Big Green

“Up high, the flies are playing,

And frolicking, and swaying.

The frog thinks: Dance! I know

You'll end up here below.”

~Wilhelm Busch

I was looking for a quote or poem for this particular painting. So, I searched online and found this poem by Wilhem Busch in ThinkExist. I have never heard of him before but apparently he’s a very famous German caricaturist, painter and poet who is known for his work, “Max and Moritz,” a satirical picture story – the first published original foreign children’s book in Japan which was translated into romaji by Shinjiro Shibutani and Kaname Oyaizu as Wampaku monogarati (“Naughty stories”). Max and Moritz and his other stories inspired the modern comic strip.

Max und Moritz, Zeichnung von Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908),
Titelbild zu seiner gleichnamigen Erzählung

DID YOU KNOW that after 70 years, the copyright term expires? This term applies to United States, Canada and the European union. Other countries such Mexico has 100 years, Colombia has 80 years, Guatemala and Samoa has 75 years. I think I’ll move to Mexico.

My first Award!

Sachan, this is really awesome! Thank you so much, you are so sweet. I’m going to post it!

Here’s the explanation:

This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY -- nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I do not know a lot of bloggers so I’ll just give them to the ones I know who are also well deserving.

Living Treasures
Metropolitan Mum
Mewsings, Felines and Other
Design Opus

Hi Mike. I’ll give it to you but you don’t have a blog. It’s nice to hear from you again.
I hope you start blogging.

Slam Dunk!

My little cousin invited me to watch her game last Saturday. It was the first time I saw her play basketball. I thought she played very well even though her knee was injured. It was really exciting watching 5th graders play – they are so cute. Here are some snapshots from the videos my boyfriend took. That’s her with the ball. I used to babysit her when she was 3 months old, now she’s almost as tall as I am. I still can’t believe it!

When it rains, it pours

I am so excited, I have two pages left of watercolor paper. I can’t wait to buy a new one! I don’t like the one I am currently using. It’s only 90 lb. I prefer 140 lb – it’s heavier and absorbs water better.

Yesterday I was trying to be “creative”... I started out with a couple of characters and ended up with more than 30! I did not like the outcome but it was fun just drawing random images. I thought I created some pretty unique ones. I could probably use some of them in my next painting.

“Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.”

Sweet Spy

I stumbled upon this website while browsing the internet. I don’t remember what I was looking for but even if you were not a fan of sweet things (like I am), you’d find yourself eating one once you finish viewing this site. It’s called Cakespy. Check it out and you’ll see what I’m taking about.

The Loyal Horse

I really love seahorses. I thought to paint one this week but I ended up with two. I didn’t like the first one so I painted a second one. Here’s my first attempt. It took me more than two hours to finish it – I must have used more than 3 coats of watercolor but still did not like it.

This was my second attempt. I like this one better and the colors were less obtrusive.

The Romantic Seahorse

Seahorses are a type of fish related to pipefish. Unlike most fish, these equine shaped creatures are monogamous. Not only they are loyal, a male seahorse also carry the female’s eggs in its pouch and only release them when fully formed. How romantic!

For more facts about Seahorses visit National Geographic.

Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold.

~Zelda Fitzgerald

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Framed

I don’t know what happened. I think I clicked “publish post” accidentally...

I went to Michael’s last week to buy some frames. They were 50% off and I bought three. Even with 50% discount they’re still pretty pricey. I don’t know how often they put the frames on sale but this month it was up for a week and ended last Saturday. I’m sure there’s a way of knowing when the next sale is – I just have to find out.

My bedroom wall is filled with artwork besides my own. But I took some photos of my framed paintings today. I had to position them on the floor.

Above is the first frame I purchased. It was not on sale but I bought it anyway.

The wooden frame above was given to me by my previous boss.

I’m going to keep buying frames until I have all of my paintings framed. Perhaps one day I’ll open an art gallery (hahaha).

Gung Hay Fat Choy -農曆新年

I had a very busy week. I was going to paint today but I had to do some errands. So, last week I went to a Chinese New Year party with my classmates from kung fu class. The music was loud, the restaurant was very crowded, and the food was delicious! This was probably my third year attending the party but I always have so much fun.

This year is year of the Ox. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Ox symbolizes prosperity. Those who are born under the influence of Ox are fortunate to be stable and persevering. I found this photo online from Daily Planet – I thought it was so adorable. This photograph was taken by Robert of Fairfax.

And here are some photos from the Chinese New Year celebration.

Here’s the stage where everyone goes up to sing karaoke.


The class photograph. The kids don’t look too happy to be photographed and that’s Sifu in the middle.

I’m going to upload more photos this week in Yang’s Kung Fu blog. It has been two months since updated it. Don’t forget to check them out!

Giant Pandamonium

I always wanted to learn calligraphy so I bought a calligraphy set years ago and It has been sitting in my room ever since. I must have used it once but I don’t remember what I used it for. Last week, I was contemplating on painting a Giant Panda; so, I did. I wanted to try a different medium then I remember my calligraphy set.

I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. I thought I would use it like I would use a watercolor. Then I decided to add some colors to make it more interesting and ended up using acrylic on her dress. This painting took a little bit longer than usual because of my indecisiveness but I thought it turned out fine.

Panda Facts:
Large Bear-Cats aka Giant Pandas
(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Contrary to their size, giant pandas are about the size of a stick of butter when they are born and don’t develop their unique coloring until later. Pandas are born blind and cannot crawl until three months of age. Although technically carnivores, they adapted to live mostly on bamboo which is 99% of their diet and occasionally feast on small rodents or musk deer fawns. Pandas consume about 28 pounds of bamboo and spend up to 16 hours eating. There are only 1000 pandas in the wild and just over 100 in captivity. For more information about Giant Pandas visit National Geographic.