Last post... for the year

It's now just past 3.00pm...hardly 8hrs to go before 2008 wraps up to usher in 2009. Tried to paint as much as I could to finish off my UFOs.... unfortunately I only managed 1 UFO (was really under the weather the last 2 weeks.... )

This piece I completed the bottom half in Sept 2007. Left the top half undone waiting for inspiration to come... but inspiration never came....and as time passed on...I forgot of its existence...until last week when I was looking for something else and found it waiting patiently in my rack of UFOs collecting dust and dirt!!! Decided to complete it...and guess what???....took me about an hour to complete it!!! Just an hour to complete something left lying on the rack since Sept 2007!!!! Now it's done... but still unvarnished...so now it goes under the completed but unvarnished items *sigh*

However... I managed to complete 2 new items. Somehow this time I was really into tea settings with tea-cups and tea-pots. This interest started when I was doing intarsian and I created a tea-setting using this technique.... only this time I painted my settings with a soft water-colour effect using acrylics. I love them.... it was an experiment that I dare say turned out rather well... kudos to me.... muahahaha


I am now currently painting on a tray.... something very country but again with a washy water-colour effect. Having a wee bit trouble there... but once it's done I'll post it here.... that would then be my first post for 2009...errrr.... if ever it gets finished laaaa ...*sigh* so what else is new huh???? Hehehe.. till then... here's me signing off wishing you... a very Happy New Year... may this new year bring you wealth, health and happiness.... not necessarily in that order ;)

Decorative painting ...

Hopefully... this will help you to understand more about Decorative Painting ;)

"Decorative painting is a diverse art form utilizing a variety of techniques and media to decorate functional and non-functional surfaces.

Because of the systematic methods employed, contemporary decorative painting is a highly teachable art form. The patterns or freehand designs allow a high degree of success without academic training or inherent drawing ability. Approached with creativity, discipline and craftsmanship, contemporary decorative painting offers opportunities for artistic self-expression and creative satisfaction.

The scope of contemporary decorative painting is boundless. Styles and techniques of the past are incorporated into the trends and materials of the present, while developing the decorative art heritage of the future.

Tole painting is the general term historically used to describe decorative painting on tin surfaces, especially in New England and by the Pennsylvania Germans. Contemporary decorative painting encompasses not only the folk art styles of Sweden, Norway, Germany, Russia, England and Mexico, but many facets of Early American decorative painting such as stenciling, faux finishing, bronzing, gold leafing, country painting, theorem and graining."

Definition from the Society of Decorative Painters Site

What the experts say...

Hello all... I've been off-colour lately. Didn't do much painting except for the occasional base coating and running classes. I find that when I'm depressed or angry... I can still paint (oh boy!!! can I paint hahaha)...but when I'm under the weather with some kind of bug cruising in my blood stream.... that's it!!! It kills the mood for everything...the whole system became lethargic or totally shutdown indefinitely!!!! However... I did do some readings and I'm going to share here what the experts say.... about painting la of course!!!!

Ann Kingslan said that to be a good painter, you need to have 4 things :

• Desire - you can become a good painter if YOU want to be one!
• Dedication - to become good it's very necessary to make the time to PRACTISE
• Determination - it helps you stick with painting and overcome your painting problems with a difference
  
• Money - ah yes! money.... it enables you to buy quality painting products.... the best that you can afford... don't stinge or scrooge!!!!
  

So how to perfect your painting skills?

• Always take a few minutes to see and assess how much your work has improved over time
• Look for ways you can make it look even better - attend classes with different teachers, look out for workshops, seminars and conventions (local and/or overseas), buy AND read ... can't put more empahasis on that!!! Most of us just buy for the sake of looking at the pics....yup...yours truly falls in that category too muahahaha!!!!
• Simply continue to paint, you'll improve with time and practise (experience is the best teacher!). In the process you are bound to come up with something terrific... believe you me... I'm talking thru experience here!!! Practise! Practise! Practise!!!!
  
• Bear in mind.... Decorative Painting is a wonderful challenge! Keeps your mind active and away from senility... InsyaAllah (God Willing!).... have fun la...
  

Anyway...Ginger Edwards also said that by enjoying what you do...you will excel. Enjoying your paintings, studying them and exposing yourself to different view points, and then incorporating the best elements of these paintings into your own will help you advance.

However, you do need patience. You don't just become a fantastic cook overnight, nor do you immediately paint masterpieces. You need to experiment, and then sit back and evaluate what you've done. Evaluating is what makes you improve.

So there... hopefully, my dear friends.... if you are into decorative painting... bear in mind that patience, perseverance and practise makes you a great painter :)

Happy painting ya....

Updates....

Since the last post... I'd completed a few more paintings :) I am of course obliged to show off.... muahahahaha. Anyway.... here goes nothing ..... lalalalalala ;)

These were done on a cutlery box following the techniques of Intarsia..... the cutlery set was done on the inside cover of the box. It was tedious but it was very satisfying...somehow this time around I had a few orders on Intarsia. Also did Intarsia with Victorian designs on 2 cake stands meant to be used as an accessory to display engagement gifts. Now... those 2 were an effort to complete!!! A day each just to set the designs on each tray.... plus a whole week of aching shoulders hahaha!!!!

Tea sets are also becoming a favourite now. Did a menu board and a welcome plaque depicting tea settings. These are for a cafe in Jakarta... now please give me a good reason why I shouldn't be proud of myself??? muahahahaha .... *sigh* my kids hate it when I gloat hahaha... but oh wellllll I guess.... if I deserve it.... means I deserve it la kan?kan?kan?.... so why not huh????

*sigh* that's it for now.... as usual... have a great day :)

Intarsian Painting anybody?

As I was varnishing my intarsian trays, this thought came across my mind.

Although tedious, intarsia is actually a very simple technique to master. It does not require much skill.... just lots of patience and the willingness to spare the time to complete the task. So I was thinking... to those who are willing to give it a shot...why not? Let's give it a try.

So .... I thought I'd run a workshop on this. We'll do intarsia on a tea-box.... at my place....maybe some time next month on a Saturday from 9am-5pm. What say you? I can only accomodate 10 at my home studio.... so please if you are interested... please register your interest here in my blog or email me at norana_g@hotmail.com.

I'll get the sample ready as soon as I finish painting for Lizana... together with the costings and all.... oooooohhhhh I'm already so excited.

Waiting eagerly to your response :)

Seni Hias Issue 4

Proud to say, Seni Hias has featured my stuffs on pages 38-39.... hehehe yup!yup!yup! must tell you what page to go to so that you don't have to go searching for it la....muahahaha (vain pot to the max now!!!). Sooooo... go to the stand and get yourself Seni Hias, Bilangan 4, Nov-Dec issue *blush*blush*.... (or trying to blush....muahahaha)

So...what have I been doing?... painting of course. Just completed 2 trays of Intarsia, designed for Afifah's son's engagement coming soon, 2 simple plaques as wedding gifts to kids of my friends, an intarsia cutlery box ( of which I'm extremely proud of!!!), another intarsia on a small rectangular tea-box and am now starting a still life for Lizana....pics I'll put in later...as soon as I figure out what's wrong with my camera.... giving me vague pics again!!! haih... I can't be that bad a photographer can I???? hmmmmm... so catch up with you guys later ya.... have a good day ;)

The curse is broken...for now... hahaha

I laid off painting a tad too long... *sigh* ... it was extremely difficult to get back into momentum!!! Told myself I'd only take a week's break after Raya...but other unforseen things had to happen ...and my painting was not happening la!!! ...errr does that sentence make any sense??? muahahaha.... never mind...it's the writer's block again.... lost for words...

Anyway...finally...TODAY... I completed 1 and is already half way through the other. Unfortunately, the pic I took with my phone camera is not sharp enough. Where's my camera? Oh well...it is at the moment in Penang with Syakirah :( and won't be with me until she comes back after her finals. *sigh* Anyway...here's the basket of flowers that broke the curse of the lazy bones... muahahaha

Hehe...that's all I have for now. Have a good day...

YES... more to show off.... muahahaha

Yup!Yup!Yup! Been busy again this week.... painted on cutlery and tea-boxes with roses and intarsian designs. I am very happy with my accomplishments...*blush*blush* tq tq tq.... I know they do look good, don't they??? muahahahahaha.... (how thick-skinned can one get huh????) anyway have a look-see ya... *blush* again.... :D

For those who are not familiar with intarsian.... let me briefly explain here. It is a painting technique that incorporates the beauty of inlay work and marquetry combined with faux finish effects using water-based paints and kleister medium and low tack-film (or frisk film). It emulates the art of 'painting' with wood on furniture. Nothing sounds familiar??? ... hehehe.... nvm.... just enjoy the looks and join my class ;)

Bear-bears on cabinet

Today I completed bears on a cabinet for Jun. Had not painted bears for a very long time but inspite of lack of practise... I'm rather happy and contented with the bears I painted on the doors of the cabinet at Jun's. Have a look-see ya...

Would love to show-off the rest of the bears on the drawers (ahem... that's of course just me.... need to show-off muahahaha.... hey... I'm a true hot-blooded Leo!!!) but unfortunately.... the camera gave way!!! Why? ...because I forgot to get new batteries (hahaha...so what else is new... blame on the age... !!!) Anyway.... have no fear... will go to Jun's tomorrow to snap the baby bears again ... muahahaha... in the meantime... need to get back to the studio... have more to paint :) ... catch-up with you all later ya... muah muah muah

Busy...busy...busy

I have been busy these past two weeks ... completed 120 pieces of hydrangeas on mengkuang hamper boxes for raya for Yati. It was an easy job... but something I don't quite enjoy as I hate repetitive work...thus it became a monotonous chore. It was a HUGE sigh of relieve when the last piece was finally done.... *SIGH*

Before these mengkuang boxes, I finished a couple more boxes and lazy susans for Zurina. They were also meant for raya hampers. How lucky can the recipients be? I remember those days when hampers came in plastics baskets or plain rattan ones!!! Gift hampers now come in fancy creative containers... more often the containers costing more then the contents itself.... yup!yup!yup! Prior to Zurina's jobs ...I'd painted 2 stools (painted geraniums on 1 and violets on the other), another lazy susan and a tea box for Kak Nomi ... yup! I have been very very busy ;) What you see below are what I'd painted in the past 2 weeks.... I'm happy...

There's always a reason....

This was a pen-n-wash I did many many many moons ago....something like 24 moons or so.... Left it undone because there was that lilttle centre plate on the top shelf that I didn't quite like... thus left it as it was until....God-knows-when-la... hahaha. Well anyway.... the 'when' came recently due to a miscommunication I had with Lizana. The plaque I made for her initially was sold to Jelina because I thought Lizana decided not to take it (NB : never close a deal via sms... always call to confirm!!!!) After 2 weeks of silence, she came to collect.... o-oh... o-oh....o-oh...waaaaaa!!!! It was a gift for a friend's cafe... and her friend is already going back to Jakarta the next day... she'd told her friend that she'd got somthing special for her... and I have no time to paint another!!!! Oh dear!Oh dear!Oh dear!!! To cut short the story... I completed the pen-n-wash within the day.... and now it hangs

proudly in Lizana's friend's cafe ... in Jakarta ;)

The fruit tray is a duplicate I made for another customer. She wanted my sample but I wasn't willing to depart with it... so I made her another one... only to discover that she'd changed her mind. So it stood on the shelf for 5 long years.... until one day... Zaiyan took it with her as a gift for Ashraf's engagement ceremony in Jakarta..... hmm Jakarta again eh?

The 2 events jolted my memory to a quote by a famous artist (trust my memory... I can't recall his name *sigh*...) He said that one must never devalue one's art pieces just because it doesn't get sold. Leave it be... it's actually waiting for the right owner to claim it... and I now believe that!!!! These 2 items hold testimony to the truth ;)

We did a demo ;)

Last Saturday, Aug 30... we... Zaitun and I ... did a 1-hour demonstration of our craft at the "Galeria Fair 2008" at Amcorp Mall, PJ. It was a programme organised by The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development, introducing and promoting the various local crafts and products held from 22 - 31 Aug. Unfortunately, Aniza couldn't make it as she had prior engagements... so it was just the 2 of us doing our stuff :)

We were apprehensive at first as we had no experience doing a demo... but us being us la *ahem* *cough*cough* ... hehe ... we made it. It went well... but the crowd was small.... small but enthusiastic... so that made our day... yup!yup!yup! .... but it could have been better had it been on a Sunday between 2-3.00pm, as we were told the crowd in Amcorp Mall is usually bigger on a Sunday. We were there on a Saturday, 11.30am-12.30pm.... not the best of time for anything.... nevermind... it was an experience....

OMG.... how time flies... :(

T'was a busy Saturday for me. Had the demo at Amcorp Mall earlier in the day... then later in the evening had a small 'reunion' with my past.... met up with our students....



Datin Zainab (centre), Muli and I were teachers in SMK Dato' Harun some 20 years ago. Received an sms from Muli saying that Datin Zainab wishes to meet up with us... teachers and students alike. God... 'lil ole me became excited and readily agreed to meet up hehehe.... Hey... I just met up with my school chums batch '75 last July ... this definitely is another opportunity I'd not miss!!!!



Well... Muli...bless her ... made the necessary calls and managed to gather 7 of us.... 4 students and 3 teachers. We met at Secret Recipe TTDI at around 4.00pm... and when the boys came in ... I couldn't recognise any of them!!!! They couldn't recognise me either because they said I've changed... but they do remember me upon introduction. Hahaha... apparently I made an impact on them... as I was one of the very garang cikgu!!!! I sure hope it was a good impact tho'... muahahaha.... but I am embarassed since my memory failed me...I just couldn't recall my past with them. *Sigh* very sad.... old age IS catching up with me!!!! *sob*... but it was a good feeling.... to be remembered after all these years. Thank you boys.... you made me feel special...

What's new?

So what's new? My paintings of course ;) Apart from the usual roses and hydrangeas on cutlery and tea boxes and plaques and various other wood pieces... small items for the house... I'd done a few major projects worth mentioning.

Painted a simple garden scenery on 3-panel wooden screen. It was not a pre-planned traced-out design there... created the scenery as I go along. Had another pic in my mind initially... but what came out was not the original design I created in my mind's eye. That's just me... I paint as I feel it and let the juices flow to suit the piece. I'd to put in a lot of thoughts here just to make sure there's a continuity in the panels... but all in all.... say what you like... I enjoyed painting it...yup!yup!yup!

I also painted on a huge 6' x 5' mirror. Ruby loves the Port Merion collection... and thus she commissioned me to paint the lilies and the butterflies on this mirror. It now hangs majestically on her dining wall. Will show you the pic as soon as I get it photographed.

And finally my current favourite piece... a still life drawing inspired by Kingsley. I find it very difficult to depart with this one... Lizana commissioned it as a gift for her friend....

And so that's it for now my friend... check me out later if you may... I need to go back to my studio and paint some more for others... ;( that's it for others... can't paint any for myself yet... have a good day... cheerio...

A long overdue story ... hehehe

I've been busy... and lazy... and been under the weather too... had the writer's block and a 1001 other stuffs running through my life lately so much so that I literally crawled through the days... *sigh* Every now and then I signed-in to my blog.... stared at the screen... only to sign-off almost immediately.... Oh well that's history for now hehehe...and hey... I'm back.... yup!yup!yup! so here goes... updates from the past muahahahaha... as far as memory permits...

We had a another workshop last July 19... yup! that long ago!!!... at Bistro Saloma, Jalan Ampang organised by Laman and Puspanita Ministry of Tourism in conjunction with Flora Fest 2008. It was a huge success with 69 participants! Never had such a big group before... and oh! this time we had 6 males, one of whom was only 10 years old (err...I think hehehe...but I know he's below 12 because his 12 year-old his was there with him!) ... a very enthusiastic chap he was hehehe. As usual Aniza, Zaitun and I mastered the helm with Shikin to help us out... we just couldn't do it without you dear Shikin...

It went well from 9.00am - 5.00pm. The pics below speak for themselves... but at the end of the day, we were all pooped dead tired... ( I know I was...age catching up with me here *sigh* )... but definitely happy and satisfied judging from the enthusiasm showed by the participants. Thank you all... and that's the last of the workshops by Laman this year. There will be more next year... InsyaAllah... this time probably catering for the intermediates instead of for just the beginners.

Hehe...we were in the news

For a moment there... I felt glamorous. Don't know whether Aniza and Zaitun felt the same way... but I know I felt ... like wow!! I'm going to be in the papers hehehe. Then another thought struck me almost immediately... I hate to be photographed!!! I'm never photogenic.. and ALL angles are bad angles hahaha!!! ... and this was what I got...when my darling Syakirah commented... "Ma... you look so scary!!!" hahaha.... that deflated my bloated balloon...deflated? did I say deflated???...Nay... it was more like... my inflated swollen head burst to kingdom come!!!... muahahaha. Yup!yup!yup!.... Syukrina and Syuhaidah just had to agree *sigh*... how honest and truthful can my girls be!!!

Anyway... we finally went public. The pics and article were for Utusan's Mega section published last Wednesday, July 9... Sentuhan Pelukis Dekoratif. If you had not viewed the article... please go to Aniza's website... she's got the whole article there for you to read ;)

Whilst I'm here... I have an announcement to make... next weekend... July 19... we'll have another workshop... this time with Kementerian Pelancongan and Laman at Saloma Bistro, Jln Ampang.... so hint hint... I have more to show off later laa... so until my next post.... here's Nora wishing you... a very good day... muah muah muah

Vicki...you're great..

Hey!hey!hey!...I've soooo many things to tell u.... buutttt...I feel so blur now...getting the writer's block so they say...yup!yup!yup!...so where do I begin....

OK...let's just start where I last left my blog... hmmm...Vicki! Wellll.... she came, she saw and she conquered!!! She's GOOOD...had so much fun and gained new tricks of the trade from her workshop. There were 11 of us in attendance...10 roses and a thorny Zahir (hehe sorry Zahir...just couldn't resist that!) . It was a good noisy boisterous group hahaha.

Anyway...there's this medium called the Magic Mix. I'd had it with me since it was first introduced some 2 or 3 years ago but had no idea what-so-ever on how to use it...(you see, I have this sickness...I MUST have anything and everything that's supposed to be beneficial for my art hahaha). Thankfully...I finally learned the benefits of Magic Mix from Vicki... and now am happily using it in almost every project I'd done since the workshop hehe...I'd recommend you to give it a try too...(errrr if you're an artist too la ...duhhh hehe). Don't know how to use it? Have no fear la...Nora is here hahaha...

And so...what do I have to show off? ...another UFO la...what else???... muahahaha. When will I finish it???...ohhh...1 fine day...God Willing...1 fine day ;)... and then I'll show it off again...yup!yup!yup! I'm very good at showing off....muahahahaha... I'm sure it's THAT obvious hahaha...