My NeW YeaRS eVE iN SiNGaPORe aND BALi witH My GF, AURA KASIH..

CeLebRatiNG NeW YeaR iN SiNGaPORe caN bE FuN..

We STay iN MARINA BAY SANDS..


tHe VieW fRoM OuR ROoM iN MBS..


i bOuGht MaKeUp aT SEPHORA - IoN ORcHaRDs..




..yOu haVE LoadS oF oPTioNs tO cHOoSe fRoM wHeN iT coMeS tO PaRtyiNG!




THe JeweL bOX oN MOunt FabeR, MaRdi GRaS at CLaRK QUay aND HaVaNa baLL aT IndOCHiNe WaTeRFRONt, aRE soMe oF tHe MaNy oPTioNs aVaiLabLe..
SPeCiaL eVeNts weRE oRGaNized sUch aS a COuNtdoWN PaRTy..


aND OuR NeXt deStiNatioN iS BALI "PARADISE iSLaNDs"..




aND i'M sO HaPpy FLy witH SINGAPORE AIRLINES coZ' tHe PILLOW CASE iN SQ FiRST CLaSs witH LEOPARDS PRiNT.. :D


BALI iS a NiCE PLaCe tO RELaX..




a LoTs oF COoL PLaCeS iN BALI.. LiKe SAMAYA BEACH, KUDETA, etC..


We STaY iN ViLLAS aT SeMiNYaK..




FoLLOW Me oN TWiTTeR: @aldoakira

(^,^)v

ASTRID ~a uNiQUe VOiCes iNdONeSiAN FEMaLE SiNGeR VidEO CLiP MaKeUp & HaiR bY ALDO AKIRA MaKeUp ARTIST

CHeCk tHiS OuT.. ~My MaKeUp & HaiRdO oN ASTRID VidEO CLiP, SoNG: TAK INGIN DICINTAI..

FoLLOW Me oN TWiTTeR: @aldoakira

(^,^)v

Lettering for your journal?

How important is this to you?

Does anyone have a favorite book on hand lettering?  We've seen some wonderful examples already, and that was one of the big winners in our poll at right., on what our readers would like to see on this blog (by the way it will be open for a year, so vote any time you like!)

I'm practicing my own brush lettering because I like the contrast between words and images, and how they can complement one another.  Sometimes I had a colorful or harmonizing header, sometimes not...

It can be a lovely design element, providing balance as well as adding information--several of our correspondents use it to wonderful--and varied!--effect.  Color, style, position, of your letters can all work when designing a pleasing page.

We featured this one in THIS POST, along with a few suggestions for further reading in the comments, but what's YOUR favorite?

This one looks interesting--has anyone used it?  (You can click on the image to get at the "look inside" feature on this one.  It's got a lovely cover, but it's fun to poke around, too!)







Do you use lettering on your pages?  Do you want to?  Do you feel it adds to a page or detracts? Do you care about what your letters look like, or are you just interested in making notes on what you see, think, feel?

Let's open this for discussion!

* NOTE: I've added Roz's link from her comment below so you can click on it directly...don't know if you can make live liniks in comments, but here it is:  http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/2008/11/calligraphy-from-traditional-to-funky.html?cid=139517498

In the style of René Magritte (2)

Made by Tyra, grade 6

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A4 size


2. aquarelle pencils


3. jar with water


4. brush


5. fine black marker

Rene Magritte is born in 1898 in Belgium. When Magritte is 13 years old, his mother commits suicide. She jumps in the river Samber and is found with her dress covering her face. This image has been suggested as the source of several paintings from Magritte: people hiding their faces with several objects.

In 1924 Magritte became friends with members of a surrealism group in Brussels: André Breton, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. These artists influence Magritte's work. In the end Magritte became famous with surrealistic paintings.

Magritte gave his paintings a realistic effect of surrealism. He painted simple objects, like a shoe, an apple, a pipe or a tree. Magritte took these things out of their ordinary environment and placed them in a special surrounding.

One of Magritte's most famous works is "La Trahison des Images" (The Treachery of Images). This is a very realistic painting from a pipe, with the text: Ceci n'est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe). The painting is not a pipe, but rather an image of a pipe. As Magritte himself commented: "The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe,' I'd have been lying!" By putting us constantly on the wrong track, Magritte forces us to think about art. Magritte thought it the task of an artist to place reality in a different context.

Links: Magritte museum, Brussel See also the other lesson In the style of René Magritte (1) on this blog.

Made by Debbie, grade 6

Students draw a part of a man or woman, from about chest height. Like Magritte, we see no face. And, like Magritte, the person has something on his head. In stead of the face, students draw an object of their choice. The drawing, person and background, has to be coloured with aquarelle pencils. Use water and a brush to create the effect of aquarel paint. Wait until the artwork is dry and outline everything with a fine marker.

Sketchbook Project Update 1

I was 3 spreads from finished on the 13th and knew an all-nighter would be in order. On the 14th, Art House Coop sent an email out changing the deadline from January 15th to the18th. Trust me, I was dancing around the studio after I read that email :) It seems bad weather everywhere was interfering with participants getting to the post office/delivery services and those companies getting packages delivered!

On the 18th, book in hand, I made it to the post office by 3 pm and sent my child off to Brooklyn, NY. My finished pieces of art become my children. They certainly carry a chunk of my soul.  Anyone else feel this way about your creations?

 The text around the edges of this spread reads:

We have lived in this neighborhood since May 2010. It borders a tidal creek and there is a golf course. It's such a treat to walk the cart path on holes 17 & 18 as the marsh borders these holes. Every day brings something wonderful to see and experience.

Please walk with us. I want to show you my favorite sights. I want to show you the things that fill me with wonder - it's like being a child all over again for me.

Nature. There is nothing like it!

Please click on image to enlarge

More to come :)

Interview #5--up next, Laura Frankstone of Laurelines!

You are going to enjoy the interview with my good friend Laura...she's wonderfully talented, and has led a fascinating life.  She's traveled the world, lived in exotic places, stayed for a month in Brittany, went to Norway twice in the winter and brought back amazing paintings and sketches.

found on the Champs Elysees

She's honest and engaging, and if you haven't bookmarked her blog, Laurelines, you'll definitely want to!  Don't miss the galleries and sketchbooks you can open on the left side of the page.

A woman listening to jazz

From Laura's recent amaryllis series.  Gorgeous exuberant images!

 
Everything is fair game for Laura's elegant brushwork, bold pencil strokes and discerning eye, from birds nests to icebergs, from tonight's dinner to Paris fashion, from her beautiful family to family pets.  Amazing stuff!  (you can see more of the Amaryllis Series HERE.)


The banner at the top of this post is from my Ink and Wash CD--Laura was kind enough to allow me to use her work in the section called "Ink and Wash Inspirations," along with some of my other favorite artists!

They include:

Roz Stendahl

Chris Buchholtz
Gabi Campanario
Enrique Flores
Julie Oakley
Casey Toussaint
Ronell van Wyck
Liz Steel
Nina Johannson
Martha McEvoy

* Those in italics either have been interviewed on this blog or will be in coming weeks!  They're book artists--though the others may turn up as guest interviews later on...


Watch for Laura's interview at the first of the week!

The Art of Collage (Designing the Page)

Imaginary Trips' Parisian Cafe Collage

Hi, there! I'm Laure Ferlita. I'm so excited to be one of the artists in Kate's book. (Thanks, Kate!) I host Imaginary Trips, and we often work on collaging bits and pieces of art into a cohesive whole. Designing a collage page can be a fun way of combining several quick vignettes from a holiday/vacation, a walk around the neighborhood or simply different days of the week.

Even on Imaginary Trips, you don't always get a great seat at the cafe or perhaps your view is blocked. Other times, you may be moving so quickly that all you have time for is to snap a picture and promise yourself you'll paint it later. You arrive home to open all your images only to find that what you thought was going to be a super shot didn't translate into such a great photo after all.

It's quite fun as well as a challenge to weave unrelated elements together to tell a new story! By using brief moments wisely and/or utilizing the "good" parts of photo images from a holiday, we can often come up with an interesting journaled page. It may only have meaning to us, or it may be entertaining for the viewer, depending on our goal for the page.

The image above is a collaged page that combines elements from 4 images in and around Paris. Together, they appear to tell a "story" of a bored bistro waiter and a cat near a Metro sign when in fact the waiter was very busy, the cat was no where to be found and the bistro sign was on the other side of the city!

Some of the guidelines I use to create a collage page:

• Use like colors even if they are not in the actual place or image you’re adding to your journal. In the example, the colors repeat in the red signs as well as the waiter and sign post. The cat and the wall are similar in color too.
• Ff you’re working from photos, remember, this is your artistic journal you’re working in—it doesn’t have to look like the photo! Interpret the image as you remember it!
• Repeat similar shapes where possible. The rectangle of the Metro sign and Bistro sign echo each other. The long pole of the Metro sign and length of the waiter repeat each other.
• Keep the time of day consistent (day or night). The greens of the trees in the background of the Metro sign give you the impression of daylight as does the light around the waiter.
• Keep strong directional light consistent (cast shadows). 
• Remember to play and have fun—these are guidelines and not rules!

There are several ways to approach a collaged journal page. You can wait until you're home from vacation and pull bits and parts from various photos, you can start a page and let it develop on its own as you travel around, or create a "theme" for the page. Look for unusual signage, people wearing hats, animals you see, flowers, birds, windows, etc. The ideas are endless!

I hope this will inspire you to try your hand at building a few collaged journal pages! For more tips, please download a pdf on collaging here.