Ayatul Kursi

 

Ayatul Kursi which is translated to "The Throne" from the holy book Quran. Custom-made for a client who wanted to hang something on her wall but have to be Islamic and purposeful. So she decided that she wanted Ayatul Kursi; which is taken from Surah Al-Baqarah verse 255. This verse is believe to be ultra special for the Muslims as it is supposed to repel any acts of evil and bad luck. It was surprisingly enjoyable for me to be able to explore the realm of arabic scripts. And be able to experiment with fonts and curves of the calligraphy. I am thankful for the privilege to be able to create this original artwork for her.

Its been awhile since I've done still-life so I suddenly inspired to paint a stack of jars in the studio using dead-coloring method. Although not so detailed and time-consuming as the real dead -coloring by the old masters like Vermeer, I decided to incorporate fast paced contemporary elements into my still-life...

Monks in watercolor Cambodia

Monks in watercolor

Found a photo in the studio belonging to a student. I was so captivated by that photo that I suddenly had an aching urge to try to paint this in watercolor. I'll upload the photo soon so you'll get the idea what it looks like in a photograph.

I admit I am not a master at watercolor, but attempting this was an excellent challenge I appropriately needed. Comfort zone is sometimes a witch with a capital B... haha. Just sucks you right in the safe zone. Safe zone in the arts is like a "no-development zone". So I'm trying to stay away.

A critique of my own work I would say, amateur. To much things going on in the background... and unlike oil painting where its so easy to manipulate and re-correct, watercolor sometimes put you in a no-mistake area.... or you'll have to learn from your mistake and create a better one.