First kiss

Tags

#illustration, drawing, eduardogaleano, firstkiss, firstlove, kiss, love, singaporeartist, teenager

“We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine”.

I drew this rough and quick in 2014. Never published it because I didn’t think it deserved to be seen. But, what the hell…

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Outfit Goals

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, #sketches #sketchbook #illustrations #expatliving, fashionfail, feeling, OOTD, outfitgoals, singaporeartist, watercolor, zigkuretake

When you think you are looking fly and your outfit is rocking but it isn’t.

If anything, your outfit is very grandma.

 

 

A Singapore Summer

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, art, singaporeartist, sketchbook, springsummer, tropicalpalms, watercolor

“I stepped from plank to plank

so slow and cautiously;

the stars about my head I felt,

about my feet the sea.”

— Emily Dickinson

 

How to beat the blues

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, catillustration, catlady, girlwithcat, singaporeartist, watercolor

If you’re blue, just drape a warm and fuzzy animal on your person. One of two things will happen: said animal will ignore you, then scratch you real hard if they don’t want to be used as a scarf.Or, said animal will lick your face and give you affection if they don’t mind being used as a scarf.

Either way, you will be distracted from your blueness and feel much better.

Illustrated Flowers

Tags

#illustration, exoticgarden, Floral, flowers, ink, micador, purpleflowers, singaporeartist, sketchbook, spring

My mum-in-law came to visit us and gave me a small set of six  aqua painter pens by Micador. The description says they have the texture and opacity of acrylic ink (true) and can be diluted to get transparency like watercolor (not true). Anyhoo, I’ve been experimenting with them on my little Japanese moleskine and they’re quite wonderful. I just doodled these flowers freehand and then went over some bits with the black hightech-point V7. I love how bright and crazy they turned out, like some exotic greenhouse which exists only in my imagination.

 

 

Singapore Street Fashion – 3

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, fashionillustration, mensfashion, mensscarves, orchardroad, singaporeartist, singaporestreetstle, streetfashion, streetstyle, watercolor

Singapore men’s street fashion usually comprises shorts and a tshirt, though not many shy away from color. Or, sports wear.

On the other end of the spectrum are men like these two dapper gentlemen seen on Orchard Road, the fashion mecca of our little island. A bit weather inappropriate, but I am sure they were indoors where the air conditioning was super strong. And that amount of gel in hair conveys a serious dedication to looking good.

They did look good, like they had stepped out of a fashion magazine, or were hipsters who had very rich parents.. Like they were super into themselves.

Watercolor Leaves

Tags

#illustration, #tropical, foliage, leaves, palmleaves, singaporeartist, sketchbook, summer, watercolor

Yes, it’s as boring as it sounds.

Literally, a few leaves. My body is so tired I cannot think straight, let alone paint. All the weekends are flying by, the work week is hectic, every other week family is coming over from India to stay with us (not that I don’t enjoy this) and I have started taking some fitness classes. So this kind of uninspiring practice type work, sans stories, is all I have for now.

Black ink flower

Tags

#illustration, bengalisinsingapore, black ink, floralillustration, pentelbrushpen, sheuliphool, singaporeartist, sketchbook, sreetamaray

  
So, a little blob of ink turned into a flower when I wasn’t paying attention. I haven’t had too much time on my hands and I was feeling so guilty for not practicing; then this happened 🙂 It turned out a lot like one of my favorite flowers, which only grow in my beloved home town. Sheuli flowers, which fall from the tall gangly trees and carpet the grass beneath in a layer of in pristine white, dotted with a tiny orange center. Everything about these flowers is pleasant. The way they look – so small but so perfectly formed; the way they smell – like a fresh dewy morning; the time of year when they bloom – the start of autumn when early mornings are marked by soft light and a little nip in the air. 

Pentel Brushpen

Tags

#illustration, blackandwhite, blankink, leaves, pentelbrushpen, singaporeartist, sketchblog

So this is the sprig of leaves I had drawn freehand, with my new love – the pentel ink brushpen.

Sketchbook has been coming along a tad slow due to a bunch of reasons.

I was a bit unwell, my parents were visiting and I’ve just been super busy overall. But more frequent uploads from now on, promise.

 

The Trees Outside my Terrace

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, Asia, bestweather, leaves, perspectivedrawing, singaporeartist, sky, springtime, treecanopy, watercolor

If you lie on your back, or lean back all the way on the sofa – this is what you see. A fistful of sky and a green canopy.

This one took a bit of time. But the feeling of finishing is indescribable. The best part about this blog is that I can share my excitement at learning new things.

If you are an illustrator, perhaps you could try the Zig Kuretake brush pens. I think they’re awesome.

 

 

Coffee and Evenings

Tags

#illustration, #tea, adda, bengali, coffee, india, pentelbrushpen, singaporeartist, sketchbook, watercolor

My friend P and I often drink our evening coffee together. Several days a week, when she makes coffee, she texts me asking if I want one. I do the same too. It’s kind of like an end of work day catch-up. We get the irritants out of our system, share the small, insignificant victories of our day and then go back to being wives and mothers. A quick little breather, for which I am ever so thankful.

Years ago, this used to be a part of Bengali culture. People met for an evening “adda” (chit-chat) over tea somewhere down the street or up on the roof. Over time, as we became more “modern”, this bit of daily routine was lost. I’ve never lamented it’s loss, because I have never known why it was important or why older people valued this time of the day so much.

Now I know. And I wish more people would go back to what was essentially a psychological exercise in letting go of the day’s worries. Some of the things of our past were actually way ahead of its times 🙂

 

 

Magical Cat

Tags

#illustration, catillustration, catlady, magicalcat, rescuecat, singaporeartist, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolor, writing

 

Some people think that adopting little babies or furbabies is a favor to them. Because they need to be saved. Because it’s charity that will earn people brownie points with Sky Daddy. Like my friend, Ananya, who adopted a “rescue kitty”.

“I just wanted to do something charitable, you know? I really needed to feel good about myself”, she said.

She was going through a divorce, had been made redundant at her job and had just lost a chunk of her social circle due to this change of circumstance. She was feeling worthless and hadn’t laughed at anything for a very long time. In her heart, she believed she never would. She had even considered ending her life.

On kitty’s first night, she followed Ananya into the bathroom and stared at her while she sat down to pee. Then kitty tried to get into the panties around Ananya’s ankles and got horribly tangled and distressed. Ananya heard someone laughing — and a few seconds later found herself shaking, her belly jiggling softly, her head thrown back. She was feeling happy. Not amused or silly. But red-faced belly-shaking happy. Kitty wanted to be with her, even when she was peeing. Kitty needed her to free him from a panty tangle. Kitty was upset if she went out and seemed like he had missed her every moment she was gone.

She named kitty Magic. Her magical furry friend who made her feel needed and loved and followed her around like she was the most important person in the world. A magical “rescue cat”, who saved her life.

 

 

 

Amrapali Navaratna Earrings (aka, a massive hint)

Tags

#illustration, #singapore, amrapali, art, design, earrings, india, jewellery, jewelry, navratna, pearls, rubies, singaporeartist, sketchbook, watercolor

 

I have been a huge fan of Amrapali jewelry since 2006, when I first saw a silver lotus ring, with pink tourmaline buds growing out of a vine, at the gift shop of a hotel in Udaipur. It was love at first sight ( I have a huge thing for jewelry. Especially traditional Indian jewelry) and I have been in love with their art ever since.

While browsing their online shop ( I do this often), I found the most exquisite gold navaratna earrings with a pearl drop. Navaratna means “nine gems”. In India, these nine jewels represent the solar system. A ruby for the sun, pearl for the moon, red coral for Mars, emerald for the planet Mercury, yellow sapphire for Jupiter, a diamond for Venus, blue sapphire for Saturn, hessonite for the ascending moon and a cat’s eye for the descending moon. The ruby is at the center with the others surrounding it in a particular order. This is supposed to bring luck to the wearer. Traditionally, I suppose only royalty could afford it and maybe they needed a lot of luck, what with all the wars and stuff.

I need luck too, obvi. But also I need it because it’s so so pretty! The only trouble is, it’s frightfully expensive. So I figured having a drawing of it, tracing its curves and lines, will be kind of like having it 🙂

Abstract Watercolor Series 2: Oceanspray

Tags

abstractart, beachlife, blue, colourway, ocean, sea, singaporeartist, society6, watercolor

This is the second abstract art piece I made for my products. I think I like this one more than the first. I am calling it “Ocean Spray” but then, I kind of like “Lillies of the Valley” too. The purple/lavender splotches look  bit like flowers to me. Which do you think is better?

I am not sure if this could be called abstract art, or just colourways, or maybe, patterns. But I’m having SO much fun making them. Plus, as usual, they look really amazing on the home decor products. I mean, who wouldn’t want a shower curtain like this? Or leggings!

This stuff is on 20% discount and free worldwide shipping right now.

 

 

The Small Print in Dreams

Tags

#painting, #woman, abstractart, art, dearabby, embroiderypainting, india, mixedmedia, singaporeartist, singaporeartscene, singaporeillustrator, southasia, sreetamaray, Watercolors, writing

“Rose-colored glasses are never made in bifocals, because nobody wants to read the small print in dreams.”

Mixed Media 3: Brushpen, Watercolor, Thread Embroidery