Art by Nomadic Mom

Angkor in Arizona??

2010-09-02T00:37:00.000-07:00

The title is a bit mixed-up, isn't it? Angkor Wat in Arizona?
Reason is that I loved the red, orange and yellow sunset hues of the Arizona desert, but to paint sad-looking measely cactus seems a bit pathetic. So I "imported" some Angkor temples into my Arizona sunset. Heheheh. This was just recently completed in August 2010.
What should I call this piece?

Red Sunset
OIL on CANVAS
Size = 2 pieces of ___ cm x ___ cm

My camera skills need a whole lot of improvement.... donno why the colours of the two paintings differ... must be the LIGHTING as one is hung in the East of the wall, and the other - the West! Nope. They are not together as seen here.

The Chinese T-Shirt!

2010-09-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I had bought a Christie's Auction book on Chinese Imperial Costumes at a bazaar. I had found the colourful and intricate embroderies beautiful, and decided that I should paint one. When my boys saw my painting, they exclaimed "Hey! Mom's painted a Chinese T-Shirt", so this is what I have decided to call this piece. If I am not mistaken, painting was completed sometime in June 2010.

The Chinese T-Shirt
OIL on CANVAS
Size = TBA

I should have used a bigger piece of canvas, but was too lazy to go all the way to the Art Supply shop... GOSH! The traffic jam is enough to put me off from painting!

My Boys

2010-06-04T02:44:00.001-07:00

After completing The Hunk, I was gonna paint another gorgeous half-naked body of a hunk. But thought "What would my boys think??" ...so I had a change of mind and decided to paint my boys instead.

This is finished....YET NOT really finished. Though I can see my children, somehow, my S1 looks older here than he should. But I really don't know what else to do to improve the painting.... so temporary first lah...

My Boys
OIL on CANVAS
Size = 50 cm x 50 cm

The Hunk

2010-06-04T02:32:00.001-07:00

Noticed that I haven't posted since December 2009. It's not that I have stopped painting. It's just that I've been lazy posting. If I am not mistaken, I finished this piece in early February 2010. Don't you think he is soooooooooooooooooooo gorgeous?

The Hunk
OIL on CANVAS
Size = 50 cm x 50 cm

When I was painting this, my boys were afraid that their dad would be jealous that I painted a man other than their dad, and thus was critisizing the painting like no tomorrow. When I told my H about his boys, H proceeded to pose like The Hunk above and said "told you that you should use me as the model instead!" . Hahhahahahahah

BTW, this is a Bollywood star. Can't remember his name though.

Snooty

2009-12-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Painted this for one of my 'ole friends, CC. She's a cat-lover and wanted a snobish-looking cat... So here it is.

Snooty
OIL on CANVAS
Size = 50 cm x 50 cm

Completed - 7 December 2009

"Ang Ang Tai Kiat"

2009-11-23T01:58:00.000-08:00

This piece of painting started off with being ALL RED. As in I painted the background first.....which is NOT the norm. Usually, the background is the LAST to go on. I wanted something RED. Thus the title of the painting. Hokkiens will understand what it means. Basically, the English translation loosely means "Red Red Prosperous" (I think).The Chinese lady was an after-thought. :-)

"Ang Ang Tai Kiat"
OIL on CANVAS

Size = 80 cm x 120 cm

I managed to complete this last Monday, despite of my aching arm... Actually, I totally forgot that my arm was aching whilst painting. I was totally immersed in the task!

Doors to a New Day...

2009-11-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

The subject in this painting was also kinda ad-hoc. I had just finished The Kiss, and had brought a odd-sized canvas to my painting class. Again, I had NO IDEA what to paint, and my odd-sized canvas did NOT help. A classmate had 'left' one of her new canvas and since she did not attend class that day, I HIJACKED her canvas. Hahahhahaha
Even then, I still didn't know what to paint. As I had my GREEK ISLANDS calendar (the source of Santorini is from here), my classmates chose this for me....

I know the title sounds abit weird/lame... but how to word it? I know the morning sun is shining on those doors....

Doors to a New Day

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 70 cm x 90 cm

This painting was completed in quite a short time... all in all perhaps about 5 hours. My art teacher says my style is more impression/expression....as I am not really a detail detail person. Plus he says I am more at ease with this style... And I agree.

The Kiss

2009-11-03T17:23:00.001-08:00

When I came back to 'reality' after our family vacation in Europe, I was at a loss as to what to paint. My mind was as blank as the canvas before me. As before, my classmate came to the rescue. She is into the habit of cutting out newspaper clippings whenever she sees something that could be a potential art subject (She was the one that gave me the newspaper clipping on the Balinese Dancers).

On that day, she had just cut out this snapshot from a modern ROMEO & JULIET play that was in town. I was rather hesitant but as I absolutely had NO IDEA what to do with my blank canvas, I thought I'll give it a go. I decided to do chop-off their bodies and do it in just BLACK and WHITE (and of course GREYs)...and in a Pop Arty kind of way. It turned out pretty good. Yah?

The Kiss

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 40 cm x 40 cm

H's Assyrian Lion

2009-11-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

You've heard me mention about my H being a history buff... and what did he request when I told him that I'll paint him something for his birthday???

The Assyrian Lion

To see the original in photo, go here.
Wikipedia describes it as "Passing lion, glazed terracotta, reign of Nebuchadrezzar II (605 BC–562 BC), Babylon, Iraq. This panel decorated the Procession Way which ran from the Marduk temple to the Ishtar Gate and the Akitu Temple. "

To see the REAL actual thing, you will have to visit the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin.

This painting really really took a long time to finish. Think I started in early April 2009. But I didn't finish in time for H's Birthday. The details required to make the cracks look 3D was really really a lot of work. This piece is indeed the most difficult of all my paintings. I only 'finished' it in September. Even now, when I look at it, I think there are spots that I could paint over. My Art teacher said that is the commom problem... you just have to tell yourself "This painting is complete. Otherwise, we will always want to go back to the old painting to improve...as art is dynamic".

Assyrian Lion

Mixed Media on CANVAS

Size = 110 cm x 70 cm

And you know what my H said? "Are you sure it is finished? It doesn't look 2500 years old!"

Of course I was upset!!

Yes. I do admit that the colour on the real thing is more subdued and dreary.... I just didn't have the energy to follow exactly....plus I was getting bored painting the same thing for months!

Water Lilies

2009-11-03T16:46:00.000-08:00

This painting took awhile to finish.... Started around the 3rd quarter of 2008 and only finishing it in 2nd quarter of 2009.

Why????
Errr...because I tried to be a SMART ALEC and tried to paint with NO reference. I did have a few photographs of water lilies, but they did NOT really correlate. So when the time came to paint the lighting direction, the different shades, shadows; it was ALL a MESS!! So each time I tried to finish the painting, I was at a loss....... and each time I just GIVE-UP.

A Lesson Learnt.
DO NOT TRY TO BE SMART!

Water Lilies
OIL on CANVAS
Size = 40 cm x 50 cm

I think Water Lilies are too pretty to be real. Their colours are so brilliant. So striking. The hues so so very bright. They are too perfect to be real. And yet...they are. I always marvel at these beauties.... and believe me, the colours in REAL Water Lilies are even brighter than in my painting.

Santorini

2009-11-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

I had a set of BLUE sofa in my upstairs living.... and what better way to adorn the walls than the beautiful BLUEs from Santorini??

Santorini

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 80 cm x 80 cm

Balinese Procession

2009-11-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

Always wanted to paint one of those scenes depicting the terraced rice-fields. So what do you think of this?

Balinese Procession

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 60 cm x 50 cm

I've promised my good friend here that I will give her this.... So that she will ALWAYS REMEMBER ME!!!!

Updated - This painting gifted to friend in mid-November 2009

Angkor

2009-11-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

Remember my Work-in-Progress?
Again, I've used marble powder mixed with glue for the base to create a 3-D effect.
I then painted over with oils.
Here are the completed Paintings...

East Entrance
Mixed Media on CANVAS
Size = 60 cm x 80 cm

Thommanon
Mixed Media on CANVAS
Size = 60 cm x 80 cm

Buddha Statue

2009-11-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Always wanted to paint a Buddha... This was actually sorta completed at the end of 2008...but as my H commented about the 'artificialness' of the shadow, I had to re-paint the shadows in January 2009.

Buddha Statue

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 70 cm x 80 cm

Mom really likes this painting..... So, it will be hers. Just have to find a way to cart it back to KL. Should I frame it here or back in KL???

Balinese Dancers

2009-11-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

These pretty gals were painted from a newspaper clipping....

Balinese Dancers

Mixed Media on CANVAS

Size = 50 cm x 60 cm

These ladies were completed in November 2008.... I used coarse marble powder mixed with glue to form a paste, applied to the dancer's costume and headgear. Then painted with oils.

Very Old Paintings - Woman and Child

2009-11-03T06:00:00.002-08:00

These paintings were done waaaaaaay in 2003. Actually, I didn't remember the year. I had to look at the date on the painting. These paintings were painted from postcards depicting the minority ethnic groups in Northern Thailand. Not sure if I did these while living in Bangkok or when we moved back to PJ.

Don't think I did many paintings in Bangkok... the others that I remember are

- A Lotus Flower ( ...which I had given to a friend as a gift when she launched her own law firm. Wonder if she still has it hung in her office??), and

- a Bird in Flight (which is still hung in my parents' bedroom).

Reason?

Because my S2 was still rather young (around 2 years old or maybe younger) , and I remember dragging him together with the maid all the way from our home in ChaengWattana to the Montien Hotel on Surawongse Road, where the painting classes were held. The maid will chase my little monster around the hotel until he got fed-up/tired. I usually had to leave when the little one starts his tantrums.

When we moved back to Malaysia, I joined the oil painting class over at BSC. I've been trying hard to recall what the artist name was but to no avail.. Memory is failing with idle minds!!! He was attached to Kidsports then, and he was still there (although now no longer Kidsports but some roller blading place) when we went back to KL last summer.

Anyway, these are my paintings down in the earlier years...

Woman and Child - 1

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 30 cm x 40 cm

Woman and Child - 2

OIL on CANVAS

Size = 30 cm x 40 cm

Think I did three other paintings (no photos here though) while living in Malaysia:

- a Snow Scene (which now hangs in my former 1119 English teacher's dining room, that is if she did not bring it down...have to go ask her :-P)

- Beach Scene depicting Malaysian fishing boats (this was given to my dear 'ole Si-Fu. My 'gifting' did not come out quite right... I said "This one. I don't quite like. I give this to you!" Hahahahah...but I promised him that I will paint him something he likes...and I'm working on it now.... my current WIP)

- Heliconias (which is now hung in my 4th Sis' house....When I was working on it, I tried to be smart and started with using KNIFE. The result??? Well, let's just say that the comment from my teacher was "Litt titt mm hai wahh!" (This is NOT art!). I guess he must be really appalled by my knife-painting abilities. Hahahhahaha)

Angkor Black & Whites

2009-10-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Thought that I should start a NEW blog to showcase my art....and since lazy 'ole me have yet to take photographs of my recent works, I will post older pieces. These pen drawings were done more than two years ago. Think they were completed around April 2007.

I actually had them framed, and they now adorn the walls in my terrace.