United Kingdom

some photos taken during the UK trip 2006-2007 (:

They are taken at places like Badminton school in Bristol, London, Bath, Cliffton, Oxford, Cardiff, stonehenge and winchester!

coursework update

here is how the butterfly will look like as the end product, the process is super painstaking because I have to first print/colour photocopy out 240 butterflies, cut them up carefully, leaving out the antena areas because they are too thin. Then, I would have to paste two butterflies together and make sure that they fit and trim down the edges to make sure that no white parts would be seen. Then I would have to laminate the butterflies one by one and then I would have to cut them up again! O: Then I would have to paste the antena back together because some of then came off due to its super thin nature. However, I guess that everything’s worth it at the end of the day when you see your end product! I have made 60 of such butterflies in total, and I would be stringing 30 in one string and hanging them from the tree when they are done! The only problem is that the tree is way too tall and I would most probabaly have to make use of a ladder to hang them up!

teachers’ day souvenir

My classmate, Yinda, the president of the AV club, is in charge of the teachers’ day souvenirs. Thus, together with a few other classmates of mine, I have decided to help yingda out with making of the gifts. Here are some photos of it. It bascially consists of a wooden bsed sprayed with black spray paint and the using a glue gun, a heart shaped metal paper holder has been fixated on top. Then we used glitter glue work on the decorations. The red and yellow combination is for the female teachers and the blue and silver combination is for the male teachers. There are 150 such souvenirs made in total, for the school teachers, deans, principals, and the support stuff if I am not wrong. Hope all teachers out there liked this and made good use of it! 😀

P.S kudos to yingda/xinyun/liqin and those who stayed back after school during their own free time to finish everything up! (:

SMP poster

Here is the poster which my teammates (Fong Jia YI and Go Shi Yu) and I did. We did it for the upcoming presentation for the science mentorship programme oral poster presentation. Not very sure if this would be counted as an art design, but anyway here it goes. We have printed it out, it’s huge by the way (:

The beauty of Music

Medium: water colour on watercolour paper

Here is a violin done in water colour on water colour paper. I made a few first hand observations of real violins from a friend before drawing this out! It is supposed to be a violin on a wooden floor. I could have improved on many details on the violin such as the bottom part and the bow which one uses to play on the strings. It has not been done to full details, something which I could definitely improve on. The shadows, especially the darker regions, seem a little rigid. Perhaps I could have used complementary colours to the violin for the shadows so that it will appear three-dimensional, and at the same time, more lively. I think musical instruments are beautiful, and I love painting still life!

Comments are most welcomed, please feel free to criticize! Thank you (:

coursework 25/08

here are my progress so far! the deadline for coursework’s been extended to 12th September, I think I will be able to finish everything by then as long as it doesn’t rain (especially not on a daily basis)

Thank goodness for the great weather today, I feel so blessed (:

photo credit: anning

PAINTING DOTS 😀

rain rain go away, come another day

here’s to my tree! will post the after photos soon!

anyway it’s already 23rd of August and coursework’s only halfway done! I did not touch the tree the whole of the last week due to the rain! please, I pray that it stops raining ):

Olympics Fever

With the Olympics going on and me cathing up on the Olympic fever I decided to do something Olympics-related! Afterall it comes only once every 4 years! By the way I totally love gluing myself to the TV and watching events like swimming/gym/synchronized swimming/diving/marathon/triathlon/badminton/table tennis! Athletes are so great! Although I am exactly that interested in athletics events I still do catch bits and pieces of it here and there! So many world records have been broken up til now, and more to go! (:

Anyway here’s what I have done. I was researching online for some nice traditional chinese 剪纸 which are related to Olympics which all came out to be 福娃, I decided, however, since its my first try at paper-cutting I　should stick to something not so complicated, so I took out some red paper, which are thinner than the normal contruction paper but thicker than the 红纸 which we use to write the 对联 on during Chinese New Year celebration, and cut this!

北京奥运2008！

aep block test term 3

2. Liu Kang, Seated Model 1953, Oil on canvas

Hendra Gunawan, Bandung as a Sea of Fire 1972, Oil on canvas, 117x 197.5cm, Collection Ir Ciputra Foundation.

(a) Describe the subject matter of these paintings.

(b) Analyse and intepret the artists’ intentions.

(c) Describe the impact the two paintings have on you.

(a) “Seated Model” by Liu Kang is a portrait of a Balinese women seated in a chair. She is half naked and only wearing a pair of long trousers which is red and green in colour. There is a white belt at her waist covering up her belly button. The seated model is the main focus of the portrait. In her right hand she is holding a small bundle of white flowers and she is resting her chin on her left arm and her left hand clutches to that of her right shoulder. The model is not directly looking at the artist and her focus of attention seems to be on something at the bottom left hand corner of the painting. Her black, shiny, glossy hair is being bundled back in a neat bun with two pins of flower, one red and one purple on it. There are also two round earrings which she has put on her ears. The portrait is depicted in a scene with the natural , external environment as its background. There is a bush of small white flowers at the left hand side of the painting just in front of a brick wall. There are also some tall tress with their leaves dangling down in front of the brick wall. There are many rectangular shapes which we can see in the painting such as the chair, the model and the brick wall. The colours used are mainly naturalistic and harmonious. The paints and forms have been carefully modeled so that no visible brushstrokes can be seen. The lines in the painting are generally sinuous and flowing, except when it comes to objects such as the brick wall. Also, this is a well balanced and unified composition.

“Bandung as a sea of fire” is a painting done by Indonesian artist Hendra Gunawan. The painting has been divided into two by the diagonal path which leads from the right bottom to the top left hand of the painting. In the background, the figures and forms are merely suggested with blocks of paints, with no clear features, Some of them are armed with guns and are running up the hill, towards the left hand side of the painting. In front of them are the villagers running desperately for their lives. There are parents carrying their children on their backs. They are all going towards the uphill direction. Behind them as the background, there are buildings which have collapsed and are on a “sea of fire”, with smokes coming out of the ruins. In the foreground of the painting we see a dying man, he is lying on his back with his face turned towards the right, facing the viewers. His eyes are expressionless, only with agony and he seems to be in great pain. Both his legs are raised up with his feet resting against the ground. Next to him on the left hand side of the painting is a woman. She is crawling on her stomach. Her attention is focused on the dying man and she is raising one of her eyebrows. The colours used are vibrant., striking and warm such as the reds and oranges , with shades of tertiary and black colours as the background. The forms are done realistically in a painterly fashion, with visible brushstrokes and no careful modeling such as the hair of the dying man. The lines used are mainly jagged. The composition is quite well balanced with both activities going on in the foreground and at the background.

(b) Liu Kang is one of Singapore’s pioneer artists. He went to Bali for a period of time together with his fellow artist to source for inspiration for new subject matters for his artwork. The painting, “the seated model” has been done in a realistic way with harmonious and naturalistic colours. It brings out the simplicity of life of the Balinese people. The sitter is also in only simple, basic clothing which is a pair of trousers. The artists is most likely trying to get across the message that the Balinese people lead a simple, pure, naïve lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As the painting is depicted in the external environment, Liu Kang is also probably trying to express his love for nature of Bali and that Bali has nice sceneries without much industries and city-like modern development.

“Bandung as a sea of fire”, as the title suggests, depict a scene of war and chaos. Hendra Gunawan usually painted subject matters related to the independence of Indonesia. The iconography in the painting all seem to be in great agony and pain, suggesting that the country is undergoing a period of uncertainly and political turmoil. Paints are applied in a painterly fashion with visible brushstrokes, thus conveying the artist’s emotional response to the subject matter. In fact, the emotional views of the artist has been so strongly conveyed that it seems to even overwhelm the subject matter of the painting. Vibrant, bright colours like reds, oranges and browns are used to bring across the agony of the subject matter. The artist is probably trying to say that the people of Bandung lead a hard life having to escape from the clutches of wars. The use of red also adds tension to the painting. He may also be trying to convey the cruelty of wars, as seen by people dying and being engulfed by the fires and flames. There are also people trying to escape, and are running for their life.

(c) Both paintings have left a deep impression on me. However, the feelings which they have conveyed vary greatly.

“Seated Model” gives me a sense of calm and harmony, as we are being presented with the simplicity of the life of the Balinese people. The use of harmonious and naturalistic colours suggest the purity of life of the Balinese. It also brings across the simplicity o f the naive and native population.

“Bandung as a sea of fire”, on the other hand, gives me a sense of urgency and makes me scared an d afraid. The use of bright, striking colours has added a sense of tension to the painting. From it I leant that the people of Bandung are living in a state of fear and uncertainty, and that there is no harmony in the country as people are running for their lives. It impacted on me as a more powerful painting as compared to the “Seated Model”. “Bandung as a sea of fire” is more striking in its use of colours and it has left a deeper impression on me with its bold use of colours. Hendra Gunawan is an Indonesian artist who, through the use of bright and vibrant colours, try to depict the landscape of Indonesia and its people. The themes of his work are also commonly based on the struggle of independence of Indonesia. “Bandung as a sea of fire” has left a deeper impression on me as the subject matters are depicted in a more gruesome way.

Mighty Michael, Phenomenal Phelps

Today is a day to commenerate because Michael Phelps got his 8 golds. Thus, to commenerate today, I have decided to make this scrapblog! Go Micheal Phelps! I root for you! (:

Happy 90th Nanyang

On this exact day a year ago, Nanyang Girls’ High celebrated her 90th birthday! Happy birthday Nanyang!

For the 90th Anniversary of Nanyang, we are required to work on a project based on the theme–environment. we are to come up with a collage of something which brings across the message of environmental conscious in the students. Here are some of my research studies and the final work.

research drawing 1: acrylic on paper

This shows a penguin, who is supposed to be living in very cold environment (at the South Pole) using a electric fan to cool itself down. This shows that if we do not conserve the environment, in a few years’ time, the ice caps on the Earth would all melt due to global warming and there will be sharp increase in the Earth’s temperature.

research drawing 2: acrylic on paper

Some experimenting with the different motions of the penguin. This is a painting a penguin who is riding on a ski.

FINAL COLLAGE

I must admit that doing collage is really a fun way of approaching art! I had a great time exploring the different patterns and colours of paints which I used for the different body parts of the penguin. By the way, the school has made a few of my classmates and mine  design into bookmarks/stamps. Here are pictures of the final product. Thank you Theresa for helping to scan over the stamps! (:

[bookmark to be uploaded]

Jing Jing

Here is a paper cut I did during my free time! It isn’t exactly considered a paper cut, because I cut it out from a piece of white A4 paper and after cutting I painted it using markers. I think it looks quite okay, the most tiring part of this piece of work is of course the belly of Jing Jing (By the way I have only decided to do Jing Jing because I really do not have enough time to do all the 5 friendilies). The 5 rings of Olympics are especially hard to cut! But I feel that this is quite an okay piece of work overall. (:

hello SAM, hello Mr. Xu

Venue: Singapore Art Museum

Date/Time: 2nd August 2008, Afternoon

Went down to SAM with Huikin to see the “Xu Bei Hong in Nanyang” in exhibition. Here are some information about the artist/exhibition:

5 April to 17 August 2008

Co-organised by the Singapore Art Museum and the Xu Beihong Art Museum (Beijing), Xu Beihong in Nanyang will showcase artworks created in the 1930s and early 1940s, during the artist’s sojourn in Southeast Asia and India . Xu Beihong is recognised as the founder of China’s art education in the realist tradition and the father of Chinese modern painting. He had an immense influence on the development of Chinese painting in the 20th century. As one of the first Chinese painters to study in the West, Xu became a master of both the art of traditional ink painting and western oil painting. Xu spent several years in Southeast Asia and India between 1939 to1941. Besides painting, he also participated in many social activities. He developed close relations with personalities like R. Tagore, M. Gandhi, Sir Thomas Shenton and Lim Bo Seng, and painted compelling portraits of these individuals. The exhibition will explore Xu’s journey in Southeast Asia and India, and the interactions that went on between artist and the local communities; how each left an indelible mark on the other, and how these helped propelled Xu Beihong’s artistic achievement to greater heights.

It was a meaningful afternoon spent at the SAM, and I must say that I have indeed gained quite a lot from going to this exhibition. Here are three paintings which I find especially interesting:

1.

2

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3

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The first two are the most acclaimed works of Xu Bei Hong. There are entitled ” The foolish Old man who removed the mountains” and “Put Down your Whip” respectively. The first painting is down in the year of 1940, horizontal scroll, with ink and colour on paper. It is donw in the 4th month of the 29 years of the Republic (194) in Darjelling, India. The subject is based on the story of Beishan Yugong, the foolish man from the Northern mountains from the classic work Lie Zi. In the story, the old man decided to remove the two mountains in front of his house. Although ridiculed as a folly, he reasoned that if his sons and grandsons persevered in the task, the mountains would be removed eventually. When God learnt of his determination, he was so moved that he ordered the mountains be removed. The story was important for the artist as he wanted to use it as a metaphor to praise the Chinese’ efforts in resisting the Japanese aggression at that point of time.

The second painting, “put down your whip”, was painted in Singapore in 1939, based on the Anti-Japanese drama of the same title which featured the female actress Wang Ying. It was done after having witnessed the staging of a patriotic street drama about a father and his daughter in wartime exile. This painting illustrates his passion and patriotism.

I would like to personally comment on the third painting.

Portrait of Madam Chang (1941)

Size: 79.5 x 65cm

Medium: Oil on board
Collection of Dato’ Cheong Kai Fu, Ipoh

This portrait was painted by Xu in Ipoh in 1941, when Madam Chang was 92 years old. She was the mother of the late Cheong Chee (1885-1954), a wealthy Chinese tin miner and philanthropist in Malaya. The iconography of the painting is an old lady sitted in a chair with her hands resting casually on the sides of the chair. The subject matter is depicted in a naturalistic way, showing the physical likeliness of the sitter. The colours used in the painting are mainly naturalistic, as reflected in the skin tones and the colours of the background. The colours used are also harmonious, such as the shades of blues of the clothes and greens of the accessories of the old lady. These colours are found close to each other on the colour wheel. The forms not carefully modeled and brush strokes can be seen in the painting, as the blending of forms does not seem to be of a concern to the artist. The depiction of light if clear and sharp. The light source seems to be coming from the top right hand corner of the painting, through where a window is located. The shapes found in the painting are mainly naturalistic, with lines which are sinuous and flowing. Broken colour technique has also been applied in the painting, as pure colours are placed side by side so that they appear to be fused by the naked eye at a distance. In terms of usage of space, Xu has made use of linear perspective, to create a sense of depth. Linear perspective is the visual effect of things diminishing in size the further they are away from the viewer. On a overall basis, the subject matter of the painting has been arranged in a unified and balanced composition.

The top right hand corner of the painting forms part of the background. It shows a window which opens to sceneries outside. Here, the influences of the impressionists and post-impressionists can be clearly seen. This can be seen in terms of the usage of colours, the subject matter and the way in which the paints have been applied. Overall, I think this portrait brings its viewers a calm and relaxed feeling, with its use of cool colours such as blues and greens.

I feel that this piece of work of Xu, although not one of the most well-known pieces, has been done well. It exhibits a high degree of technical skill in capturing the facial expressions and the emotions of the sitter. Also, I like the fact that the iconography has been treated in a realistic fashion. I believe that art must be comprehensible and accessible to all, regardless of their age, gender, education or status in the society. Hence, I feel that by showing the physical likeliness of the sitter, Xu has allowed more viewers to connect with the painting and understand it.

sources:

http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/hss/chinese_eng/about/seminarsandlectures/ilofen5may2008.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Beihong

http://www.nhb.gov.sg/sam

I dream to be a tree-painter when I grow up

the due date for coursework’s only a few weeks away! here’s how my tree looks like at the starting of the coursework, more updates will be provided as it progresses! (:

Big Bird

medium: pencil on paper

A drawing of a bird! I found this bird somewhere in one issue of the national geographic magazine, but I am so sad I lost the original magazine! If not a compare and contrast could have been done (even though it would make my works seem even lower in standard, but I feel that this is the only way to improve). So there you go, my big bird friend! I feel that what I have done well for this pencil drawing is in the contrast between the dark and light part. The dark part is really shaded with very dark tones and the light region is merely suggested, hence bringing across a sense of depth to the drawing. However, there are many other areas which I could have definitely done better. One such example is the shadow of the beak of the bird, somehow it looks a little out of place and weird. Also, The right wing of the bird could have been more in proportion, as it seems a little too flared up. The right leg of the bird could have also been done with much more clarity, as pencil markings of the previous drawings could be seen.  One lesson learnt is that I should shade the drawing lightly first before doing the real shading, so as to make sure that it has been accurately marked out before I continue.

Please do comment, constructive criticism are especially welcomed! Thank you! (:

comments and criticisms V–weining’s still life

medium: watercolour on paper

God. What can I say? I have such talented classmates! Although Wei Ning claims that she feel that she has screwed it up. First of all I like the way in which the composition has been arranged. The use of complementary, contrasting colours, namely green and red also brings out the impact of the painting and makes it not so plain. I also like the way in which the words on the piece of paper behind have been merely suggested instead of carefully drawn out. This helps to draw the viewers’ attention to the iconography in the center, foreground of the artwork. I also like the green veggies and the chilli, they look so tempting I feel like I can eat them up raw. Only one thing, the paper looks like it’s floating in the middle of the air, so perhaps the artist could have considered making the contrast between the foreground and the background a little more obvious?

for more of weining’s 4hour 2D works, please go to http://aknut.wordpress.com