Dear Diary

I've seriously started an art journal and diary last year which explains my absence from the world wide web. Thank God I am not a famous person so the internet does not break when I am gone. Though at some points in my life I felt that I was. :D

Staring at the digital screen for hours at work has made me want to use my dinosaur-aged laptop less at home. I feel that it takes forever for it to boot and the AC supply has to be forever connected to give it life. Imagining that before I even think about opening my email is dreadful enough. So the watercolor paints and colorful pens come to my rescue. Those thick unused journals I have hoarded also give me enough motivation to use at least one page a day.

I also think that not many people read blogs anymore these days. The attention span has shorten significantly which is unfortunate. I have been imagining a much simplier life where I would go out into my garden and pick flowers then paint them later. Ironically, I had wished for this highly-urbanized life when I was much younger. I think too much artificial light has had me seeking for more sun.

Writing in this blog is a dilemma in itself. Today, I had written in at least four pages in my softcover journals. I still dispise my handwriting but I am convinced it is because I don't like some of the papers at all. On another note, I wanted to start to feel like a real person in my instagram account. It seems I have presented myself as a heartless artist if there is such a thing. But I am really just a simple girl with a complex mind and tons of hobbies.

Jetlag is long gone but backlog in my journal is building up. If only a secretary for your own diary would make sense. Meanwhile, I found a Berlin silicone stamp in my stash which I had bought long before I travelled. Some things are perhaps predetermined. . . . . . #art #journal #diary #Berlin #postcard #stamping #watercolor #calligraphy #brandenburgertor

A photo posted by Kim (@craftnikim) on Jul 8, 2016 at 8:34pm PDT

First Communion Invitation Card

My young cousins had their first communion and I could not refuse to create an invitation card for them. I've decided to go with my usual brush calligraphy and some pencil and watercolor illustrations. They have blue and pink candles for the event so I decided to match the colors on my artwork.

The Process
My original artworks were converted to digital images which I have processed in Photoshop. The hardest part is coming up with an idea. Images online may be used as inspiration. And like most things, original ideas always turn out to be the best.

Good Friday Painting

There is not much to celebrate on a Holy Week for me because by tradition I prefer to stay at home or at least not take any vacation. I've decided to paint the colorful sky based on a tropical sunset photo I took a few months ago. There is an addition of artist quality paints in my collection and I feel the need to just use them everyday if I can. There are more than two dozen of the Holbein tubes in my resealable bag. Soon enough, I hope to give them a better home. I've use a wet-on-wet technique on the first layer. The sky didn't turn out very smooth but then I like the way the colors mixed.

It is quite fitting that I have painted the crucifixion at Mt. Calvary on the first page of my new Monologue watercolor diary. But this isn't the first time I've created something like this. Back in the university I drew a similar scenery with my student grade oil pastels for my Religious Education course. I left it hanging in the living room where I used to live.

Color Palette using Holbein Artist Watercolors:

• Cadmium Red Light
• Alizarin Crimson
• Cadmium Yellow Light
• Peacock Blue
• Prussian Blue

Materials used:

• Sketch pad by Monologue
• Synthetic round brush size 6
• Synthetic flat brush size 10 and 12