Tag: Creativebug.com

Freeform

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I’m playing with form, color and inspiration. No great art here, just having a lot of fun. For the last one, I didn’t know I was going to write my name in Korean until I did it. It might have something to do with recently reading about Bruce Lee and how proud of he was of his Chinese ethnicity and because I’m so happy that Sandra Oh is the first Asian-American actress nominated for a best lead actress Emmy award. Who knows?

I started with acrylics, but it’s so hard to clean up (requires rubbing alcohol) and gouache is more forgiving. I’m sticking with gouache and watercolor for the near term.

This is a continuation of exercises from Flora Bowley’s online class. Check her out, she’s a great teacher.

 

 

True Productivity

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Stay curious. Ask yourself, “What would happen if I dipped the whole side of the brush, for example…”

Flora Bowley, artist

While experimenting with my own brushes and hearing her words, I thought of how critical it is to stay curious in life. It’s so easy (and debilitating) to allow things and people to get “old” on you.

We complain that we’re bored, but maybe WE have become boring.

Stay curious.

Ask yourself, “What if…” (and act on that question!) at least once a day.

 

 

 

 

 

2,555 Days

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I call this: “Opal About to Sneeze”

You are your own suffering. You are your own happiness.

Byron Katie

Wandered into colored pencil pet portrait class on Creativebug.com. Hm. The instructors had cute little terriers with different colors. They could use big, broad strokes with reds, browns and yellows. My dog Opal is pretty much a short-haired black pit bull mix. Short strokes for short hair. My hand got tired.

“Don’t worry if yours doesn’t come out the way you want. It took me seven years to get good at it,” said the teacher.

Seven years?

Ai yi yi.

Well, seven years is going to happen either way. If I’m still around, and I keep practicing, I could get good at this.

Divided We Fall…

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Responsive Drawing Doodle

Labels separate us.

I’m typically identified in my country and community as “Asian-American” because I’m 100% ethnically Korean (but I was born in Iowa). We have Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, and Native-Americans but rarely do we ever call white people European-Americans. What is the ramification of this?

Why not do away with these labels?

Who cares if someone is gay or straight? Religious or not? Conservative or Liberal? Poor or rich? Why not label everyone simply “human” and treat each other humanely?

A religious woman I know told me, “I love my gay son, but too bad he’s going to go to hell.” Labeling her son and categorizing him as a sinner effectively created an unnecessary distance and one I believe she could regret.

Labels are used to create differences. It’s time we emphasize how we are the same.

Here is an in-depth, research-based study on the effects of labeling people:

Why It’s Dangerous to Label People (Psychology Today).