Exhibitions and Awards

Earlier this year, I submitted some of my artwork to various contests or themed submission calls.

I’m very grateful to have been included in the following!

Award (Bronze) / “Beginning of the End” Sketch

I enjoyed doing this one as it’s a bit more thoughtful than some of my messier, freestyle sketches.

I’d like to develop this style more in future.

Award (Special Recognition) / “Japan Street” art

I challenged myself to try harder for this “Cityscapes” competition, as I’ve always loved urban sketching.

I’ve had problems with understanding color theory for quite some time, so this was a stretch goal for me.

I had to rush through it too because I didn’t notice the deadline of the contest.

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“Nocturne” Juried Exhibition

This was a piece where I was trying out darker colors with some white and violet highlights.

I like submitting to online art galleries at the moment as it saves time/money (no need to physically ship artwork).

“Our Grateful HeARTs” community art show

This was the first art show I ever submitted to, so it’ll always hold a special place in my heart :)

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Thoughts and Plans

I do art as a hobby, and I set some goals a few months ago to win an award and/or be part of an online exhibition.

It’s nice to set and achieve goals and I hope anyone who’s reading this is inspired to do the same.

In the long term, I’d like to keep practicing and improving before offering some drawings as art prints.

I have some ideas and am going to take my time exploring.

As host Tan France stated in the flowers episode (Season 2 of Next in Fashion), a collection “needs to be cohesive.”

In particular, I’d like to hone my sketching skills. I’m self-taught and have been wanting to gain a more solid footing with some fundamental techniques for quite some time.

AI Art

This week, I came across some articles on AI art as I’ve been thinking of updating some of my profile pictures in that style.

I didn’t know that many AI art platforms scrape the internet for work by visual artists, and it was eye-opening to read about someone who won a state fair art contests by submitting a fully AI generated artwork.

There are lots of ethical implications and concerns, and it’s scary to think about the impact on art and beyond.

I’m glad I grew up on books and had some childhood years without the internet. It gives an appreciation for old-school techniques and mastery of skills.

I don’t know if any of it will matter once the robots take over, but till then, I’ll be exploring and enjoying what I can art-wise.

Voice Training

If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll have an idea that I’ve struggled with my voice for many years.

I have a tendency to:

• trail off
• mumble
• have an inconsistent accent, and
• have a tighter jaw after my Invisalign years with rubber bands to slightly straighten out a misaligned bite

I’m thankful to have access to Udemy via my work, and I signed up for a 30-day voice training course by Peter Baker.

It’s been very interesting so far and I’ve been taking down notes and trying out the exercises.

For me, the most important tip so far has been to “be proud, and not ashamed of your own voice.”

It sounds like simple advice, but is really earth-shattering if you’ve spent many years associating your own weak/low-volume voice with a negative attitude!

That’s all I have for now in terms of updates.

I hope to have more detailed sketches to share in a few months’ time.

I’m looking forward to going back to basics so that I can be more thoughtful and intentional with some drawings.

Michael Jackson Binge

I’m quite familiar with many MJ songs, but I never really listened to The Jackson 5.

Truly amazing!!

My personal favorites include Blame It On the Boogie, Dancing Machine, Can You Feel It, ABC, and many more.

P.S. If you’re a fan of MJ or dragons, check out my “Michael Jackson and Dragons” post over at my dragon website. That site turns 25 years old next year, OMG.