FT of Malaysia
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Random KL sketches
I wish I could just sit and draw away directly but having a very active son, it is impossible because I have to tail him all the time. I am hoping to be able to do that when he grows up a bit. For the time being, most of my sketches are drawn from photos I captured intentionally for drawing purposes.
Below is a view from AKLEH (Ampang-KL Elevated Highway). Picture was taken by me while driving. Can you imagine holding steering with my left hand while snapping pictures away with my right hand? Do not try this in your car, ok?
Whenever I passed any beautiful buildings, I would stop and snapped pictures. Below are two of my favourite neo-classical buildings (Clock Tower of Sultan Abdul Samad Building & Textile Museum).
I could not resist drawing the modern glass and steel Petronas Twin Towers because everywhere I turn or look, the building is there. Even from where I stay I can see vivid image of the building.
One of my hobby is watching and snapping photos of old windows and this particular window from one of the preserved buildings at Jalan Doraisamy did not escaped my eyes.
Even when I stopped at the traffic light, I would capture any scene that caught my eyes. Below is a view from Jalan Raja heading to Jalan Raja Laut traffic light.
Beside capturing scenery and buildings, my objects of interest are people; people doing their things, for example: ahem, Rashid Salleh…
…or this cute little girl in red…
…or my son smooching the totem pole…
…or my best blogger buddy, Yoon See posing with our evergreen singer, Kak Salamiah Hassan…
…or a tourist observing KL from the top of KL Tower…
…or three uncles having chicken rice at Central Market food court.
I also love watching animals. Below were monkeys having fun at Tanglin Hospital during weekends…
…and three permanent winged residents of Sentul Park lake.
Ducks or birds have always been my favourite subjects. Below are some drawings from my other sketch book.
Here is a couple of ducks from Lake Garden cleaning their feathers…
…and a beautiful black swan from KL Birds Park swimming gracefully.
If you’re at Birds Park, please look for this handsome peacock; I couldn’t exactly bring out all the details of its plumage, it’s too magnificent.
Beside animals, i love to draw nature too. Below is frangipani from KLCC. There are quite a large numbers of frangipani trees at KLCC Park; somewhere from the fountain leading to the pool area.
Last but not least, here is a creepy tree situated somewhere between the Convention Centre and KLCC Park.
I think I have put enough loads on your browser with my drawing images. You, should by now get the idea already that Kuala Lumpur never ceases to offer great subjects for you to draw.
Just look around; your drawing subject might just be few inches near you.
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Taking time off up the tower
My body was aching and my knees hurt from the long sedentary position while working on illustrations for my book. The TV was on, the cartoons were screaming dingbodingboding, mishka mushka and other cartoony words, my son was talking non-stop and was expecting me to attend to him and answer all his questions. While figuring out answers to his questions, I remembered that I haven’t done my laundry. And then I remembered that I have typesetting amendments to make, drawings to illustrate, illustrations to draw (however you put it), yada yada yada, the list went on. My stress hormones suddenly went imbalance and before I snap, I quickly took a hit from my Delta 8 disposable pen and said to my son, ” ok, let’s go somewhere.” This is a way for me to combat the stressful work or environment. I’m not saying that home environment is stressful but I’m working from home, home is my office, so yes, sometimes it is stressful.
Even if we cannot afford to go for a good vacation, a trip to local attractions is good enough. My son had been wanting to go to KL Tower since last month and the last time we went, he was 3. He said he could not remember what was it like to be on ‘top of the world’ and in need to refresh his memory. So yesterday, up the KL Tower we went.
It was just the two of us; my husband had to go to work.
After purchasing tickets of RM66 for both of us (including pony rides, animal zone and F1 simulator), we went up the tower; straight to the observation deck.
I screamed from the top of my lung, “KL, we’re up here!!”
Well, not literally; just softly in my heart.
I snapped pictures of buildings and was like ‘whoa, this building is pretty, wah that one is awesome, ooooh what an antique building‘ and so on. From the look of Yassin’s hey-this-is-supposed-to-be-my-trip face, I know he was getting bored so I told him he could buy something before we went down.
“I want that Emperor penguin“, he pointed.
Yassin is a big fan of animals and you could see his drawings of animals that I put up in his blog.
So, off we went to the Animal Zone. Yassin was expecting Indian Rhino or Siberian Tiger…
…told him that the Animal Zone is not like Zoo Negara where big animals are kept but overall he was happy to see cute animals like marmoset, fox and albino baboon. There were snakes but I dare not take their pictures!
Later, we went for a pony ride and F1 Simulator. He was not allowed on the latter as he was 4 inches short!! But we got to take pictures anyway.
We felt renewed after the visit. I did my laundry, cleaned the house and cooked. Yassin continued with his daily routine, playing Marine Park games as well as filling his drawing pads with animal drawings. I continued with my illustrations.
And also back to figuring out answers to my son’s endless questions. But that is okay as I have 2 things off my list for the week.
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FUNdamental @ KLPAC *
Went to visit the FUNdamental Art Exhibition at KLPAC today with my son, two nephews and blogger buddy, Yoon See.
I haven’t been to KLPAC before and the usual happened; I got lost. I took the first U-turn and later took a first turn to the left but I ended up at a school near Jalan Kovil Ulu. I didn’t see any building that could be KLPAC so I made a turn back to Balai Polis Sentul, then made a U-turn and started again. This time I ended up at Jalan Cempedak. Knowing that that could not be it, I made another turn back to Balai Polis Sentul and again, made a U-turn to start over. This time I ended up at Sekolah Rendah kebangsaan Sentul Utama! I nearly gave up and called Yoon See. With the help of Yoon See, a staff of KLPAC gave me the direction via handphone.
It was the 2nd U-turn actually.
I viewed the online map first hand before leaving home and I did not print it as I thought I could remember the map perfectly in my mind. Now I can’t really count on my 40 year-old memory, can I? Lol. I finally reached there safely after making three trips passing the Balai Polis Sentul; like the Malay saying, “Pusing pusing tang tu”*. (*Translation: Going round and round and getting nowhere)
I was amazed upon entering the beautiful park; reminds me of the ‘Emma’ movie’s beautiful garden setting. Truly a breath of fresh air getting down from the car.
The KLPAC main building is a simple but sophisticated glass building which has climbing plants to greet us.
Upon entering the building, we saw Yoon See waving at us and later went to inner side of the foyer to see the FUNdamental Exhibition.
The exhibition was what the title describes in the first three capital letters – FUN! It was truly fun to see whimsical children’s art by the artist, Numpueng. Most of her works are made up of fundamental shapes. The fun shapes aim to convey a mood of happiness and pleasure and it is evident when my son truly admires all her paintings.
This is Numpueng’s 3rd exhibition, the first was held back in 2006 while the 2nd was in 2008. The current exhibition features 31 acrylic on canvas works by her as well as two from her previous exhibitions, priced at between RM300 and RM1500 a piece. The exhibition runs until Dec 6 and may be viewed from 10am to 6.30pm daily.
Numpueng or her real name Umpaiwan Chevitanondra first began painting to decorate the walls of her now six-year-old son’s room. Numpueng is married to a local artist, Victor Chin.
My son (middle) admiring the paintings with his cousins.
Yoon See busy snapping away pictures
Now, if you are planning to go, don’t forget to print out the LOCATION MAP or else you’ll end up at Jalan Kovil Ulu or Jalan Chempedak like me. Or maybe not.
After the exhibition, we chatted and enjoyed the pretty view.
My son loves the wire-mesh furniture
Beautiful setting
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Art Expo Malaysia
Yoon See has been asking me whether I would like to visit the International Art Expo Malaysia, held in MECC Kuala Lumpur, since last week. I agreed to the idea but haven’t really confirmed the date. Yesterday she called me again saying that the expo’s last day would be on Monday 23rd November.
Since it’s Sunday today, I thought it’s a great idea to feast my eyes with arts rather than facing the computer. Met her at the exhibition at 1.45pm. I did not bring Yassin as he rather stays at home playing computer games such as nex777.
The expo which has been in its 3rd year already is featuring astonishing artworks from all over the world – Asia, Europe – Eastern and Western, the United States, Central America; a true United Nations of the Art People from all over the world. More than 2,000 artworks from 14 countries is displayed since November 19th, 2009. The five-day exhibition is co-organised by Art Expo Malaysia Sdn Bhd and the National Art Gallery.
Highlights of the expo are 1 Malaysia Canvas Mosaic, Have a Heart, Malaysian Art Idols, Special Tribute Pavilion, National Art Gallery Malaysia Open 2009, Digital Art China, 19 Dons from China, Suitcase of Stuff and Henry Butcher Art Auction.
Entering the expo from the 2nd carpark bay, I was greeted by beautiful paintings from Have a Heart booth. Have a Heart is about a group of artists with developmental disorder and other learning disabilities. The Heart group members namely Tan Seng Kit, Nurulakmal Ab Rahman, Leong Teng Seng, Andrew Chew and Damien Wong Sher Yng, have previously represented Malaysia in the 2007 and 2008 expo. Their works had been in personal collection of Malaysians as well as international institutions and individuals.
Clockwise:
Artist: Tan Seng Kit (1 Malaysia), Tan Seng Kit (Twin Towers), Nurulakmal Ab Rahman (Garden Series II) and Damien Wong Sher Yng (Beautiful Cranes)Moving on to the next booth, the Prime Minister was there to greet me! Well, almost — the painting looks so real!
I know it’s quite big enough for you to read the message of 1Malaysia Canvas Mosaic but I am writing it down for search engine optimisation (SEO) purpose ^__^
1Malaysia Canvas Mosaic is an ongoing project where artists from all over Malaysia get to paint their impressions of the 1Malaysia concept envisaged by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, each on a 5″ x 5″ strip (or piece) of canvas. All the pieces will then be assembled into a Super 1Malaysia Mosaic Mural next year in a special ceremony.
I would like to contribute my piece but I do not have the faintest idea on how to join. Google-d, bing-ed, yahoo-ed… but to no avail. Let me know if you have the information!
297 mosaics…and counting…
Next, Yoon See and I visited the Korea’s section featuring 40 artists, all represented by International Art Cooperative Organisation (IACO) South Korea.
These are my favourites from Korea:
Next we visited the National Art Gallery Malaysia Open 2009 section. A particular painting caught my eyes…
…BEAUTIFUL!!! The painting entitled Cinta Flora & Fauna by Jainal Amambing is selling at RM8000. If only I have the money…
Next we visited Malaysian Art Idols, Digital Art China, 19 Dons from China, Suitcase of Stuff and Henry Butcher Art Auction and Special Tribute Pavilion. Here are some beautiful paintings by Yuan Ye, a painter from China.
Next, we went to the Art of Engineering section; featuring 2 lotuses: Europa SE and Elise S.
Ok, that concludes my visit to the International Art Expo Malaysia 2009. The expo’s last day is tomorrow, visiting hours is from 10.30am until 5.00pm. Admission is free, parking is RM5.00. For location map, visit Art Expo Malaysia.
Be there or BE THERE. The next expo will only be here in Kuala Lumpur November 2010.
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KL: A to Z Fun Things To Do & Places To Visit With Kids
A final version from A to Z in a flip page book. Enjoy! Please wait while it loads.
Illustrations are done in AI and the book is based on my own experience visiting places in KL with my son.
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Moleskine vs PaperLuxe
I went sketch-book shopping yesterday at Kinokuniya KLCC. I was planning to go straight up the stairs to Page One looking for my favourite Moleskine sketch book but then I got stuck browsing the stationery area looking for options. I found one good sketch book by PaperLuxe (Model: Etcetra). It has cloth-bound cover with acid-free cream watercolor paper. What makes it more interesting is that the price is more than 50% cheaper than Moleskine! Moleskine sketch book ( 9 cm x 14cm) is selling at Rm89 while PaperLuxe (14.85cm x 21cm – A5) is RM43.80. I bought Paperluxe but felt guilty as if I betrayed Moleskine so I did went up to Page One looking for my favourite tempera sketch book as well as the watercolor journal but they are out of stock. Will go and find them at CZipLee, Bangsar.
Paperluxe Etcetra A5 Cloth Bound Cover with Perfect Bound Interior
I often have been asked where do I get my supply of sketch book in Kuala Lumpur and for those who are interested, below is the list:
Moleskine
- The Borders, Berjaya Time Square, KL (or Damansara Branch)
- The Tango Mango Gift Shop, 163 First Floor, The Curve Mutiara Damansara
- CzipLee, 39 & 41 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
- Page One @ Kinokuniya, Level 4, Suria KLCC
As for Paperluxe sketch books, you can get them from Kinokuniya, Level 4, Suria KLCC and if I’m not mistaken, all MPH outlets. Not sure about Popular Bookstore. Will call them and update about this.
My collection of sketch books: bottom two – sketchbooks by Grandluxe, middle two – Moleskine, top three – my own handmade A6 hand-bound sketch books. I have more of the top given to Yassin. Sold some during KL Book Fair back in 2007.
I will blog about quality watercolor/acrylic pads and where to get them some other times.
Oh, do you want to peek inside my Moleskine tempera sketch book completed in 2008?
5,489 views todate.
Just click to play.
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Let’s make our city a better place to live
On October 8, 2009, Water, Green Technology and Power Minister, Datuk
Peter Chin Fa Kui has announced in Putrajaya that a campaign to ban the use of plastic bags will be implemented to conserve the environment and promote green technology. For a start, the campaign would be implemented at the ministry level before being expanded to shopping centers and eventually nationwide.The campaign, although still in the stage of being expanded to the shopping centers, stores and retail shops in Kuala Lumpur have already started promoting the ban of plastic bags. The ones I came across was Ikea and Body Shop, while shopping for Hari Raya. At Ikea, they charge 20 cent for one plastic bag to discourage customers from one-off use of carrier bags and help customers make an environmentally friendly choice. Ikea believes the move will cut total plastic bag use by 20 million next year. The last time I went, I carried a small handbag so I really had to buy a plastic bag but then later during another shopping session, I carry my own handmade tote bag.
As for Body Shop, the company has been Plastic Bag Free in all its stores since 1999. Their sales person will encourage us to bag the items we bought in our own bag. Should we really need a bag, we will be given a recycled paper bag which is made from chlorine free pulps, environmentally friendly inks and water based adhesives
Why ban plastic bags?
Plastic bags have made our lives easier in many ways but unfortunately, they are often not disposed of properly and foul our public spaces not to mention putting pressure on our already scarce Taman Beringin landfill. Furthermore, when released into the earth, the bags emit poisonous chemicals and utterly dangerous to all living things and the environment.What should we do?
Since the nationwide campaign has yet to kick off, maybe we can make an early online effort ourselves to help support the campaign to ban the use of plastic bags. Penang has started its campaign by going green every Monday.When?
Right now, this minute or as at 2.28am as I am writing this post ^_^. Anytime is a good time. (Yes, I am a night owl.)How?
Ditch the plastic bags; use recycled bag (cloth or canvas) when shopping as well as blog about the campaign.My effort?
I am doing my bit to support the campaign and am kicking it off personally by hosting a little giveaway, Emila’s Go Green Giveaway, to one lucky winner. But you need to do something really simple for me; leave a comment by discussing your idea on how are you going to support the campaign.The person who comes up with the best idea will win Emila’s Go Green Giveaway (a combination of my handmade tote bag and my Illustrated 2010 Calendar).Date of closing: 30 November 2009, 8pm. Anybody can enter this giveaway contest; that means locally and internationally.
