It reminds me how fortunate and privileged I am to be able to go anywhere in the world. While on my adventures, I become engrossed with meeting new people — fellow travelers, locals, and transplants. Being able to chat with strangers even for fleeting, short-lived moments, are opportunities to build connections. There’s so much to learn from other people, and so much joy that can come from just a few exchanged words.

Smile, have fun attempting to speak a foreign language, and laugh a lot. These were tricks that helped me have a fabulous time in Mexico. I’ve been rediscovering myself in the process, and I’ve also been revisiting the key reasons why I love traveling: new sights, new tastes, new perspectives.

Phew! It feels good to get that out of the way first. Umm… yeeaaahh. I’m pretty sure I said that exactly 10 years ago when I got my acceptance letter for UCLA, btw. Well, I just got accepted into the Art Center of Pasadena’s Illustration program for this Fall, and I’m moving down south again!

I’m ecstatic about the things to come, about fully concentrating on making art, meeting other movers-and-shakers who are equally thrilled about creating brilliant work! Is Brent coming with me? Undetermined! Do I know what I’ll be bringing with me? Not really! Do I know where I’m gonna live? Nope! Lots of uncertainties, but I’m absolutely certain that there is much to look forward to!

I feel like I’ve been going through a metamorphosis these last few months. My body’s gone from being broken and dysfunctional, to healing almost completely, then taking a few steps back to being frail, and now back on the road to recovery. Compared to others’ situations, I know mine isn’t that bad, but using my hands IS my livelihood. I can’t remember what it FEELS like to not worry about picking a heavy-ish box, not to question how long I can sit at a computer, not to constantly remind myself to take a break, take a break, take a break. This is all for the good, though. I know it.

In the last six months, I feel like my body’s been taken apart and slowly coming back together. With the repetitive strain injury in my shoulders/hands/wherever the hell it is, in conjunction with getting pretty sick last week and my ever-shifting teeth with braces, I’ve really come to value my body in ways I didn’t appreciate before. This is the only vessel I have for the rest of my life — I really can’t risk messing it up any more than it already is. Like anything else I cherish, I’ve been learning to nurture my body more. Along the way, I’ve come to understand that my stress is carried out throughout my body and one of the keys to healing is to just.chill.out.

1. For starters, I’m taking regular keyboard breaks. Everyone always recommends this, yet it’s sooo hard to develop the habit to take breaks. Not taking breaks regularly is what put me in this mess to begin with. Nothing at work/on the internet is worth breaking my body further. For every 30 minutes that I’m on the computer, I take 10-15 minutes to break away from the keyboard, doing some stretches and exercises to activate muscles I don’t use enough.

   This helps me break away from stressful work, get some good air into my bloodstream, and take some time for myself. One of my favorite breaks is to lay on the floor for 15 minutes, literally taking some weight off my shoulders — a great rejuvenator!

2. I swimming at least three times a week. I’m not that good at it but I love it! It’s incredibly therapeutic for me to calmly flow across the water. I concentrate on regulating my breathing and working on some of my stroke techniques (heh heh).

   This helps me calm my mind while working out my entire body. The regulated breathing takes me away from the stressful to-do lists that exist outside of the pool. When I’m in the pool, I only concentrate on swimming and being in the present. I love swimming.

3. I’m surrounding myself with positive people and thoughts.The power of happiness and laughter can work wonders. I’m certain that seeing the good things in life will help my body heal faster. Cuz we are the champions. No time for (emotional) losers. Nor negative nancy’s.

   This also includes making time for fun! And also means I’m trying to bitch less, and be less judgmental of others. No good for nobody.

4. Acupuncture.Ugghhhhh! I absolutely don’t like it at all. At this point, I’m open to trying it out to see if it’ll help stimulate my body a bit more to heal more successfully. It’s not that I’m scared of needles. I just don’t like how it feels.

   I’m seeing my family acupuncturist twice a week, with about 30 needles per session. :/ I don’t like the ones that go in my hands. On the plus side, the doctor only speaks Mandarin. So, I’ve been learning to hear Mandarin, and am learning some new phrases!

5. Speaking of fears, I’m doing more things outside of my comfort zone. Acupuncture, for one. (Attempting) to let go of things that are no biggy. Eating foods that I don’t usually like (onions, runny eggs — YUCK!). Trying not to be scared about flexing some of my language skills, no matter how minimal it may be. I might even try a roller coaster again.

   I believe acknowledging these boundaries/restrictions I create for myself is a crucial step seeing the things that are prohibiting me from growing. The next step is to challenge myself to address those discomforts, face my fears, and do something about it.

6. Making sure I smile more! It’s the easiest path to happiness and to spread the love to others~ Really. Smiling is contagious and is built into our nature!

My body’s been going through a roller coaster, but this healing process has become much more than just fixing my body. These last six months have been dedicated to fixing MY SELF — body, mind, soul. I’ve loaded the upcoming few months with travels and outtings that will be full of laughter and many, many smiles. Like all challenges in my life, I know this chapter is something I’ll totally overcome, and this will serve to be a crucial lesson to learn from.

Lucky for me, I’ll get to carry this out into my next chapter — attending my dream art school in Pasadena!

I’m incredibly optimistic about this year and the things to come. I’m revisiting some of my favorite hobbies. This year, I’m making an effort to take more pics, write more, and etch out much more time for family and friends by planning fun events. Can’t wait! ^_^

Here are some recent pics that make me happy. Enjoy!

Brent and I at visiting the wonderful aquarium at the SF Academy of Science in late-December

Taking Phuong out to pig out at my favorite burger joint at the moment, True Burger!

New Years Eve with some of my favorite peeps from high school at The New Parish

I love these ladies. This totally captures our energy!

Cutie!

How could I resist?

Mussels from Slow, an incredibly delicious restaurant in Berkeley that supports "slow food" (opposite of fast food), uses local organic goods, and is still very affordable. My hidden gem in Berkeley!

Homemade smores from Phil's Sliders in Berkeley. Comes with a glass of milk! Mmmmmmmmm good!

An intriguing building at 16th & Carolina St. in SF

Lights at the club turn on. "THAT'S what y'all look like?"

Sesame creme brulee at Yoshi's Oakland. Yum.

Baking again! Made some Maple Syrup Pancake Muffins (per JoytheBaker.com). We'll see if they're tasty :o

Hallo, love. <3

Siiiiggghhh, if only it were true! Sadly, I’ve been stationed at home, merely bitten by the travel bug, longing for the days of traveling again. As fun as that sounds, I’ve been working feverishly on many goals.

Discovering My Creative Process

I took an art class last semester that pushed my growth as an artist — I loved it! “Critique and the Creative Process,” the class was called. The class was led by Seth Eisen at Berkeley City College (along with three amazing TAs). It was certainly the most challenging class I’ve taking through the Peralta Colleges. I learned a lot about my own creative process, like:

• I need my work area to be CLEAN before I start working. I need to start with a clean slate around my canvas (only to make it all messy while creating!)
• It’s really hard for me to work with no music. Lack of music is very distracting for me, and the type of music I listen to can vary depending on my mood. Though, 80′s and 90′s hits are always a win in my books!
• Writing is a huge part of my creative process. I didn’t realize this before. I need to do “brain dumps” of all my thoughts and ideas. (When I realized this portion, I knew I had to start blogging again! My writing is so rusty!) From there, I pull together the points I find most intriguing, and then begin sketching compositions that unify the main ideas.
• Sketches of the piece are general guidelines. Leaving room for change and modifications is very helpful for me, and encourages me to go with my gut instincts while painting.

I created many new pieces that I’m very proud of! Check out my Portfolio to see if you like them, too!

Working on My Portfolio for Art School Submission

This has been something I’ve been planning for a while. Even while I was still working at Embark and taking night classes, I knew I wanted to pursue art/design/the creative field. It’s something I was very scared of doing when I was younger: afraid of rejection, scared of criticism, an overall fear of not being enough. Since 2008, I’ve been building my technique/skills and knowledge to be much more confident in my artwork.

I recently found my old notes from my unemployed months of 2009, plotting my path towards art school!

This is my art school bulletin board. Notes, to-dos, plans, and checklists!

Finding a job in the web design field was the perfect medium for me to move from a front-end programming job into something that was more focused on visual design. I picked up a tremendous amount of knowledge from the team at Waxcreative, and it helped me hone in on my design skills overall.

I recently attended National Portfolio Day and I received GREAT feedback from several schools! The admissions counselors were impressed by how professional my portfolio was presented. Phew! I spent a lot of time on making my portfolio clean and tidy, so I’m very grateful that it received very good feedback.

• I had professional pics taken of my art pieces (by Dana Davis Photography, Ringler Studios, and the fabulous Brent Tam)! Good pics of your pieces go a LONG way!
• Had the option of creating a printed portfolio. I just recently saw that Noah Bradley had his portfolio books printed through Blurb.com, so I went with them. I loved the results! (Also received much extra help from Eugenia Man who has plethora of knowledge with printing photo books as part of the fabulous photo packages she provides!)
• Received invaluable feedback from my friend Henry Kim-Han who also went through this same portfolio-building process. Immensely helpful to get input from people who have an eye for which of your pieces are stronger!
• Had all the titles, captions, chapter pages, artist statement proofread by several people.
• Plus, it helps to have one of the best partners in the world. Infinite thank you’s to Brent, who made all the meals and put up with all my messes (tangible and emotional) during my crazy days. Never got angry at me, always understood I was under pressure, and 100% supportive. <3 x 9999999^999999999

Combating a Repetitive Stress Hand Injury

I place this last on my list because I really want this to take last priority. But I can’t deny that it greatly crippled my abilities in the last three months. And I’d be a complete liar if I said these weren’t trying times.

In mid-October, I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my right hand’s middle finger joint while working at the comp. I assure you it’s not from flicking people off–I’m really slow at singling out my middle finger, I promise.The pain began to creep up towards my wrist, I started feeling the pain in my second and forth fingers. There was a weird tingling behind my elbow. And my shoulders became as stiff as rocks.

I began seeing a doctor and physical therapist. They said I had a repetitive stress injury from keyboarding/mousing. More precisely, my lower cervical and upper trapezius muscles had been overworked due to reaching too far for my keyboard and mouse, and my nerves were extra sensitive (thus the pain, tingles, numb feelings). In addition to completely revamping my work station by an ergonomist, I was on a modified work schedule. For a while, for every 30 minutes that I worked, I had to take a 30 minute break, for a maximum work day of 4 hours (which meant I only worked for 2 keyboarding hours). I was instructed to lay down during my breaks to ensure that my neck had breaks — literally taking the weight off my shoulders.

From October through December, I felt pretty incapable, insufficient, and my morale was at the lowest its been in a while. It’s not like my brain was cloudly like we often are when we’re sick. My brain was fine, I was still thinking the same, running through the many lists of things I needed to do. All the things I COULDN’T do. My brain was running 10,000 times faster than my body could keep up with. There were days where I couldn’t even use my right hand to lift a manila folder. I couldn’t eat with my right hand, couldn’t drive with it, and I couldn’t even put some papers in my backpack because my right hand couldn’t hold the bag open. I couldn’t work at work, I couldn’t cook or clean at home, I couldn’t work on my portfolio, I couldn’t work on any kind of art without my right hand. During the lowest points, I felt like I was a waste of space, and that the injury would last forever and I would never have my right hand back again. I spent many days vegetating on the floor, watching films I’d been meaning to watch, and regularly slumping at the local bar at 11AM.

A "get well soon" letter from my left hand to my right hand. Woohoo for learning how to write with lefty!

I became religious about my physical therapy exercises. I began to look on the bright side of things, and I started to train my left hand to do a lot of things. (Left hand is so much better at driving now; I can do most chores with left hand; I’m still trying to figure out how to hold chopsticks with my left hand. Btw, noodle soups are extremely difficult to eat if you don’t have a dominant hand to use……) Slowly but surely, my injury was getting better, and my muscles were getting stronger. I was slowly able to work on my portfolio and art again.

I don’t think not many people really understood what was going on with my body and my emotional state at that time, but I am very grateful for those that were unquestionably supportive and for keeping my chin up. A million thank you’s. Additionally, I wouldn’t have been able to make it through without Brent, who helped me through all my whirlwind states of insecurities, whether it  manifested itself as anger or intense moments of panic attacks. I love you, and thank you for letting me lean on you when I needed help the most — even though I kicked and screamed when refusing any help to preserve any sense of self worth.

Even through all this, I eventually got my portfolio done, printed, and reviewed with flying colors. Not to be self-boasting or to build my ego, I’m very proud that I was able to complete my portfolio the way I envisioned it to come out, with even better reactions than I expected. It’s a testament to really putting one’s mind to something and doing everything possible to make it happen. (Okay, maybe I wanted to boast a little. Oh well, I humbly think I deserve a little mini-ego booster after all the hurdles that overcame.)

So, now I’m writing my essays, finalizing everything for my applications before I send them in. *fingers crossed!* Wish me luck! (A thousand thank you’s to Tarrin for helping me with revising my essays and making it all spiffy and presentable! <3 you!)

Oh yeah, this new design has been a project I needed to finish before sending applications off, too. Take a peek around and enjoy! <3

So nostalgic! (My favorite part of flipping thru Wizard magazines were all the hand-drawn envelopes that people sent it~)

Assignment: Anomaly and Bridge Tones

Part 1: Create 3-like compositions, using a tightly unified color field. e.g. complementary tones, analogous or monochromatic tones, limited value range.

Part 3: Change two of the existing colors to create bridge tones that will soften the starkness of the anomaly.

I wanted to do something simple, since I had to do 3 iterations of the same composition. What better to do than a tribute to the Super Mushroom?

Here’s what I came up with:

Final Product: Mario Mushrooms

Alllrriiiggght, so I didn’t really follow the assignment! I added a bunch of white to the bridge tones for fear of the mushroom looking too toxic! I changed the golden yellow sun streaks in the background to a yellow-greenish tone (but with LOTS of white), and the mushroom spots from red to a very slight purple (tho it looks blue next to the blue mushroom base color).

I had a LOT of fun working on this project! I might go back and redo the same composition with more popular Mario mushroom colors: the new super mushroom (red base, white spots), the 1-up (neon green base, white spots)

Assignment: Proportional Inventory Study

Part 1: Make a proportional inventory of an image that has an easily countable number of tones.

Part 2: Create a composition of your own using the colors and proportions of the inventory.

This is my FAVORITE piece at the moment!
For Part 1, a few days earlier, I had stumbled upon this image by strongstuff

Optimus Prime Commission by strongstuff

I just thought this Optimus Prime image was AMAZING: blocky style, and minimal colors used to denote the curves and shadows around Optimus’ form. I decided to use this piece for my study.

Here is my Proportional Inventory, breaking down the proportions of how many colors there are in the Optimus Prime piece, and also how MUCH of it exists in the piece all together. (Ex: 20% white, 5% light gray, etc.)

NOTE: Depending on your computer monitor’s settings, the colors might not match. My desktop monitor’s colors are all kinds of whack so I used to my new laptop to view the Optimus Prime pic. From there, I spent a while mixing the colors on my palette until it matched closely the colors on my laptop screen.

Then came the fun part!! I needed to figure out what Nintendo character was mostly blue and red… At first thought, of course I thought of Mario! But I had a few problems: Mario is mostly red with blue overalls, plus he has skin tones, which was not part of the Optimus Prime color inventory! I texted Norvelle, Brent, and Greg in class and we came up with a few options: Mario, Yoshis, Sonic(!!). As much as I wanted to do a piece on Sonic <3 <3 <3, I realized that I could do something with Megaman. Megaman has very minimal skin so it would be a nice experiment!

But what could off-set Megaman’s mostly blue body with red?

Here’s what I came up with ;)

Final product: Megaman+Protoman

Protoman’s red base served as a perfect balance for Megaman’s blue. Being Megaman’s brother, I found it appropriate to do a split down the middle between the two. The ultimate battle between Good and Evil!

Result? Bubbling New Ideas For Future Pieces!

After I started taking on the assignments with subjects that were more of my style (illustrations, more graphic/character-based), I concentrated and spent more time working on my pieces. I noticed that I enjoyed it x100 more doing fan art! Soooo…

My new project will be to create a series of classic videogame fan art!

Have any ideas or requests? Please comment and let me know what characters or game you would like to see!

Oh, and if I’m not already familiar with the game, I promise to play it to learn the ridiculous intricacies of it. (ex: Ninja Gaiden’s CHEATER birds. BULL.SHIT.)

We’ve all heard it since the day we were born. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: As children, we’re asked the grand question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” From that moment on, we’re taught the idea that we can do ANY and EVERYthing that we want, so long as we want it and work hard enough. I long realized that these ideas and dreams usually dissipate by the time we reach our adult lives.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I know a handful of people that knew EXACTLY what they’ve wanted to be since childhood, and they’ve worked hard from day one to achieve it. To name a few: Steven H, Sarah, Cotroneo. They’ve always had their vision on their dreams, and they stuck to it.

This is something I highly respect and highly admire, mostly because this comes so rarely in the lives that I know. It also hits home in my own life, reflecting how long it’s taken me to pursue my own dreams.

My Dislike for Financial Dependence

When we’re children, when we answer the question of what we want to be, we don’t understand the social and financial implications of what those careers entail. We also don’t know that a few years later, we’ll soon come to learn and become familiar with the rigid conforms of our American society.

Eventually, someone comes along and tells you that your dream job isn’t right, it doesn’t pay enough, and that it’s not PRESTIGIOUS enough. Your immigrant parents will tell you that they came to America for you to live your dream… as a doctor or lawyer only, of course.

All through life, people will reinforce the idea that you’re supposed to be on a track to success. That is, FINANCIAL success. You should have a job with reasonable pay; if you don’t, you should be trying to look for a higher paying position. If you’re unemployed, you should be looking for a job.

But what of our dreams? So many of us are raised with parents that told us, “Go to school, study hard, get good grades so you can have a good paying job. Then, you can be happy and rest carefree during retirement.” RETIREMENT? Really? THAT late in life? Assuming I’ll even LIVE to reach retirement?

Pushing Away the Dream

Anyway… my American Dream.

I’ve been lucky growing up. My Chinese immigrant parents never shunned me from doing art. Luckily, I’ve always had their support for any subject I wanted to study. (Maybe it’s because I’m the 3rd child and my older brothers were well on their way to making sufficient moneys?) In fact, my mom tells me that I should have majored in art in college since it’s what I’m ultimately best at.

So, why didn’t I?

To be honest, I’ve pushed art away for most of my life. I was too frightened. Of what? I guess the idea that you put SO much time into a piece, and people stand around and critique it (negative connotation), with me needing to know how to TALK about my own piece. I used to be extremely introverted and the idea of this critique process was beyond scary.

As a result, I mostly kept my art to myself. Practicing perfection by copying drawings and photos, I did this as my own private hobby. I would only show people finished work, PERFECTED work.

Finding a Place in the American Dream as an Artist

Over and over, my mom’s words repeat in my mind as a form of self-encouragement and confidence: you should have pursued art a long time ago.

As of recently, I’ve learned to embrace my skills and love for art. And I’m loving art classes, where I receive a lot of positive feedback and different advice from my instructors and peers.

However, I’ve also come to a point where I’m unsure of what to do with my life. It’s nothing big, but it’s something to think about. As always, it’s the challenge of finding a balance between my dreams and the financial implications of this pursuit.

I want to stay in school, continue taking art classes, spend the time to develop my skills and technique, maybe go for an art degree.

But I STRONGLY feel the pressures of society (which are self-imposed, of course), that tell me to go get a full-time job, which would take time away from my schooling.

If I look for a job, I would ideally look for a job that would help enhance my knowledge and skills in my art development, but I feel like the only opportunities right now are for people who have a lot more experience in the realm.

Ideally, I’d like to just stay in school and concentrate on at least getting an Associates of Art degree. Maybe later I can take that and transfer to a 4-year college. I’d try to find a part-time job for some income to fund myself.

Financially, though, will it be enough? I need to find ways to support myself while staying on track with my goals as much as possible.

As much as I dislike basing my life around money, I think this moment of unemployment is CRUCIAL for me to budget myself properly, and to truly watch my spending. I need to figure out how to meet more local artists, I need to figure out how to sell my work, and I need to figure out how else I can get funding for my schooling.

I need to reach my goal!

After 20-something years of pushing it off, I’m glad to be in a place where I’m comfortable and KNOW I want to pursue art. Now, I need to find the means to do it.

Do you have suggestions, resources, ideas? I’m 100% open to anything you can share to help me out. I have a long way to go and I’m open to all the help I can get! :)

Additionally, I know I’m fortunate enough to even HAVE this option. I hope and wish everyone could strive for their dreams and actually invest their time in the things they’re most passionate about. But I’m beginning to understand more and more this dance of balancing one’s dreams with the necessity of money in order to achieve those dreams. As much as I hate the interdependency of the two, this has become fervently apparent lately.

This class is led by Anna Vaughn, and focuses on the interaction of color as developed by Josef Albers. The studies that we’ve experimented with, learned from, and gained immense knowledge from are skills and techniques that I’ve really come to value.

I have to say that I’ve missed out on a lot, not knowing or understanding, or even being comfortable with color!  Only a few months ago, I was the person that said: “Wooowww! It’s SUCH a nice day out! ….. I think I’ll wear GRAY!” (Okay, I admit that it was only a few weeks ago, and I actually still really love my plain black, white, and gray colored clothes.)

Nevertheless, this class has taught me a lot about how to utilize color in my art pieces, which was always a challenge for me in the past without any formal training. Ever spend weeks on an awesome outline drawing, only to mess it up when you plop down some color you realize doesn’t work at all? Yeah, that was me. This class has taught me a lot about how to use and how to MAKE colors work to enhance your composition, and how to create the feel and mood of your piece.

But I think the greatest lesson this class has taught me is how to be COMFORTABLE with color. Now, even if I “mess up” and use a color I wasn’t originally intending, I’m not afraid to experiment and explore different mixtures to create a completely different composition than expected.

Below are several lessons I’ve learned that I’d like to share with you, along with the works I created to complete these experiments. I’m proud of my pieces, and I hope you enjoy them too!

Make One Color Appear As Two

This was one of our first lessons that shocks me even now! For me, this was the phenomenon that got me fascinated about our perception and understanding of color, and how much it exists in our everyday world (yet we know so little about)!

The exercise is to make one color look like two completely different colors. This is done by changing the background colors. Here’s an example:

Assignment: Make one color appear as two different colors (by changing the background colors)

Notice the small, olive-green square in the middle of these two bigger green and blue squares. Because of the contrast in hue, value, and saturation of the green and blue background squares, it makes the smaller, olive-green squares look like two different colors.

(Don’t trust me? If you’re using Firefox, download the Colorzilla plugin and use the eyedropper to see if the colors are the same.)

Isn’t that AWESOME!?

Transparency

The illusion of transparency was a very fun project for me! Maybe it’s the challenge of having detailed, precise lines and borders in order to successfully create the illusion, or maybe it’s just because it looks so cool!

The illusion of transparency is created by slightly altering the tone of your colors to make it appear like there’s a transparent sheet (like a photo gel) on top. Here’s what I did:

The Illusion of Transparency (03-26-09)

I first laid down the main brighter yellow ochre and purple, then laid down the darker yellow ochre and darker purple tones (the circlular and triangular dark shades).

For the gouache paints that we’re using, it’s really important to lay down each tone separately. Otherwise, the color/tone on the bottom might come up and the illusion won’t work. Each have to be laid down separately, and you have to make sure the lines and borders are precise in matching up.

I also learned the illusion of transparency and space. That is, creating the illusion of a transparency behind or in front of an object. Here, I created an illusion of a red ribbon flowing behind and in front of a few white transparent lines:

The Illusion of Transparency and Space (03-26-09)

To create this illusion, follow the same technique as the above Illusion of Transparency exercise: lay down each tone separately, and make sure your lines are precise.

Additionally, to make the ribbon look like it’s flowing BEHIND the white transparent lines, mix the two together and add a little more of the foreground object’s color. So, I mixed red and white (making a pinkish color), and added a little more WHITE since that’s in front.

Similarly, to make the ribbon look like it’s flowing IN FRONT of the white transparent lines, mix the two together and add a little more of the foreground object’s color. So, I mixed the red and white, and added a little more of the RED since the ribbon is in front of the white.

Pretty simple, eh? :)

Developing a Palette

Here’s another fun project I’ve really enjoyed: Create 3 pieces with the same composition, and use different reds, yellows, blues for each one. (For any greens, purples, oranges that you use for each piece, you must mix the primaries that you’ve chosen to use for that piece to create those greens, purples, oranges, etc).

Ready, Set, Go -- 3 Primaries Palette (04-27-09)

Left: I used yellow ochre, crimson red, ultramarine blue
Middle: Lemon yellow, brilliant red, gray
Right: Medium yellow, burnt sienna, sky blue

Each piece is 3×4 inches and was very fun to patiently work in all the details, and slight shading. I had no idea that the colors would come out so differently for each piece, so it was definitely a great surprise! Each came out very special and unique in its own way.

Which one do you like more? I’m drawn towards the middle one the most!

Altering Palette

I just completed this today! Create 2 pieces with the same composition. Paint the first piece normally. For the second piece, use an additive color for each color used. The result will make the colors in the piece look more unified.

The additive color I used was a blueish gray.

Boxer (04-29-09)

Teehee! Isn’t my boxer guy cute? I couldn’t stop giggling when I was painting this!

Have any feedback about any of these pieces? Let me know what you think!
Want to see more of my previous work? Feel free to visit my Portfolio!

MOVING FROM THE PAST:
The first week of January, I spent prepping my team for my 2-week vacation off in Hong Kong. This week went pretty smoothly as I distributed my Lead tasks off to Will and Hanna, each to be the caretakers of the rest of the team. At the end of that week, my team was cut in half due to layoffs. My last day before Hong Kong was spent mostly adjusting to a huge slash in Operations, something which obviously was an emotional hit for me and the rest of the Leads.

Then, I went to Hong Kong for two weeks for Alex’s wedding, which was great to go back to HK for dedicated SHOPPING time!

NOTE: For those that are looking for an AWESOME place to go shopping in HK (for women’s clothes) I suggest a wholesale market called “Hong Kong Industrial Centre.” Get off at Lai Chi Kok, take the “C” exit, step out of the train station exit and turn around, walk along that side of the block and you’ll see on your left a big huge driveway that says “Hong Kong Industrial Centre”. winner! Clothes there are SUPER cheap because the boutiques buy them from these folks. Also, I didn’t have to bargain or anything since the prices were SO cheap due to the New Years sales. Only problem is that you generally can’t try anything on unless you pay for it; then you can try different sizes or colors–but be sure to ask them to confirm first!

I’m still collecting my bro/mom’s pics to blog about our trip, but to say the least, it was a long time to be spending 24/7 in extremely small quarters with family. We’re all very used to reverting back to our old ways, and I think so much time together makes us forget respect amongst other things. I’ve discovered that my parents are reaching an older age, and they’re not as sharp as they used to be, and that I am often unforgiving of these “flaws” that are uncovered. Embarrassed to admit, my old habits that sometimes resurface are to see these flaws, point them out, and maybe throw some salt on it too. Bad. I know.

I came back from HK and was laid off with the bulk of remaining employees at Embark. I’ve been telling people that I’m okay with it, and that this truly IS an opportunity for me.

INTO A BRAND NEW START:
I’ve started my 2 art classes, “Color Dynamics” and “Figure Sculpting”, which are keeping me busy since I’ve missed a couple of sessions. I absolutely SUX at color and don’t understand the technicalities of when to use what or how they even work. So far, the class has taught me a lot already about how to make some colors pop, or how colors drastically change once placed next to different colors.

Figure Sculpting is fun, being able to play with clay again! I noticed that I really like to keep my clay smooth, while other folks clump their figures together in order to get the mass. I’ve only attended one session so far but I’ll be sure to post pics from both these courses soon.

Also keeping me busy while not in class is working on the redesign for this site. I’ve gotten a lot done now that I have more time to dedicate to it. I’ll be using some hand-drawn illustrations to use as part of the design, but the more I incorporate it into a template, the more I want to just hand-draw the rest of it for consistency. Tempting, but I’m afraid this might take longer and might not be necessary. Right now, I’m just going with the flow to see how things go. One thing for sure: I’m glad I took all the time I needed to “ink” in the pencil sketch I had with the Wacom pad. This proved to save me a lot of time in cropping the pic for web use!

Today was a big milestone for me.

I went home and told my mom and dad that I’ll be moving in with Brent.
Freaking out, my mom’s first reaction was, “Are you planning to like… marry him?”
THANK YOU, TRADITIONAL CHINESE MENTALITY.
Of course, what she was concerned about was what others would think–what other people would say if they found out her daughter was UNMARRIED, living with a MAN. I mean that entails that we’re “DOING IT!!!!!” But to be honest, she was very understanding of it. And although I know that she purely 100% would prefer for me to live home, I appreciate that she was able to try to understand that I’m learning to “grow up” on my own.

The events and course of things that have happened within the last week, I hope that my parents will one day understand and know that I don’t just slack off and spend most of my time on the internet doing nothing, which can easily be their perception. They don’t really know what I do anymore, and I admit that I stopped letting them know. I guess this happened due to repeated dinners with my mom when I’d try to tell a little about my day and it would be overshadowed by her own issues and problems. I stopped being communicative with them when they reverted in treating me like I was still in high school.

Anyway, today, they were very respective and supportive of my decision. Yeah, it’s really not that big of a deal since I’ve mostly been living here most of the time anyway (I’m statistically Brent’s roommate!), but I know to them it is. I anticipate that this will allow me to be friends with my parents again, or at least be on better terms with them.

I feel like this last week was a reawakening of new ideas, putting the problems and challenges of the past behind me. I feel like this dude right now:

Liggghhhttt ouuurrr darrkkkkeeesssst hooouuurrrrrr!!!

Take THAT, Unicron swine!!!

(Boring. Not many pics this year.)

2008… (the factual stuff)

Where did you ring in 2008?
Sacramento at Peacock’s place! We almost missed the New Year’s mark because we were playing the Every-Time-Estella-and-Eugenia-Laugh-During-Lemony-Snicket’s-Series-of-Unfortunate-Events Drinking Game. We had a ton of orange Cuties to eat. The infamous Family Portrait (below). Left over Carl’s Jr. chicken sandwiches. THE EPIPHANY.

The Epiphany

Family Portrait

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?
- Buy a 1 tb harddrive — DONE!
- Possibly renetwork the silly setup in our house — NOT COMPLETE (I don’t think I really considered this thru the year)
- Start writing stuff down again — DONE!
- Get back to 110lbs — NOT COMPLETE (At least I’m the same weightish as I was last year! And the back dimples make an appearance every so often)

How did you earn your keep?
Web developer @ Embark
Operations Analyst @ Embark

Did you move anywhere?
Not officially. Spent most of my weekends in San Jose or now back in Oakland with Brent.

Where did you go on vacation?
Vegas, LA, Lake Tahoe, and Hawaii!

Describe your birthday:
Went to Buca for dinner with mostly Embark folks, and went to Fenton’s afterwards for dessert.

My bday was on a Wednesday and I took my 2 floating holidays the following days to get an awesome 4-day weekend! Went to Academy of Science, Brent made sushi, and went to a winter oyster BBQ with Brent’s friends.

What did you do for Christmas ’08?
I decided to skip out on the trip to Las Vegas with my mom and Conrad (to meet up with our Toronto friends–Chan family) because I was sick and so I could spend more time working on my website revamp. I got a LOT done being home by myself, though I realized how much more was needed.

Norvelle came over for a pity visit. *shaking fist*

What sporting events did you go to?
Probably none. Wellll, actually… Flag Football with Embark’s T^2 counts! I think I went to 1 Warrior’s game too, to see my fav player: Steve Mullins!!

What concerts did you go to?
- Ozma – May 19, 2008 @ Bottom of the Hill
- Weezer – October 13, 2008 @ SJSU Arena

What was the best thing you bought in ’08?
I’ll go with practicality… Either the new digicam SD1100 since my old SD400 broke, or the new Inspiron 1525 laptop (tho this is still kind of new and I’m still getting used to it.)

Where did you spend most of your money?
Food, and the September Hawaii trip. And probably a lot of electronics/gift-type things. Wow.

What did you purchase that was over $500?
New laptop, Hawaii plane tix, etc.

Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Yes! I went back to school!! Took Beginning and Intermediate Figure Drawing classes at Laney! Suuuucchhh a great move for me!

Favorite TV program of ’08?
LOST, of course. I don’t really watch anything else. Although Ace of Cakes is a pretty awesome show to watch!

What was the best book you read and/or movie you saw?
I didn’t read much this year :( No specific movies come to mind, though I’ve started watching more, since I now manage Brent’s Netflix queue.

2008… (people)

Did you know anybody who got married?
Janelle! What a funnnn wedding! And Brent’s friend Danny!

Any new additions to your family?
Uncle Darryl had a daughter!

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Taylor and Vicki got Karli!

Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yee-goong (Leland Dea)

Did you fall in love in 2008?
Same as last year’s response: Always. There’s ALWAYS something to fall in love with.

Did you get your heart broken in 2008?
No.

Do you hate anyone now that you didnt hate this time last year?
Yes. But solely due to work’s relationships with schools. (e.g. PSU, Harvard, Oxford)

Who was the best new person you met?
Brent’s crew is really awesome. I don’t think I’ve met many new people this year other than folks at work, though. I didn’t get out much this year ^_^

Who did you wish you did not meet?
No one in particular.

Who was your best friend?
Eugeniaman, Norvelle, Pean, Brent, Christine

Who was your enemy?
Ehh…. *shrug*

Who do you miss?
Pohpoh.

2008… (the stuff that requires more thinking)

Are you happier than this time last year?
Uncertain. I’m happier in a sense that I feel a lot more settled and professionally accomplished. I feel more mature and that I’ve learned a lot. I know more now about what I want. (Does that count as happy??) I feel much more accomplished, and that I’ve definitely come a long way, for sure.

What song will remind you of 2008?
Nothing in particular.

What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2008?
- Drink only “girly” drinks. Not drink.
- Go on a LOST-fanatic trip around Hawaii
- Become so involved in work that my social life had to get put on hold.
- Be able to find someone that I can connect with on SO many levels; and to be okay with seeing him just about every day.
- Revert back to the “their always together” status–which I don’t seem to mind!

What is one thing you regretted this year?
Hmmm… nothing in particular comes to mind. I’m pretty content with 2008 and where I’ve come along the way.

What’s something you learned about yourself?
- Not everything’s as black and white as they used to be.
- You never know until you’re put into the situation.
- Always follow your heart. “It may hurt, but when you look back at it in the future, you’ll always know that you’ve done what YOU wanted and not what someone else wanted.”
- I should have got more into art a long time ago.
- I’m not perfect; I don’t have the best attitude; I’m not immune to selfishness. But… these are the things that I am, and I can learn to give and take, and it’s comforting to know that he knows that, and that he’s still willing to overlook all that. I’ve learned a lot from that, and how I should be as forgiving and understanding. This is feeling of mutual understanding in conjunction to all we have in common with and for each other is worth it all.

What was your best month?
September: Hawaii trip. That one week made up for the troubles and stress of the rest of the month. It was a big epiphany moment for me, too, to take the time off and figure out what the heck I’m doing with my life.

Best decision made all year?
One of the biggest decisions I’ve had to make before.

What will you remember 2008 by?
Hell months and the amount I’ve learned; finding my own management style; Brent.

Will any date from 2008 stay etched in your memory forever?
Septemberish – The Hawaii trip.

What was your biggest achievement of 2008?
Being able to handle the Leads position; managing a team of 7.

What was your biggest failure?
Not hanging out with my friends enough.

Did your behavior change over the year?
Yes. I’m totally more of a hermit and a grandma now. Please find me in my peaceful underground dwelling.

What do you wish you would have done more of?
Exercise; more activism; see my friends more; get more of my site updated.

What do you wish you would have done less of?
Nothing.

What was your greatest discovery?
For some reason, I have a new addiction for any type of sushi, sparked by just plain ol’ California Rolls. Not sure why this happened so late since I’ve been eating sushi my whole life. Very bizarre.

Also discovered the BEAUTY of Kauai, Hawaii!!

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I knew I was healthy. hahaha
Also if I got my revamp up :~(

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Part of growing up is knowing WHEN to make decisions. Sometimes you have to take the opportunity available to you even though you’re not ready, or even if you’re not sure if you even want to take the leap. The key really is to follow your heart, to know that your decision is truly the best thing you can do for yourself, and that it’s the truthful choice for you. People may get hurt, but you just have to be honest with the parties involved and especially yourself.

Another lesson learned is that bad things happen, and they will KEEP getting worse and worse. But they’ll always get better; there’s always a pay-off. It was important for me to keep this in mind in order to pull out of the tough times. “Everything will be okay in the end. If things aren’t okay right now, it’s not the end.”

What will you always remember about 2008?
Learning to live independently while “living at home”; the lessons I’ve learned.

The New Year…

What are you doing to ring in 2009?
Went to Liz’s place in Sac (why the heck did she invite us over???)

Any resolutions?
- Be healthier
- Save more money, including: money hunting (finding best bank rates and such), budgeting my monthly expenses, making financial milestone goals
- Find an art-related job
- Not be a coward when it comes to art and activism
- Continue organizing all my archived photos on Terry
- Move out

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
An artish job.

What do you want to do in ’09 that you couldn’t in ’08?
Budget.

Anything you want to change about yourself for 2009?
Hmmm… haven’t figured it out yet.

Own Notes

Since it always happens, favorite passing-out/drinking experience:
- Most eventful: Getting x10 wasted at Janelle’s bachelorette party in Vegas, passing out to have Paul wake me up, and then getting kicked out of Palms, wahah
- The standard: I totally didn’t drink that much at all this year.
- The comeback: Playground for Gilbert’s bday; 6 soju shots; sleeping crew. wahah

Favorite Embark Moment:
Undecided.. it was the culmination of moments. Some good ones: Embark Prom, BBQs at Shults-Foster Manor, All the good times in the Leads chatroom!

Favorite Brent Moment:
- Most memorable: the whole Hawaii trip + all the LOST touring!
- Epitome of us: Tie between 1) chanting “Sushi House! Sushi House!” at 8:30AM like 3 year olds in bed. (Then going to Sushi House at their opening hour.); 2) 2AM Taco Bell run to eat in bed.

- Most delicious (local): Harris’ Steakhouse!
- Most delicious (travel): Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant
- Most delicious (homemade): Suuuuushiiii!!!

Restaurant of the Year:
The truck. hahahahha

Highlights of 2008:
- Embark Holiday Party (Face-Your-Fear CLASSIC!)
- Ugly Sweater Party!
- Man’s Bday: Everett & Jones + Fenton’s + couchcouchcouchcouchcouch!
- T^2 games!
- LOTS of E&C!
- Caden visits!
- 90′s Game nights
- Lots of trips to San Jose
- Nancy’s Bday (stupid UCLA shot!!)
- AWESOME LOST season 4!!
- Roadtrip to LA and up the CA coast :DD
- Embark Prom!
- Brentwood (Nectarine Pick Your Nose!)
- CA Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage
- Janelle’s Bachelorette Bday
- Shults-Foster Manor!
- SARS-Bikini Spam party!
- Janelle + Ryan’s wedding
- TECHKARAOKE SF!
- Brent’s surgery
- August Tahoe trip! Soooo fun!
- Banned! the Band practice
- VHS Night
- Hawaaaiiiii!!
- BFF’s Bday in Vegas
- Prop 8 Protests
- Karli’s born!
- 24th bday at Buca’s + Fenton’s
- Academy of Science!
- Meeting Phyllis Lyon @ GSA Network’s YES Summit
- New Years @ Sac!

Happy new year, all. Have fun, and be safe <3