Mark Making

Having fun making marks with oriental ink on rice paper!

Saturday Nude Croquis

I started going to a Nude croquis class on Saturdays last August.  Didn't think I would make time well with the baby and all.  But now it's become my regular Saturday morning activity!

Charcoal on paper. 3 min & 5 min poses.

Darwin, the Market Whiz

7 1/2 x 10" Charcoal & Graphite on vellum

This charcoal drawing was done as an assignment for my Illustration Portfolio class. It was inpired by the New York Times article by Robert H. Frank.

Unlike the bull elk who are stuck with unwieldy antlers, traits that can serve the interest of individuals but not that of the group as a whole, humans have better options because we can harness our thoughts and actions. So let's stop acting like bull elk but start using our capacity to reason thus solve our current economic crisis.

Books of Wonders' Annual "Holiday Kickoff" Event

I'm grateful that my illustration teacher Elizabeth Sayles informed me of this place and event. I couldn't believe I didn't know about this place!! The place is truly full of wonders.

On the Saturday, Novermber 26th, I visited the Books of Wonders to attend their holiday kickoff event where nine great artists shared their new books for this season. They were Leo & Diane Dillon, James Gurney, Susan Jeffers, Hilary Knight, Jerry Pinkney, Charles Santore, Melissa Sweet, and Ed Young.

Itten's Books finally arrived!

These two books are the documentations of the basic courses made by Johannes Itten taught at the Bauhaus and in his later teaching. I was very interested when I saw the Bauhaus exhibition at MOMA last year, and came across the name Itten when looking up Paul Klee, who also taught at the Bauhaus. I'm grateful to have a glimpse of these courses and to learn from a great teacher who lived almost a century ago.

Itten's Exercise #2

10" x 14"1/2 Charcoal.

After done with the introductory warming-up with black and white circles, this free perception and imagination exercise was carried out. Just something representational that involves contrasts of different values and areas. The main objective was to find harmony using values and forms.

Itten's Exercises #1

6"x8" Charcoal

This is an introductory exercise to learn the light-dark contrast. It was to produce a white and a black circle in whatever way I want. I think Itten meant for the students to understand that "all contrast effects are relative." How white a circle should be in order to look white right next to a black circle? How their sizes and positions effect each other and the whole composition? It was a simple but very helpful exercise that let me consider such fundamental questions.