Pentel Brushpen

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#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.

 

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Magical Cat

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#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.

 

 

 

Flowers in the Mud

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#sketches #sketchbook #illustrations #expatliving, Floral, poetry, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolor, watercolorflowers

Old Portuguese Quarters in Macau

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#illustration, architecture, blackandwhite, brushpen, churches, cobbledstreets, colonialarchitecture, europe, europeanstreets, macau, portugal, sketchblog, sketchbook

In the blistering heat of South East Asian summers, the visual of a hilly little Portuguese village is a bit incongruous. But it’s also somewhat like time travel. In the center of Macau, away from the gaudy casinos and futuristic lights, is the colonial Portuguese quarter — full of dark old churches, tiled and cobbled streets, and pots of hot pink bougainvillea and ranunculus.

My husband and I sat here on green park benches dating back to the 1800s. He had a cream soda to cool off, while I did a quick sketch.

Everybody Says I’m Fine!

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#illustration, blackandwhite, singaporeartist, sketchblog

Mugshot Monday

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#art, #illustration, #singapore, #tea, coffee, coffeemugs, espresso, mugshotmonday, singaporeartist, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolor

I am obsessed with china. Especially tea cups and coffee mugs. These are actually pretty accurate representations of all the mugs I own. O and if you are going to give me a mug as a present, please resist the ones with cheesy/corny/lovely messages in cheesy/corny/lovely typography. The thought of reading something deep before my first sip of morning coffee is just too much for me.

New Baby

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#friendship #girlfriends, #illustration, #singapore, baby, mommy, newbaby, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolor

Our good friends had the most perfect little baby girl a few months ago. It’s such a joy to watch them watch her grow. Every day is a new adventure.

Happy Place

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#books, #bookworm, #cake, #pets, #reading, #sketches #sketchbook #illustrations #expatliving, #weekend, blackandwhite, coffee, sketchblog

It doesn’t take much for me to create my happy place.

Books. Good coffee or tea. Baked goods. And Lola.

It takes even less for Lola. She just needs a soft spot for her bum.

Have a good weekend, everyone 🙂

You Learn

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#illustration, art, artist, borges, forlorn, penandink, poem, poetry, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolo, women

You Learn by Jorge Luis Borges

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,

And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn…
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure…

That you really are strong

And you really do have worth…

And you learn and learn…

With every good-bye you learn.

Be Gentle

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#hair, begentle, goldsharpie, illustrator, sketchblog, sketchbook, watercolor, watercolorflowers

Everyone I know (myself included) is always beating themselves up: over where they are in their careers, what they could have done differently about lost loves, how they could have been there more for a parent, how they could be eating healthier, lost a little weight, been more hardworking, bought a house, been wiser with their money.

So sometimes, it’s important to remind yourself that you are only human and you’re doing the best you can. Be gentle with yourself. You are all you’ve got in this world.

Tea Snob

Tags

#illustration, artist, blackandwhite, darjeelingtea, goldpen, goldpolkadots, sharpieart, sketchblog, sketchbook, teacups, teapot, teasnob

Thought you should know that I am an awful tea snob. I inherited this from my parents, who carry their own tea when travelling, lest they have to drink Assam or worse, Malayasian tea (oh, the horror!)

Darjeeling first or second flush, no milk and very little sugar. Water on tea, not tea in water. And yes, absolutely no boiling.

For tea with milk, the fall flush, which has a more robust, muddy flavor. And by milk, I do mean a spot, really.