Faces

I had the chance to draw when I was on sick leave last month (I couldn't walk properly so I didn't go to work for a couple of days). Armed with my then unused oil pastels, I picked up my sketchpad and immersed myself in the therapeutic effects of drawing. Aside from forgetting for a while that I was in pain, I was able to come up with this:

Nicole
October 01, 2010

Why did I name her Nicole? My inspiration for this drawing was Nicole Fox, America's Next Top Model Cycle 13 winner. She's my favorite among the 14 contestants, and I'm so glad she won. Cycle 13 was being replayed for the nth time on Star World when I drew this. I know my drawing doesn't look like her (I didn't intend for it to look like her), but her red, wavy hair prompted me to draw a red-haired girl as well. Plus, Nicole Fox loves to draw portraits, so I thought of trying it as well since I couldn't think of anything else to draw.

The following day, I drew another face. Here it is:

Clara
October 02, 2010

I started drawing this the day after I drew Nicole, but I didn't finish this on the same day (I forgot when). Anyway, I named the girl in the drawing Clara because my inspiration for this was Clara Perez, the main character in Arlene J. Chai's novel, Eating Fire and Drinking Water. It was the book that I was reading that time, and on the cover was a girl with a brown, wavy hair. I didn't copy it, but it prompted me to draw something similar.

Speaking of faces, in the November issue of Women's Health Philippines, my face appears! Haha! I was featured in the magazine's beauty pages for their makeover article. Here it is:

Yup that's me! To all those who gave me nothing but compliments about the photo, thank you! :) Feeling ko ang ganda ko. Haha! (I feel so pretty. Haha!) This was shot a couple of months ago. The day before the shoot, Denise and Kim from WH asked me if I'm free the next day and if I could be given a "makeover" for this article. I said yes, and two months after, my photo appears in the magazine.

I remember what Sam Gallardo, the makeup artist who did the looks for the makeover article, told me while she was doing my makeup: Yung mga hindi palaging nagme-makeup, sila yung mga magaganda talaga. Maganda kang bata (Those who do not usually wear makeup are the ones who are really pretty. You are a pretty girl). To which I couldn't say anything but thanks.

So it's not really what you put on your face. Whether you're a makeup junkie or a girl who prefers the "no makeup look", what matters is how you see and carry yourself and how you deal with other people. That, I think, is real beauty - one that's not only on the outside but on the inside as well.

Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga (I hope you're the one)

I dream of singing this song with an all-girl choir. It speaks of how one hopes that the person s/he has finally met and whom s/he is together with will be the person s/he will be spending the rest of her/his life with. It's an emotional song, and if sung in the context of true love, I guess one can't help but shed a tear or two (or buckets?).

It's a song composed by Cecille Azarcon and originally sung by Filipino balladeer Basil Valdez. The Filipino lyrics are beautiful, and if I translate them into English, I think I won't be doing justice to the song (I'm not an effective translator). So for my readers who don't speak my language, I hope you appreciate the song's beautiful melody.

Kindly click the link below to download and listen to the chorale version . I don't know who sang it, but I love it that I can listen to it over and over again. I hope this song moves you in the same way that it moved, and continues to move, me.
http://g.a.h.y.aimini.net/play/?fid=YhAG3TbZh0NE2NLUSECA&tp=7.wma

Images of Inspiration - Buildings

My recent trip to Hong Kong had me clicking away at every chance I get. Now, I have a bunch of inspiring images to post and share with you. Here are the photos I took on my way to the airport for the flight back home. I don't know what the names of the buildings are because I didn't have the chance to ask and take down notes. But I love how they stand out against the blue morning sky. Enjoy!

It was a pleasant sight to see before leaving the city. I'm so thankful to have been given the opportunity to visit Hong Kong and get a glimpse of what it has to offer. Like what I've said in my previous entry, I hope I'll get another chance to visit Hong Kong (plus other countries as well :D ), stay there longer, and have more experiences and stories to bring back home.

Images of Inspiration - City Lights

Still fresh from my recent trip to Hong Kong for an event, I'm sharing with you some photos of the city I took. I love how the streets are so brightly lit because of the light coming from the various shops. The cold weather made walking on the streets even more pleasurable. I wasn't able to take note of some of the street names. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Gloucester Road

Immigration Tower along Gloucester Road

Harbour Road

The colorful lights stand out.

Approaching the bridge

Outside Langham Place in Mong Kok, Kowloon

A busy street in Mong Kok

Just one of the many shops lining the street

View of Hong Kong

I couldn't help but marvel and get envious at how progressive the city is. Transportation is efficient, and the streets are pedestrian-friendly. I love my experience in Hong Kong, and I will do my best to visit it again in the future.

P.S. It was my first time to go abroad. Finally, my passport had been stamped. :)

Black and White Drawings

Because when I was younger, I was trying to see if I could come up with decent drawings, I had a sketchpad in which just drew what I could. I like drawing flowers in vases, as well as other inanimate objects. In this post, I'm sharing with you my black-and-white drawings a.k.a my experimenting with pencil shadings and shadows.I just edited them a bit in Photoshop because the shots were dark. Here they are:

(I used the Faber Castell triangular pencil in this one. I no longer have it, and I think the book stores and supplies stores don't have it as well. I made this sometime in 2001.)

(This is my favorite in this category. I was trying to create a shadow of the vase. I hope the black thing under the vase looks like one. By the way, the white line in the "shadow" isn't there in the real drawing. I wonder where that came from. I drew this on October 9, 2001, my 13th birthday.)

(Little Feast 1. This is my second favorite in this category. I drew this on October 12, 2001.)

(Little Feast 2. Drawn on October 13, 2001. No wonder this is similar to the previous one. I drew them on two consecutive days.)

(Fruit Basket. Drawn on January 4, 2002. I don't know what fruits they are actually. I just drew round "fruits". But one of them is an apple. :) )

(By Threes. My inspiration for this one came from a small vase with three fake roses in it displayed in the bathroom. I drew this on April 1, 2002.)

(What flower is that? I don't know. On April 29, 2002, I just drew random dots on the top part of the paper, then connected them and tried to make something out of it. I'd like to believe the drawing isn't that bad, is it?)

(Bouquet of Buds. I drew this on April 28, 2002. My inspiration for this was a bunch of fake flowers I saw in the house. I think it was a school project of mine.)

So there they are. My artworks. I plan on drawing again soon. I just hope I can come up with decent ones since it's been years since I last drew. Wish me luck. :)

P.S. I would like to thank Lisa for these awards:

Now, I'm passing them on to Jingle and my dear friend, Gia. Congratulations!

Flowers in a Vase and Other Drawings

When I was 12 until when I was 13 or 14, I used to draw inanimate objects and landscapes. I'm not really good at it, so I would watch my classmates who were gifted with this talent draw and do as they did. And then, as I got older and got busier with school and other things, this interest got buried under my other interests.

I'm not a frustrated artist. In this entry, I would like to share with you some of my drawings which were part of my attempts to be a well-rounded person. Here they are:

(This drawing is dated Feb. 23-24, 2001. I used Faber Castell colored pencils.)

(I also used Faber Castell colored pencils in this one. I wasn't able to put the date, but I know I made this in 2001 also.)

(Unlike the previous two, I used Pentel oil pastels in this one. I loved how oil pastels stained my hand, and I loved how easily they glided on paper as I color.)

(Flowers in a Vase. This is my favorite among the four. Like the first two drawings, I also used Faber Castell colored pencils in this one.)

So there - a peek into my attempt to enter the world of visual arts. Good thing I managed to keep them, so even if I don't draw anymore, I can just take them out and think that once upon a time, I thought of myself as a gifted child that I could do almost anything. Hahaha!

But these works of mine also show me that if I was able to draw things like those before, then I could probably draw again. I just have to equip myself with my colored pencils and oil pastels and come up with something again. :)

Green Images of Inspiration

I often see Images of Inspiration posts in Design is Mine , a design blog I frequently visit. Because of that, I was encouraged to come up with my own images of inspiration as well. Here they are in their green glory:

(The University of the Philippines Sunken Garden. I took this photo last June during an Ultimate beginners' tournament.)

(Water lilies. I also took this photo at the compound of old houses functioning as art galleries where these photos were shot.)

(More water lilies.)

(My favorite shot. The leaves are forming a shade from the afternoon sun.)

All images above were shot using my phone camera, because as usual, I didn't have a digital camera with me. I should bring one all the time, or better yet, maybe I should buy my own because our digital camera at home is for the whole family's use. But maybe I'll practice first using my phone camera, and let's see if I could come up with better shots. :)