The cabinet-divider

I have been very busy lately trying to complete the various commissioned jobs ... Alhamdullilah for the bounty that Allah has provided me. My last major job for 2011 was a 5-ft tall open cabinet that kak Masnah has conveniently converted as a divider too .... hence the reason why the painting was done at the back of the cabinet! It now stands tall and proud in her living room :)

Took me 2 months to mull over the design ... changing ever so often in my mind's eye ... until one fine day, it suddenly dawned on me (picture this : light bulb flashing in the brain hehe) that I should just paint a watery scenery since kak Masnah specifically requested to maintain the original blue of the cabinet.

Again, my paintings are a product of inspiration ... and this time Jacqueline Penney is the source :) So ... a painting of a calm, serene watery landscape was completed after 3 weeks of hard work.

The cabinet as viewed from the left, centre and right

I have also painted flowers on two bins ... a veeeeeeery long wait for Marina for me to complete these for her. Sorry dear ...

So ..that's it for now ... am lost for words... seems to have been experiencing a writer's block for many many moons now ...*sigh

The week that was ....

Hello everybody ... the sun plays hide and seek behind the clouds today. I feel sluggish as I'm a sun-person ... but ... my spirits are not dampened as I managed a very fruitful week last week. This week... I spent time completing the tasks :))

Chempaqa's tray is a design I adapted from Bonnie Heppe Fisher. I simply adore her paintings ... it gives me a feeling of serenity everytime I look at them :)

Then there is this bin that I'd put on hold for almost two years ... basically because it was a repeat design (I hate repeats). I painted for Marina a bin of ALMOST the same design ... hehehe no two paintings can ever be exactly the same right???!! ... some two years ago. Her sister liked it and asked me to do the same ... AFTER Marina got me to paint on another piece of same design!!! Two repeats I can accept ... but to repeat THREE times???? ... hehehe hence the loooonnngggggg delay!!! Oh dear ... thank God she's patient enough to wait... oh dear! Anyway ... it's done now ... but oh my! where did I keep the pedals huh???

Oh well ... it has been a great week ... after a long hiatus from painting. The queue of commissioned jobs is long ... Alhamdulillah ... Salmi ... your birdhouse is next ... InsyaAllah :))

Meet Teddy :)

The past week has been for my other customers ... on items other than huge furniture. It's a good break since I do need to allow my creative juices to flow. It sets my brain on a thinking mode when I have to paint other than roses! I do enjoy the challenge :) ...painting just roses makes me dull and go on auto mode hahaha ...


Anyway... I painted teddy bears on a storage bin for Mala ... finished it last week but kept it on hold until 3 days ago. I felt that there was no zest in the painting ... so I put it aside, stared at it daily for 4 days, cracked my brain ... and still saw no solution to it. Finally ... took it to Aniza and had a sort of brainstorming session with her .... and the outcome is what you see here. All it needed was more highlights on the fur and dashes of red here and there to give it some zest. Thank you Aniza, the bin is now with Mala :)

This magazine rack was also painted for Mala. As much as I love to paint hydrangeas ... like roses, I will go on auto mode again. No challenge here ...





I finished painting for Roziah too ... but I will show that later in my next post. In between sessions of painting for Mala and Roziah ... in those moments when I got stuck due to lack of ideas ... I continued with my shoe cabinet. Now that's another story altogether... so till my next post ... goodnight y'all

The bin...

When I have worries or is troubled about anything... I turn to my paints and brushes. As I focus on my painting... I let go my worries... good therapy... yes? Today... I got back my car. Darling daughter did stunts with it and sent some guys flying like superman! Thank God... the damage to vehicle and guys were minor... but it sure burned my pockets!!! I'm today officially poorer by RM1450.00.... muahahahaha. Oh well.... anyway... finished the bin for Marina... finished but not varnished yet :) Shown below are the pics of the bin taken at various angles around it....

There you go... spring flowers all around the bin. Going to take a break now... will next tackle her storage bin... a huge rectangular galvanised iron thingy that I'd base-coated a month ago hehe. Same spring flowers all round... have a great weekend ya...

I made new friends today...

I woke my darling baby up early today... "It's a Saturday ma!!" was her reply. Hehe...ma's in a vibrant mood, so she ignored the tone of protest in her baby's voice......"Yup! It's Saturday...now wake up! We are going to Aunty Aniza's!!!"

It's a special day. Aniza had arranged a gathering of her decorative artist students and friends at her place. We were to meet at her place anytime between 10.00am - 1.00pm. Me?...oooohhh I was there by 9.30am hahaha. By 10.00am her guests started streaming in....and I was introduced to them all. Some of whom I'd met and known before but most of whom I'd known only by name! Finally today, I could put a face to every name that Aniza had ever mentioned...errr ladies, don't worry...it's always a good word from Aniza...telling me of her admiration for your works, etc ;) Unfortunately... I must confess...I've a very very very poor memory for names!!! Faces I can remember...but names...*sigh* It's such an embarassing disease!!!...so if ever I misplace your name somewhere in my grey matter...please do forgive me! I do wish I could show you pics of us all at Aniza's...but I lose the right to use the camera to my son who had taken it with him to PD yesterday....but I'm sure Aniza's blog will have us there... ;)

So...all that aside...what have I been doing all these while??? My!My!My!...painting of course...hehehe...what else??? Yup!Yup!Yup! I've been busy with classes and painting for my clients and friends. And so...muahahahaha...this post...and the next... will be a showcase of my current accomplishments hehe ...though not necessarily in chronological order...(again blame my memory here hahaha)...

I've been asked to paint items on enamel and tinware recently. It's been a long time since I'd painted on such surfaces. They'd never been my favourite because of the tedious preparation prior to painting. Fortunately I've Aniza and Zaitun to consult... and consultation means...what's the short cut la??? I'm not a sucker for rules here...and if by bending and creating new ones works just as well...hey...why not, right?...and that's exactly what I did... muahahaha. The big cylindrical bin and the enamel mugs were the testimony of my success hahaha. I had a wee bit trouble with the big bin initially...but nah...small matter haha

Apart from the metallic surfaces, I also tried painting on a straw hat...gave that hat as a birthday gift to kak Maznah...she's a gorgeous lady who really really appreciates art. Her house is the envy of many...especially yours truly here...hmmmphhh...every nook and corner is worth a stop to admire!!! ....even her washroom is worth spending an extra minute or two...or maybe even more...hahaha

Anyway...I'd done a few other projects on wood but that's nothing new...painted them with roses and hydrangeas...the usual stuff. Nothing fancy to show off here muahahaha...However, I do so want to show off the birdhouses that I'd painted. Spent almost every Tuesday afternoon since last month at Zaitun's painting them. Will show them off later k... till our next post...tata