Pics do lie... hehehe

I went round every corner of my home today.... decided I need a change. After 13 years living here, the house is in dire need of repairs... nope NOT renovation!!! ...just repairs... from outside a friend once commented that it looks haunted!!!! Everything is... like giving way to age and neglect... but in spite of the pathetic dilapidated condition of my home... I do have favourite corners. I'm going to share here today... my home show-casing my own handiwork ... (but of course, one has to be proud of one's work... right????)

This is my favourite corner... spend 2/3 of my waking hours here. The mess remains a mess... it's my work table in my studio in a corner of my dry kitchen. Students and friends will converge here ... students to paint and friends to yakity-yak. Nobody else is allowed here!!!

The corner by the staircase is where I have most of my painted items displayed. Currently it is full... and I'm happy. However... not too good an idea to have the shelves full ... that's because I will become complacent and will wait for them to be empty before I start to paint more.... NOT goood!!! Anyway only half the items displayed are for sale. Others are either mine or waiting for the owners to come collect.

Nooks and corners in the house are decorated according to what I have. I have no special theme to follow. I create a corner as I see fit... haha an ID will have a fit here!!! What? ... house decor with no theme??? Yup!yup!yup!... that's my home... as spontaneous as the owner... muahahahaha

My blue and white corner was created to fit my blue and white cabinet that I painted. Had that cabinet painted when I suddenly realised I have nothing blue and white to match... so because of that I started my blue and white collection... hahaha. My kids tell me... I am crazy.... muahahahaha.... (though some of the items are gifts from them) Then... because I have that blue and white corner, I had to balance the other end of the wall. It looked kind of lob-sided when it was empty... and it gave that ...ugghhh ... uneasy feeling... so... I filled up the space with whatever I had... hahahaha. The display stand with the orchids on it has been basecoated since 3 years ago... nothing painted on it.... don't know why... just haven't found anything interesting to paint yet. Ideas come and go but none strong enough to urge me to paint!!!


So now you've been taken through my studio to my living room. Now... lets take a tour of my dining area.... hehe another messy area filled with books and what-nots on the table!!!! What you see here are displays at opposite corners of the feature wall of the dining area. Yup... I don't like empty corners!!! Empty corners give me an eerie feeling. Again what you see on the walls are works of yours truly here hehehe... except for the mirror on the right and the cabinet on the left. Here I show off my works in cross-stitch, patchwork and quilting, ribbon embroidery apart from my paintings. Yup!yup!yup! I'm multi-crafty.... thank you... thank you... thank you... muahahahaha

In another corner opposite the feature wall in my dining area... again of course...showing off my works... sits a round table and 2 chairs... supposedly it's my tea-corner hehehe. Oooohhh must tell you this... I do most of the sewing in the house too... curtains, runners, table cloths.... *wink* pat*pat*... ain't I clever????... muahahahaha.




The antique sideboard belongs to my great grand-dad. I coaxed my grandma to give it to me ... on it sits a few more of my paintings. This area here is an annex... joining my dining area back to my living room. I don't like walls... I'm not claustrophobic... but I just love to see space. However... I do regret it now... I just don't have enough hanging space to display my works!!!!! Oh well..... *sigh* too late to complain

This display table I took from my mum. I have things mixed and matched all over the house. I told you I do not have a theme... it's just me... I co-ordinate with colours. As long as it does not stand out like a sore thumb... I'm happy ;)

You are about to finish a tour of my living, studio and dining area. Lets have a cuppa ya...hehehe.... other areas are off-limits!!!!

A blessed week...

*sigh* I've been lazy this week.... at most I'd just basecoated! I have a lot of UFOs here, there, every where....on the table, under the table, on the floor, hidden, exposed!!!!... just a matter of final touches here and there... but.... I've been lazy!!! just no ooommpphhh !!!! However... it had been a good lazy week hahaha... been blog hopping, catching up with my emails and happily leaving comments on my facebook.... (lame excuse to pacify my guilt ...muahahaha) ...

Friday 20 March was especially good.... as usual Friday is lunch day for us Golden Ladies.... but this time we managed to gather many more... besides Ja, Su and I... we had Yasmin, Philomena, Siew Bee, Wai Leng, Elita, Addie, Phaik Leng and Anis. It being the school hols... Ja, Siew Bee, Phaik Leng and I brought along our juniors. It was a table of 16 boisterous females.... errrr.... please don't imagine the noise we made ya.... it's just beyond your imagination!!!!... muahahaha.


By 11.30am we started to gather in front of MPH MidValley and by 11.50am we made our way to Cititel for lunch... BUT we had to wait till 12noon for the buffet counter to be officially opened!! ... so... do we wait quietly??? Nay... never!!!! I don't think there was a moment when the table was ever quiet. We have some high-powered ladies there at our table, mind you.... but when friends meet.... there is no demarcation of status of any form!!!! Bless them all... I love you guys...

Footstools as promised....

Alhamdulillah... done... finished the two footstools as promised.... ready for collection by today hehehe. Nothing fancy... just hydrangeas and geraniums :)

Showing off (so what else is new, huh???) the tops of the stools.... I just love painting hydrangeas...esp the leaves... don't ask why!! I just love them. Geraniums? ... definitely a challenge! The blooms are easy... BUT the leaves are still just satisfacory... I have not mastered the art of making the folds look gentle and 'flowy'. I have yet to view a sample of geranium leaves in the many books that I have that I could really say... "wow!"... hmmmm!!! Oh my!!! ...don't I sound vain here???... muahahahaaha

Note to self : careful Nora... grandma said always to be humble!!! but again... how to remain humble when one is always showing off one's work huh????...

Taa y'all... catch-up with you later ya... I'm blowing with the wind ;)

I'm poofed!!!

I spent the whole day today doing paperwork for an incoming workshop to be held next month at UTM, Skudai, Johore. It has been a looooonnnggggg time since I last did any form of paperwork from a-z... oh boy!!! am I poofed???!!!! My brain cells are forced to work at full gear, full-steam ahead since after dawn till now... with short intervals in between... hahahaha.... not easy I tell you... not when the brain has been at rest a wee bit too long!!!

Since I was glued to the monitor... I also managed to get a few other proposals out for beginner workshops on decorative painting and decoupage... for full and half day courses. Kudos to me... *pat*pat*. Now, all I need is the lesson notes for the project. Everything is in my mind now... words all muddled up with notes lying around everywhere...hehehe.... reminds me of the days when I was writing my thesis to get my degree way back in 1982....

Anyway... dear friends... if ever you are interested in having a workshop with me... please let me tell you now ya... I'm available... all you have to do is to just ask ;)

I'm taking a breather now... going to my Facebook first and then back to the drawing table to paint hydrangeas and geraniums on a pair of footstools... bz bz bz... muah muah MUAH

p/s: Laman Impiana will be having beginner workshops series 5 and 6 on 25/7 and 15/8 respectively.... check it out in Laman( issue 19)... Aniza, Zaitun and I will be conducting the class (as usual)... muahahahahahaha.... see y'all

Boxes, boxes, boxes...

After the last 2 boxes shown in my last post... I had a few more painted. They were actually an in-between thingy... was in the midst of painting this dustbin, ran out of ideas... but to maintain my painting mode and mood... I had the boxes painted hehehe....

As usual I MUST show.... right???? I mean... hey, I'm an artist... I paint to show.!!!.. muahahahaha. Anyway, look away ya... here's a small jewelry box in pastel green with pink roses painted on the top and inside cover of the box. Box is for sale... any takers here?


Here's another knick-knack box but with a dark base. I had cherry blossoms painted on them... kind of liked how the pastel colours stand out on a dark base. Painted in the same tones and manner as the cutlery and tea-boxes in my last post... but because of the dark base it gives such a contast to the blossoms....



And finally... a gift box for my student from my teaching days in Hartamas who is getting married this weekend. Had part of her invitation card decoupaged on the inside of the top cover. Unfortunately... my camera does not allow me to have sharp pics to show-off!!!! Indah Wahyuni... this is for you dear.... may you have a wonderful life ahead of you ;)

*sigh* what to do? born like this..... muahahahaha

I'm trying to discipline myself... to procrastinate less and paint more.... or at least try to do something more beneficial instead of just sitting in front of the idiot box... yup! I'm turning into a couch potato...urgghhhh!!!! Not that there's anything interesting on tv.... but it's difficult to unglue the butt once it's on the couch!!!! Help!!!.... I have 6 items to finish by March!!!

The time now is only 11.59am (as I write this post)... and guess where I am??? Glued to the internet!! If not to the tv... it's the internet.... like as if I have so much time to spare...*sigh* Oh well... I did complete 2 items though... a set of matching cutlery and tea-boxes. However I'm not happy with myself ... took me 10 days for something that I could complete within 5 days had I given them my full attention.... bad bad girl Nora!!!! 5 days wasted... could have started on new items...*sigh*... and they are yet to be varnished *sigh again*..... oh well..... hehehe... (don't sound too remorseful there do I???...hmmmm)... so what else is new? same old same old...

Lately I've been artistically challenged... I've been asked to paint subjects and techniques that I'd not done before. It was a struggle... but I thank God for the challenge hahaha. At least... I'm forced to use my brain cells... my bio lecturers said that we must keep our brain cells active lest they die UNUSED!!! ...(underutilised brain cells....oh what a waste!!!) So there...with that hopefully I'm given a while longer before senility creeps in yup!yup!yup!

Anyway... I need to aplogise for the quality of the picture. My camera has gone cranky again... producing blurry-lined pics. Very irritating... but to go out shopping looking for another one is a big chore muahahaha... so bear with me a while ya.

What you see here are the top covers of the 2 boxes mentioned... cherry blossoms painted soft and muted on a very clean , solid soft white background... definitely not my signature style hahaha... thus the challenge. I love vibrant colours with a textured slip-slapped or scumbled background.... but oh well... variety is good...yes???

Marina... these are yours... 2 more coming soon... InsyaAllah. Till the next post... g'day y'all... muah muah muah

Just another rose

Just a short one here for now....

A note to all my students and all other beginners to the art of decorative painting. I did a very simple basic painting initially with my usual style of rose using the angular brush.... however... I was not happy with the outcome... at all!!! Mind you... I'm not a novice at painting roses... but somehow that must have been my off-day!!! Somehow it just didn't feel right.... so I chucked it aside but hey... have no fear!!! Ros Stallcup said that if ever you make a mistake... don't fret... all you have to do is repaint over it!!! That was exactly what I did... I didn't like my rose... so I repainted another over the first... used a different colour, made it slightly bigger than the initial one so as all of the mistake could be covered.... the outcome??? ...as you see it here... I like it hehehe... yup!yup!yup! .... my version of Annette's roses with the flat brush. Hmmm... think I'll also try Ginger Edward's roses... one fine day muahahaha....

It's a slow week *sigh*

I've been pretty slow in completing my paintings lately... not due to lack of time but more due to lack of oomph... no zest!!! I find it very difficult to focus on whatever it is at hand *sigh*... wonder why??? Could it be due to age huh ... now that I'm but just a few more months to a half century??? Imbalanced hormones ??? LOL ... very easy to blame on everything else except oneself yes?... muahahahaha la la la la

Anyway... managed to complete another UFO. All I needed was an extra bunch of flowers (down the left-hand corner) to complete ..... but of course... me being me, the true procrastinator... I procrastinated!!!! Yup!Yup!Yup! Kept it on the shelf for nearly 6 months for something that could be completed in just 35mins!!!! When will I ever learn??? Oh well... it's now with it's rightful owner... hahahaha

Last week I tried my hand at painting a different style of roses... more to the likes of Annette Stevenson. I normally paint roses with the angular brush... but this time I painted with the flat. Haha... it took me quite a while... adjusting in my mind's eye as to which angle to lay the brush down to stroke in the petals!!!! Hmm... this way??... oh oh..nope..the other way la...ya da ya da ya da .... I talked to myself whilst painting!!! Ahuh... not that easy at first when one is used to the angular brush to paint roses. Anyway... in the end ... I did it my way... and am rather satisfied with the outcome. Needless to say... it's at the moment another UFO. I still need to put it the shadows in the background to 'sit-in' the flowers. Yup! just a wee bit more.... but hey! the procrastinator MUST procrastinate... procrastinating is another hobby... muahahahaha

The last piece was done on a tray... a painting inspired by Shelley Reeves Smith. Enjoyed doing this one as I tried to make my acrylics look like watercolour.... first attempt to do a scenery in this manner. Don't know whether I'd succeeded... but hey again! ... it's my style muahahaha. You see... art is subjective... one can get away with murder with one's style of painting muahahaha ... a very good excuse for a failed attempt at a particular technique yup!yup!yup! Frankly... to me... if it looks good... then it's good la... who's to say otherwise huh??? I'd just completed this one prior to my writing this post... tomorrow I'll varnish it... and hand it over to Suharti. Hope she likes it :)

K... I'm done for now. Had already basecoated 4 more items earlier this week... will keep you posted on that later ya. For now... it's tata... I'm going facebooking before I hit the covers hehehe.... g'nite y'all... muah muah muah...

I love u all... my hartamas babies....

I've been lazy lately...(errr..come to think of it...when have I ever not been lazy huh???? muahahaha)... not that I'd not done any painting...I have but nothing's completed... touch and go here and there *sigh* no great accomplishment as yet...

It's difficult to really push and motivate myself to go further... but for now I hope it's just a temporary setback.... I have friends' and customers' orders to complete!!!! Hmmm... scary thought in this current condition.... *sigh*... hehe I guess, one can blame it on the hormones... again!!! muahahaha.... yup!yup!yup! Anyway... I'm actually taking a breather now... been varnishing all the "completed but unvarnished" projects since yesterday....

So what have I been doing??? Well... I've been surfing the net looking for ideas and inspirations... but most of the time... I was on Facebook reminiscing the past. I decided I'd go student -hunting...and see how many of these kids still remember me and would be willing to have me ... their school marm... in their friend list. I'm happy to say... I've so far been accepted by 31 students who are now my friends in Facebook....gorgeous thing, this Facebook thingy. Oh btw... if you are on FB...please do add me in ya... I'd love to be of acquaintance...

SM Sri Hartamas was my last post... and a most memorable one. It was a new school and I joined them in its second year. There were only 3 Form 2 and 4 Form 1 classes then. ..with maybe 300 in population, including the teachers!..way back in 1994 (I think hehehe...don't trust my memory!!!) Though I majored in biology, there were no upper forms yet...so I ended teaching BM, KH, Art and Sc to the lower forms. The F1 kids grew with me... as I got to teach almost everyone of them!!!!

Thus... for the past 2 weeks, as I started with Fino and Indah (who were already with me in FB earlier on) ... I went 'stalking' hahaha.... and found the rest... hehehe still stalking looking for more. It was actually a pleasant feeling. I remembered them as young kids... knew them when they were 12 or 13... but as I read their profiles... I see that they have all bloomed and matured to be beautiful responsible adults!!!.... yes... mind you...even the ones that got constantly hauled to the office due to some mischief or the other. ... hahaha.

I am so proud to see u guys... thank you for the beautiful memories. A teacher's life has been rewarded when the kids she helped nurture are now successful adults..... and hey.... some of them have made me a grandmother many times over!!!! muahahaaha.... I love u guys...

Yup! ...that's it for now... I'm going back to my studio... to try paint some more... good day y'all....

Happy New Year

Hello everybody.... had class this morning... but Zaharah and Zaleha decided to deviate from painting and do decoupage instead.... so decoupage with paper napkins was what we did today :)

It has been a long time since I last did decoupage. Didn't really find it fulfilling as standard patterns are used... and I hate the cutting part anyway hahaha... Felt that it doesn't really allow my creative juices to flow .... (errr that's assuming that I've a reservoir of juices la hahaha!!!) .... but again this is craft... and one needs to be crafty to create something pleasant.... right??? ...right....

So... have a look see at what were produced by them ya... actually turned out pretty good ;) ... don't you think so???