Things I love

I've been following a blogger who likes to post a list of the things she loves every week . It was such an amazing way to define oneself as an artist - I could almost see how the stuff that she liked were translated to her work.

I also realized that I never really thought about the things that I love! :P So I've decided to go ahead and build a list of my own:

1. Patterns

Art by Sandra Javera

Photo by Marvin

2. Hand sewn plushies made from felt
I am obsessed with Redmag's Marvin Minsky Robots.
Sock monkeys are so yesterday.
Made by redmag

3. Doodles

When I doodle, I either draw cake or feet (no bodies). I'm sure there's a psychological reason for all of that but I don't think I want to know.
Art by Fred Blunt

4. KozynDan

A husband and wife team who create the most amazing illustrations.
I still can't believe they color everything in photoshop! Those details are crazy.

5. Miniature Food

I used to collect plastic groceries as a kid.

I carried them in a big bag and spent hours "arranging them".
My brother thought I was nuts.
Photo by PetitPlat

How about you? I think everyone should take a half hour break and make a list of their own :)

More museum work

I think that The Peranakan Museum will always be one of my favourite clients. There are so many intricacies in Peranakan culture, my only complaint is that they rarely ask me to draw in color! :)

Souvenir for preschool program, 2008

Postcard, 2009

Here's one of the few where I actually got to open my paint box. A series of "flat puppets" (they were laminated and printed in A3 paper) which were used to tell young museum visitors about how Peranakan culture started in Malaysia and Singapore.

Peranakan Puppets, 2008
For this series, I actually tried to look for photos of "18th century Chinese and Indian merchants"! Never understimate the power of Google.

If you happen to be passing by Singapore in the future, try to check out The Peranakan Museum. It's worth the trip :)

Illustration Friday - ADAPT

Getaway, 2005

It's hard to adapt to a world that is getting way too crowded :P

Thought that this was an appropriate way to mark the end of summer :)

Winding down

Self portrait, 2009

Summer is ending here in Manila - and so is my brief stint as a full-time writer and illustrator. In two months, I go back to building my "real" career as an academic researcher and will be leaving home for another round of studies in the US.

I remember starting this blog with a resolution to spend more time drawing and finally getting some ideas down to paper. With the weeks winding down and work building up, I wonder if I've been able to do enough?

Be my guest

I was cleaning out my hard drive the other day and found a number of wedding illustrations that friends have requested over the past two years. People say you know you're growing old when you start receiving wedding invites in the mail. I wonder if there's a saying about the number of invites you draw?


One couple wanted to show themselves crossing a rough ocean to represent the challenges they faced in their relationship. I liked the idea but was terrified of drawing waves!


Another couple wanted to focus on the "details" of their relationship. Every little thing in this drawing was special to the couple. My personal favorite is the stuffed lion named DiCaprio.


This bride was so inspired, she actually wrote a children's book about their relationship! It would have been ideal for the groom to do the illustrations but they decided to "outsource" it to me instead :) The entire story is told in his handwriting though :)

I think the fun part of doing these illustrations was the challenge of helping the couple "implement" their vision of how they wanted their invites to look. Relationships are defined in so many ways, it was fun to look back and see how each invite turned out so different from the other.

Illustration Friday - PARADE

I was quite pleased to know that the theme for this week was a perfect fit for a big book I did last month.

The Drummer in the Band, 2009

The little puppy didn't mean to disrupt the parade. It was just that the drums were disturbing his afternoon nap!

The Adventures of Zombo

People associate summer with a lot of things like refreshing halo-halo, ripe mangoes and trips to the beach. But what I love the most about this two-month break is how it inspires the funniest "family projects".

This year, my brother started things off by deciding to document our trip to Phuket through the experiences of Zombo - a plushie doll of a corporate man turned into the terrifying undead.

My brother made Zombo by painting his body on some cheese cloth and stuffing him with random scraps of cloth.

Yet, while Zombo was technically a "doll", he couldn't seem to fit in with the others.

So he spent most of the trip on his own while we took turns babysitting him.

In the end, Zombo didn't really scare anyone - but he did attract a lot of long stares and a few muffled giggles.
I guess we'll see how it goes in his next trip :)

More photos of Zombo's adventures here.