2024

It’s still November 2023 when I started writing this, but I wanted to get some thoughts in order. So, yes, it’s that time of the year again. What’s amusing is that I still posted it late.

I wanted 2023 to be a continuation of more learning, experiences, and events. I really believe that I kept my word on these because I feel exhausted whenever I backread on all of the things that I did this year. The plans that I wanted to do this year (move out, open a shop, etc.) did not push through. So I said, fuck it, I’ll do whatever I want this year – every event, exhibit open call, convention. I’ll do them all even if it exhausts me. Burnt out. In a different view – I think I spoiled myself a lot this year due to the same reasons. I thrived as an artist.

I joined these events this year – 8 USK QC events, 2 PGW events (Daniel Smith launch at Art Caravan, PGW National Convention), 4 conventions, 8 Where WIPS Get Made discord meet ups.

USK QC – What’s surprising about this one is that its still not my favorite subject to paint. But I attended because my friends were there. The community is also friendly and it feels safe. I LOVED painting while hanging out with friends. You could consider this as an outdoor art tambay, I guess? So while its still not a favorite, I still added specific colors in my watercolor palette so I could paint more urban scenes. One of the most memorable sketch walk was the Taal Heritage town trip. I hope we could go back there to paint the rest of the heritage houses, and I hope I could attend more events this 2024.

PGW – There was an attempt to be more active this year. I participated in the monthly challenges in the first quarter, but quit eventually because I wanted to focus on convention prep for the rest of the year HAHA. I loved both events – the DS launch at Art Caravan because I won and splurged money on Daniel Smith watercolors, and the PGW convention because I finally joined the group exhibit.

Conventions – I joined the following this year: Patron of the Arts July, PaperCon, Art to Cart, and PlannerCon. 2 of those were new organizers that we took a risk joining, 1 was a sought after con, and the last 1 was a sought after organizer but they rebranded their Day 1 to accommodate a specific crowd. I have accepted the fact that I would go solo as an artist last year, but I only managed to truly go solo without an assistant on my 4th con. Because one of the plot twists of the year is that I now have a constant convention tablemate – which is Inggo! He started crochet last March. We bought so much convention stuff this year to accommodate our needs – mesh wires, mesh baskets, a camp wagon. I hope we could participate in more cons this year! We already have 2 confirmed conventions!

One of my proudest moments this 2023 was helping my friends start out on their convention journey. I helped them from registration, artwork layouts for printing, production, table set-up, and up to convention opening. I helped 3 people last year. I really am willing to help, but please don’t treat me as your google search engine. I was also accused of gatekeeping information lol – I still feel bitter about it. It hurts to be accused when I really am passionate in helping people with their con journey. Look at who I helped and how they are thriving right now. I feel like their successes are my proof that I did my best.

WIPS – I feel really blessed to be a part of this artist discord server. I’ve met so many wonderful people here. We hang out everyday on voice. We do art challenges every month. They supported us during our conventions, so I try to return the favor by supporting their events as well. I get inspired whenever I look at their works. We even had a Christmas party – where 22 people attended! It was so much fun. I hope to have more events with them this 2024. More chika please!

Based on my art folders, I created around 120 drawings this year. I felt there’s more artworks somewhere that weren’t scanned. But that’s still a lot of artworks!

There were some splurges this year. My laptop died around March because I forced it to play Diablo 4. We bought a new one and by luck, got a really good price for it on the last day of their promo. I also bought a drawing tablet around September because I felt that I needed one just in case I want to create foil stickers. I still haven’t gotten back to it yet after my hands injury. I hope to practice more digital this year.

Ahhhhh. I tried so many art-related things. Going to events isn’t lonely anymore. I feel content at the end of the year. Used to plan everything but this year proved that its okay to just enjoy the present and the unpredictability of life. ♥

What do I hope for 2024? I would like to be greedy and still continue my wants – more learning, more experiences, more events. Whatever the writers have planned for this year, I’ll face it head-on!

Bini Album Showcase

Multiple events made me unstable/depressed (not diagnosed) last year, which led to me buying 3 VIP tickets to Bini’s album showcase concert. I wanted to be happy so I spent money. No regrets. Bini is an all-girl pinoy pop group. I love all of their songs. Plus their vip ticket was around 1250php, so it was really worth it. We got an album + random photocard + a poster.

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It was held at SM North Skydome. It was a good thing we went there immediately after work. The rain was pouring!

The fandom name was Blooms. I was a baby bloom. I LOVE their songs “Na na na”, “Lagi”, and “Feel Good” – I can sing them by heart. But I couldn’t memorize their names and faces at first. Inggo and Hannah weren’t blooms. The goal was to convert one of them into a fan. It was also Inggo’s first concert experience — not sure if it was a good or traumatic experience though HAHA. The energy of the other blooms singing the commercials while waiting for the main program tired us out. It was a good thing that this concert had chairs.

After the event, I finally managed to memorize Bini’s names HAHAHA. Can I also just say that the SM Skydome acoustics were great?! Finally happy that I could hear them live.

Next up, hopefully, is an Alamat concert HAHAHA.

2023

A few days late, but yes, its that time of the year again.

I wanted 2022 to be a year of learning. Because even though my main priority when creating art is for personal reasons, I think there is still a desire to improve and meet with other people. There was a resolve within me that “I’m gonna join all the events that I could possibly attend, even if I’m alone“. I was tired of the missed opportunities back then because I was waiting for other people. I should have gone alone. That type of regret. With the loss of my future mother-in-law last March, I felt like I shouldn’t have any regrets anymore and do everything that I can to have that kind of life.

I joined two open calls this year from PhilBas – one is the Flora of South East Asia Botanical Exhibit, and the second one to the National Musem of National History exhibit. Both of these needed a really long mental and physical preparation. I didn’t pass the Second Round of FSEA jury deliberation, but I’m proud that I applied in the first place. I did however, got in the NMNH Exhibit. I could say that this is one of my proudest moments this year.

I also finally applied for membership for the Philippine Guild of Watercolorists. I also renewed my membership for 2 years! They had a lot of events every other month that I feel that the membership fee is worth every peso. I also won around 4 raffles just by participating in their events lol. The raffles and discounts were the things that made me renew my membership. Hoping to participate again in the PGW Convention! The nude art tambay, convention opening, and on-the-spot painting competition were some event highlights of PGW for me.

Urban Sketching – while not really my thing, is still one of the interesting events this year. I joined events from both Manila and Quezon City chapters. I got to bond with friends and meet with new people. I hope to do more in the future, even if its not really my thing (yes I’ll repeat it every time until I’ll like it), I feel like I can learn something from pursuing it.

It was also my return to conventions- mainly StickerCon MNL 2022. The post is not yet up on this blog, and its going to be another long series of posts. I made new stickers and finally, washi tapes! I joined with my January Makers PH group once again. After the convention though, there is this feeling that its finally time to move on – either to go solo or to make another group. It feels… one-sided, I think. After StickerCon, I also had the opportunity to design some new products courtesy of a customer. More on that soon.

I didn’t create a lot of artworks this year, less than 60 based on the files in my folders. But it feels like it still had the same impact as the other years.

Our office created an art club back in 2020. This year, Trisha and I both participated in the open calls I mentioned above. We did an inktober contest. We also did the blackboard design for the office anniversary and the halloween decor. Will blog about this soon. The club will finally become legit and have some funding this 2023. Hopefully. I planned some events for this year as well.

I participated in two fundraisers this year. One was for Ruth’s father and another one for my officemate. There were also instances that I became Hannah’s assistant on her mural projects. I’m pretty happy that I got to help some people this year.

Non-art related, I got to play more games this year – mainly the Pokemon franchise. We bought the 9th generation games Scarlet and Violet. Since I also won some money from our office raffle, I also bought Pokemon Legends Arceus. Ah, I also won the raffle from our department party lol. It was a lucky year.

There were some splurges this year, because I think I deserve to be happy. A new phone, clothes, VIP tickets to the Bini concert, pre-order of the Alamat album, art materials, to name a few.

It really was an eventful year.

Even if I’m alone” was what I was really thinking back then. I’ve experienced so many people who came and left the art community. But I think this year, I’m happy that there are still people who were with me on this adventure. Inggo was there on most of the events. Art tambays with close friends are still a thing. The USK events I always had Inggo and a friend with me. The only time that I was alone was at PGW events, but I didn’t really mind because I made new friends and the community there is so welcoming.

What about 2023? I hope to continue what I started last 2022. More learning, more experiences, more events. We’re planning on moving. After that, I’m planning on opening an online store. Let’s, again, hope it will come true.

The last 2 months of the year

Last 2 months to go before the year ends. I think I finally have some time to work on personal things. My main goal is to finally upload the remaining artworks into my Print on Demand sites, and finally continue to post more on this blog. I stopped because of a personal matter way back in March. I’ve been keeping myself busy (and distracted) to drown out the negative thoughts inside my head. I think I’m ready again to work on the remaining tasks for the year. Here’s to hoping that I do.

Some goals

Another random post in the middle of catching up on 2021 posts. I wanted to write about some goals for this year as well. Making lists and looking back on it is pretty fun, you know?

  • One catch up post per week (until I catch up!)
  • One edited post for POD sites per week
  • Watercolor practice in preparation for SG exhibit
  • Learn more art

2022

Oh 2021, what can I write about you? (It’s that time of the year again)

I wished for a continuation of a quiet, steady year again. It felt like I also got to achieve that this year. Although it felt like I didn’t make a lot of artworks this year, the numbers tell me that its almost the same with 2020. I did around 120+ paintings for 2020, and with 2021 I did 100+. That’s a lot!

This year I wanted to paint more roses, and I think I did well on that promise. I feel like I improved a bit with sketching them before painting. I also practiced painting white flowers more. I finally tried landscapes, seascapes, and pet portraits. Someone bought some of my paintings and framed them in their home! (Which prompted the pet portrait artwork). I completed Inktober for the second time in my life. I participated in two exhibits for PhilBas this year. I also officially joined the society as a member so I could participate in future exhibits as well. During PNPCSI’s symposium, I also won the contest with my Begonia color pencil work during the art workshop.

It felt a little bit lonely painting alone nowadays, but I read about the Tough Love – 8 Hard Truths for Artists by Heather Ihn Martin and one of them really resonated with me. It’s a lonely journey. I 100% agree on this. I’ve had a lot of friends share this journey with me. Most are on hiatus and focused on other things. Others quit because they were chasing the wrong goal – social media fame for sponsors. I’m still grateful, though! There are friends who are still with me on this journey – or who would come back to paint with me. ♥

It felt like I didn’t do much art because I kept on going on breaks. I think its okay to take breaks! I played Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise. I also completed Star Craft 2 after playing for 5 years lol. (I only played during December!). Surprisingly this year, I also took on a new hobby which is baking! My creations are either a hit or miss, but I’m having fun making them. ♥

So what’s for 2022? I’m joining another exhibit with PhilBas – this one is an open call for Singapore! I also finally joined the Philippine Guild of Watercolorists – hoping that I could learn from other people. I want to learn this year. Let’s hope it will come true!

Manifest

I always see this type of posts on social media nowadays. Is it something like a goal list? Well, I’ll think of it that way instead. For 2021, I hope to make progress of these goals:

  • Sketch more flowers to get the form correct.
  • Practice more with different art materials.
  • Create more patterns and designs for POD sites.
  • Expand to more POD sites.

Will add more soon.

2021

It feels so weird to say this, but yes, it’s that time of the year again.

A quieter, steady year creating art at my own pace.

I’m happy to say that my wish came true this year. With the pandemic, everything came to a halt, and I had more time to create more art.

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The first two months of the year was chaotic with two conventions simultaneously asking for requirements prior to their events. It would have been easier I think if I went solo, but it cheaper and more fun with an artist group.

March, oh my. The first week of March, our office was already planning on having 100% of the office work from home until this pandemic ends. The day after, we had to move out since the cases already doubled within a day. I initially worked at fiance’s family’s office for their restaurant since we had no space at home. But then rumors of a home quarantine were being spread, and I had to move again. We HAD to make space at home for my work pc. We did, and it was chaotic.

The rest of the months for the blog were filled with posts of events that happened in 2019. Nothing art related at all. I hope I could write more this 2021.

If I would look at my Instagram account though, I know I’ve been busy.

March to May: I painted my cravings away since there weren’t a lot of restaurants open due to the quarantine. Discovered that a cheap notebook a friend gave me can actually take the beating of watercolors, so I painted practice works there. Created and submitted patterns for a local chocolate’s wrapper contest. Started practicing portraits.

May to June: Did the 50 juice heads challenge where you need to draw portraits in 10 days. The 10 days part didn’t happen HAHA. I also started to paint with my himi miya gouache.

July: But then I went back to watercolor for the world watercolor month event. I became obsessed with poppies at one point and painted other flowers as well. Did experiments with lotus flowers, gold, ink, and then went to the gold paint route painting orchids.

August: Went on a break due to the move, but I had a ton of backlog so it looked like I was still busy lol.

September: More personal works, more experiments.

October: There was an attempt with gouachetober, but then got busy with work!

November: My backlog of works were almost out. I also bought the Mijello Mission Gold Pure Pigment set at this time and was slowly building the palette. This is now housed in a large metal tin palette in full pans. I also bought other art materials as well, especially the seamiart brush. I felt like a beginner once more, trying to get acquainted with my new items. This was also the time where I submitted my paintings for exhibition for PhilBas and Cancervants!

December: Participated in 2 online exhibits. Still getting used to my new watercolor palette but loving the journey so far.

What do I wish for 2021? I hope this quiet, steady year will continue on this year. I hope to create more personal works, more experiments with art materials.

Art vs Artist 2020

Me and my flowers.

Me and my experiments.

The prompt is trending again on Instagram. So let’s do this again! ♥

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The first photo shows the works that I am proud of. The orchid pattern that I created for a contest (which made me try out patterns for POD sites), a white anemone flower that I really loved the rendering of, a bunch of bright poppies for world watercolor month, a lotus experiment with gold poster paint, a fully fledged gold poster painting of an orchid (that I donated to our office for their donation drive!), a set of poppies painted on stubborn paper by a stubborn artist, my katmon painting for an exhibit, and finally, a red rose that will forever be a challenge.

The second photo shows the works that I experimented with. I used most of my art materials this year. On days that I don’t paint flowers, I usually do portraits or food instead. But someday I hope to do animals and landscapes too! I experimented with: himi miya gouache, started sketching again with pencils, played with ink and gold paint, food illustrations with my usual palette, and finally used my markers again and color pencils. ♥

Also got a new watercolor palette! I bought the Mijello Mission Gold Pure Pigment set and its a dreammmm to work with! The paints are vibrant and I sometimes have a hard time adjusting to it lol. But its really great! Just need more practice. ♥

Overall, I’m happy with my works this year. I created art at my own quiet and steady pace that I wished for last year. I experimented with art materials! I tried out all of my ideas. ♥

I wish for it to continue to next year.

2019 Artworks

When was the last time that I did a compilation post?! Two years ago! This feels so weird. It felt like I’ve been neglecting my blog after I got a job (I’m so sorry bb). I wanted to continue from the previous compilation blog, but I felt like I’ve blogged about most of my artworks here. The remaining ones didn’t have a lot to write about. So we’ll start with 2019. As always, photo heavy post ahead!

My first artwork on the Canson watercolor pad that I received last Christmas. ♥

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A tropical feel artwork that I did days after Stickercon.

 

Gardenia on old watercolor paper.

 

The full piece. I think I also used Prang for the background?

 

Magnolia artwork. I found this color theory book in our office library and thought it would look good as a prop.

 

Some scibbles on my Moleskine watercolor pad.

 

Second page from my Moleskine pad.

 

Left: Practice peony. This took a long time detailing the petals. | Right: A random flower bouquet I referenced from Pinterest.

 

Sometimes I would have the patience to layer the petals. Most of the time, I don’t. This was a Berkeley paper.

 

Art tambay at Hannah’s house. I was thinking of new art for sticker sheets.

 

Left: Anemone bouquet practice. Daler Rowney paper and Mijello paints. | Right: Old canson watercolor pad and my usual watercolor palette. This was also made at Hannah’s, where I had an LSS on a detergent commercial song.

 

The way I painted this is so loose. I like it a bit.

 

I brought my Prismacolor pencils with me to work on day and left it on my pedestal so I could create art on idle time. On the left is my portrait practice, on the right is my team mate’s.

 

Then our team thought “We should buy a team sketchpad”. So we did, and I’ve been using mine during downtime. | Right: There was a time that I didn’t want to paint flowers, so I painted a portrait instead? Whyyyy.

 

Snapdragon painting that I did at Tweedlebook Cafe.

 

I sometimes got lazy to scan and edit my works. So I just took pictures under natural light. On the right is Nori trying to get in my way by posing near my works lol.

 

Tulip practice. Ruth gave me reference photos that she took from a tulip festival in Japan. The first attempt was on the left, and I hated the paper. So I redid it on my bigger canson watercolor pad. (I kept and re-used the paper on the left for my gouache works).

 

Some paintings that I find “ugly”. I think I don’t paint perfect or pretty flowers all the time. There will always be bad art. And that’s okay. Just paint the bad art away and you’ll create something good again. ♥

In our Office Secret Santa, I wished for a one time big time gift – 1k worth of watercolor paper. And my secret santa delivered! Thank you to Nadine! I especially loved the gift wrapper lol. It’s already September and I still have a lot of stock left!

Left: my awesome gift | Right: my first artwork

 

Since our office hour on our team ends at 3pm, we had a LOT of time to wait for the start of our Christmas party. I painted during the down time.

 

Another peony practice. One of my officemates loved this painting so much, so I gave it to her. It is now proudly displayed in their home. ♥

My last works would be from my art tambay with my cousin. Didn’t really felt that focused, I think.

Finished, but not perfect.

 

Feeling a bit lost, but still the same loose strokes.

And that’s it for my 2019 artworks! Hopefully I’ll post my 2020 compilations this year too.