitching in any part of my body until I gave birth normally to Nicky. Think about how horrified I was then!

11. I experienced post-partum depression for 2 weeks after giving birth to Nicky. Since I had NEVER ever held or seen a baby in my family all my life, I had no idea what to do with Nicky in those first weeks. Thank goodness it only lasted two weeks...

12. I sing. But I don't sing in front of a lot of people because I have stage fright. I can actually start a career as a ghost singer for someone else.

13. I adore the Beatles.

14. I don't like wearing perfume. It causes me allergies.

15. I don't carry around a handkerchief because I always end up losing them.

16. I am a worry-wart and I've been praying for a cure.

17. I miss my Grandpa Charlie a lot. He passed away 3 years ago. I've always seen him to be a cartoon character -- who'll never age and never die. Sigh...

18. Rainy days and Sunday afternoons really get me down.

19. I don't trust a lot of people because I've been hurt a lot in my life. I've learned that the only one you can trust in this life is God.

20. I hate bathrooms with wet floors and that don't carry toilet paper. As in big time!

I could go on and on with this list... but the tag says I should do 20. So maybe I'll save my 21 onwards list on another post :-)

And hey! If you decide you want to be tagged, let me know if you've posted your answers to your page so I can go read it.

What are the 20 Random Things I don't know about you?

No 7-Year Itch

Seven years ago yesterday, Allan and I were married at the St. James Cathedral in Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City at 3pm. So much has changed since then -- aside from waistlines and scale numbers, Allan and I have grown stronger in our love and our commitment to one another, we have become more secure of our relationship, and God has played a bigger and more active role in keeping our family together.

I still can't believe just how good God has been to me. Allan and Nicky are the proof of His immense love.

Thank you. Sniff*...

Anyway, wondering how we celebrated our 7th year of wedded bliss (sans the itch)?
Allan and I at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel where we checked in last Saturday to celebrate the same place we first had our honeymoon. Instead of our original plan to dine at a fancy fine dining resto, cutting up our steaks and sipping wine with our pinky finggers turned upward -- we thought better and ditched the idea. So we ended up chowing down tons of shrimps, baby back ribs and barbecue chicken legs at Bubba Gump! Wisest decision we've ever made :-)
A new haircut and look to start off the beginning of a new year of marriage ahead, hehe.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HON!

On the 8th Day, God Made Lego

Now I've seen it all. Just when I thought I would no longer be amazed by the extent of what sculptures and life-sized objects these famous Lego bricks can create and just how patient these Lego "sculptors" can get with their masterpieces, I then stumble onto this website -- featuring the ENTIRE BIBLE (as in every single chapter and verse!) made out of Lego bricks! These amusing set of Lego dioramas are obviously the work of a Bible fanatic with way too much time on his hands! And crazy as it may seem to most of us, I must give credit to The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith for coming up with a truly unique and innovative way to get people to read and understand God's Book, from cover to cover.

Check out the entire Lego Bible at http://www.thebricktestament.com.

Old Obsessions

My son Nicky is a very passionate child. When he likes something... he absolutely pours his entire being into it and obssesses over it until you can no longer stand hearing about it any longer. For a six-year old, Nicky goes out of his way to not only fancy his object-of-the-moment by simply looking at its pictures or watching movies about it. He actually goes online to read about it further, learn its scientific name (if it had one), note down trivia, research on books that may be available in bookshops, and actually go to these bookshops and see if they had it on sale. That's how intense and passionate this kid is!

At a very young age of 2, Nicky was fascinated with cars. So fascinated was he with this four-wheeled invention, that we now have possibly five parking lots to fill with his tons of toy cars. He used to dismantle each one, look at all its parts, study how the wheels turn and analyze the differences between each model. It came to a point when he would buy Car Finder magazines and read about the cars being sold... and could even name the most reasonably priced car being sold that week! And this was at age 4!

Then the affinity evolved from cars to Thomas the Tank Engine toys (of course we just HAD TO get the entire train set and the Thomas Friends), to Bob The Builder (yes, yes, we have the talking Lofty, Muck, Dizzy and Travis toys too...), and now he is deeply passionate with DINOSAURS.

His love for this old timers go much deeper than any of his older obsessions. I am amazed at how knowledgeable he is on the subject! He can rival any paleontologist when discussing the subject matter -- pointing out the detailed differences of a Pterodactyl and a Pterodon, enumerate all the carnivorous dinosaurs and the herbivores, debate on claims that the Brachiosaurus appears to have lived in the Jurassic Era and when in some books it says it existed in the Cretacious era.... It's absolutely crazy to be listening to all these information all day, everyday, believe me!

But despite moments of protests ("Please, Nicky... can we talk about something else... like Pyramids or constellations...."), I am so proud of my little boy. Fighting any fears that my Nicky is turning into a little nerdy Ross (from Friends, duh!), I focus instead on the positive effects of having affinities at an early age. His love for dinosaurs may build on his interests of other subject matters like paleontology, archaeology, geology, and cosmology. I read in the Paideia School website that "an affinity provides us with the connection, the engagement of process and meaning. The inspired learner learns not only about the subject which is the source of inspiration, but also how to learn. This person can take these essential skills and apply them to other learning situations."

Coolness. Sounds so scientific... Makes my family sound like geniuses! Hehe. Now I'm wondering what I have a passion for.....

Clothes.....shoes.....bags......shopping........ Wow, I feel smarter already! :-)

A Day In The Life . . . of a Beatlemaniac

I love the Beatles.

I feel I need not expound much on that statement. People who know me well enough are no longer surprised. It amuses me though to still see people's expressions whenever they find out that I am actually a Beatle fanatic. Somehow they always tend to judge the way I look or dress or talk with my choice of music. Why they do that is beyond me. But the fact remains... I love all Beatles music.

So to respond to Jennie's "verbal" tag was a welcome invitation to leave my thoughts of work and deadlines, and to spend a few minutes to indulge in a fun question and answer thingy that involved my all-time favorite band. Here are my answers:


Pick a band/singer + Answer using only titles of their songs.

I choose you: THE BEATLES - Who else?

+ Are you male or female:
Girl (“She's the kind of girl / you want so much it makes you sorry / Still you don't regret a single day..”)

+ Describe yourself:
Glad All Over

+ How do some people feel about you:
Here, There and Everywhere

+ How do you feel about yourself:
Getting Better

+ Describe your Ex:
Bad Boy

+ Describe your views on your significant other:
Baby It’s You - NAKS!

+ Describe what you want:
Money (That’s What I Want) – (“The best things in life are free / But you can keep them for the birds and bees / Now give me money / That's what I want…”)

+ Describe how you live:
Hard Day’s Night

+ Share a few words of wisdom:
Here Comes The Sun - The only way to live life....