60 minutes study of a self portrait

I was doing a study of another self portrait yesterday, while only allow one hour for each session, the painting turned out better than I had expected. The form is more solid and proportion of the facial contour in comparison to the structure is closer to the subject than my past results. I think I captured some details of my over all look, despite certain areas were depicted too harshly, like the eyes and the nose. The lips are also too full they looked as they belong to someone else. One of the biggest problem of the study is that I usually tend to observe and receive too much, so much so it made my colors muddy and flat.
life at PAFA is still going good, plenty of friends:) I only have two classes this semester, one is landscape by Larry Francis, the other is a drawing seminar by Ron Wyffle, both are lovely people.

The gym I am a member of is well known by its uplifting gay spirit in the rainbow neighborhood of Philadelphia. I really like the place and the people working there. Most of the associates are muscularly built and can have an intimidating appearance. But if you make the right complements...

They are as soft and squishy as Mary and the little lamb...

La Fiamma Sketch and a thought about art

COMCAST BUILDING VIEW

A view of the Comcast building from the 9th floor.
I've always wanted to capture the solitude of this very quite moment. When the morning sun sheds its first smile on the Comcast building, the mirror reflection of the building next door creates a very interesting dialogue between the two structures.
The solitude of this painting would also describe my current mood and disposition, which is quite obviously on the blue side.

MOM'S BSN AND MORE

MOM'S BSN!
I am so proud to see my mother receiving her Bachelor of Nursing Degree :D
She had a late blooming career but she never gave up perusing it. There were many occasions in life where she was almost beaten down by the harsh reality but it always failed to claim her as a victim. A single woman with no financial support, who worked on her hands and knees to continue her study in the nursing field. I look up to my mother more than ever, and I am just proud to see her hard work has paid off. Moreover, she is already enrolled in the MSN program and will be darting to her next but sure not the last destination, MD for medical doctor.

Kathleen Battle, a truly amazing inspiration to my vocal tainting. She might have been dismissed from the Met Opera but she will never be dismissed from her career on stage.
When I receive my MFA and find a job teaching I may consider going to AVA or Curtis Institute where Anna Moffo received her formal training.

Kate Q, still singing beautifully. Thanks for putting up with me :)

Steph and her newly wed hubbie--Ben, what a match :)Love you guys!

Cold Winter Sketches

Some sketches from the weekend

Downtown

Around the Neighborhood

Been busy lately, will try to keep the sketching up though.

Important events of the night of Jan 18th

On the way home from work, the radio news was addressing two major events: the Obama pre-inauguration visit and the Eagles's loss. HA! Both of them seem so irrelevant to the traffic jam on I95. I was stuck on the road for nealy 45 minutes, long enough to watch a half of the game. So"OOOOPSSS" to the Eagles and "WEEEEee" to Obama, good luck to both!

CHRISTINA MY LOVE~~ :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA BABY!

CLASS DOODLES and a thought

So we are back to reality and much has happened since last year. Everyday is a new beginning to me, I cherish greatly what was given to me after my birth to this world. Sometimes things get bad, sometimes things get worse, but most of all, I am still alive and breathing. Luckily when I am about to get crazy, I can use paper and pen as the salvation to my suffering. I sing loud and clear to let people know that what doesn't kill me will make me a stronger being. So here I am, continuing my online journey, hopefully for as long as time will go.

A caricature of lovely Ron Wyffels

CLASS DOODLES

So we are back to reality and much have happened in the past year.

lovely Ron

George Tooker Retro 01/29/2009!!!!

Egg tempera, one of the most used painting medium before the invention of oil paint, still used by some artists to created images and ideas today. George Tooker, one of the few artists who are able to make a successful career using tempera to produce works that are exhibited and traveled around the world. Tooker creates figures interacting with each other in space, whether talking, listening or thinking, There is always a great sense of solitude within his works. His nudes reminiscing Baroque and Renaissance art. The soft skin tone, the misteriors lighting and the romantic dialogue all derive from his own imagination with reference to his studies in art and literature. Peter Saul and George Tooker are the two biggest inspirations to my current work. I am glad the Geroge Tooker show is now going to happen in PAFA, Following up the Reter Saul retrospective before my graduation from the school. How exciting! So I will be there, along with my friends and fellow classmates to celebrate the Geroge Tooker Retrospective.

Mrs.Earble and Fweedy Series:

Random Sketch series 3

I've been trying to sketch more from both memories and life. I used to use nib pens for inking but now I use Faber Castell brush pen, it's relatively cheap and really convenient. I am publishing a sketch book as part of my exhibitions for this year's MOCCA con. If everything goes well I should have the sketch book and a calendar put together with the painting series I've been working on by this summer. (Cross my fingers) That's it for today, going back to work now~:>

from imagination

Meta from life

Judy Pinto
Judy is one of my critics for this term. The class met her for the first time yesterday and although it was a short meeting, I felt that she might be the kind of critic I need...she was patient, soft spoken and very knowledgeable in her field of work. What else do I want from a critic?

It was a cold morning of a stormy day.
I will never be able to forget the dampness of the soft air brushing though my hair,
before it escaped
I caught a drop of its tear.

MORE RANDOM SKETCHES OF BATHERS

Random Sketch..

Hard hand shaker series

.............

Sketches from the Met Opera 01/02/09

"Thais"
Operas by Jules Massenet

This controversial opera by Jules Massenet tells a story of both religion and eroticism from the Roman- Egyptian period. The famous line of "nothing is true but life and the love of human beings..." brings the play to a final climax. At the end, the female protagonist dies, her soul is being taken by the angles to the heaven's opening. The male protagonist then collapses, realizing how much he had taken her for granted,but it was too late.

act.I

act.II

act.III
(I wonder why he is the only person on the set who wears nipple caps)

"Enough about the husbands" original script

Ms.Earble: "Oye!"
Fweety the porcupine: "Oye!"
Ms.Earble: "Ok, enough about the husband."


To be continued....

Eartha Kitt Dies at age 81. Farewell, Catwoman.

Can't believe Eartha Kitt died.  I will never be able to see her live performance again. Just past summer, she performed with her band in New York city, it was such a wonderful show.   Farewell, Catwoman.

2009 RESOLUTION:MORE SKETCHES

SKETCH OF PEOPLE AT CENTRAL PARK

"A TYPICAL NEW YORKER SCENE" SERIES:

South Pacific Sketch and New Year's Eve @NYC

What a terrific show "South Pacific" was! Since it's premiere in April, many people have attended the performance at the Lincoln Center Theater for Performing Arts. The story of "South Pacific" illuminates a vivid scene of the days US navy soldiers spent on a island in the South Pacific Ocean. The play emphasized love, racial discrimination, hatred toward the enemies in various scenes. At the end, love overcame the barrier of age,color and background, and reminded everyone that love is what makes us human and, without love, we will be isolated and lonely forever.

Sketch of a theater-goers

Theater usher

Typical New Yorker scenes

Old ladies with fur coats

I'm not a member of PETA and I do support modest use of fur coats in extreme cold climates. But,few people have seen how animals were tortured and slaughtered for furs. To enable furriers to obtain the maximum quantity of fur and to keep the damage to a minimum, the traders would electrocute the animals by sticking a electric probe up the animal's rectum. So I think it's only fair for people who own multiple fur coats to come back as furry animal and to experience the probe themselves.

Excessive cosmetic surgery New York Style