succulent paintings

Succulents are very therapeutic to paint. Even though it took me awhile to understand when sketching. I love using the green and blue hues together and play it a little with oranges/ violets.

Using Hot press paper is better when painting floral related paintings. you want the smooth texture from the paper to be able to add in more details. 

Agave potatorum

Sedum palmeri

This is probably going to be my final post of the year. Say hello 2017 with more challenges and exciting adventures!

Stay gold fellas!

x

Ashley  

watercolour illustrations - Autumn 2016

Hello Everyone! I hope you're having a great holiday season.

I painted these items that are related to Autumn ( at least from what i have searched on google) Never have I ever experience autumn season before but I do think Autumn is the season of the cozy! 

I had the most fun painting the scarf and the pinecone -in which I thought I might mess them up because of the details and all. I doubt myself in the beginning but look who finished it lol. self doubt is very toxic.

pumpkin spice latte with cookies

a pinecone and a carved pumpkin

cozy scarf

Watercolour food illustration 2016

**Looks like I'm on a roll in painting food illustrations lol 

loaf of bread.

Teriyaki Sushi burger

Blueberry waffle

Blackberry yogurt + oats

Watercolour Food Illustrations - Malaysian delights!

 I painted some of my favourite food while I was in Malaysia. Fun fact: I always have my nasi lemak with teh ais. It just feels complete that way.

Nasi Lemak

Penang Lasksa

Ayam Rendang

Curry Mee

Teh Ais ( Malaysian Iced Milk Tea)

Food illustrations - Desserts

Custard cream biscuit freakshake

Taiyaki ice cream

Strawberry shortcake slice

Cheesecake slice

October & November favourites!

Look what we have here! A blog post? 

Actually i have lots of fav stuff to show but these are the summarized version for the two months. I've been very keen in skincare lately. Better skincare means less fuss on makeup heh. 

December is the month of self reflecting and also to remind myself some goals that I want to achieve.

Christmas is around the corner, be sure to keep warm and.. eat more! 

Favourite things in September.

I am late while posting this, my apologies to you!

A month gone by really fast. I learn a very important lesson - that is to slow down and enjoy the current moment. No worry about the consequences or the past. 

1. Luxury face oil -Jeanie Botanicals
This bottle was gifted by my friend for my birthday last year(Thanks Emma!).The term 'luxury' isn't a joke. It literally makes me feel so relaxed while applying just 3-4 drops on my face every night. And also I'm impressed how well my skin has gotten so glowy in the next morning. For very oily skin type , I highly recommend this to try it out!

2. Nelaton, my boyfriend, visits me.
Oh boy, things gonna get cheesy here. We have not seen each other since my last visit to KL last December. So it makes perfect sense why this goes to one of my highlight thing of the month :)
P.s : long distance relationship sucks. 

3. Xmen Apocalypse movie.
The movie was great. One thing that got me is this coming when Prof x. Xavier said this to Magneto- "There is so much more to you than you know". Man, that quote really got me thinking deep bout me life because I was really unmotivated to do anything at that time.

4. Two door cinema club - sun 
This song stayed in my head when I was painting. And it still is now lol

Although this is a rather short post, I'm drafting a few things about watercolour for y'all to read about. It would be helpful to tell me what you want to know more about ! Just leave me a comment or email me.

I hope you have a great day ahead! 

x

Ashley 

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Cocktails

Old fashioned brandy- never gets old.

This is my favourite piece to paint on especially the bottom glass refraction.

Blood orange Margarita - That's a bloody one indeed.

Excuse my spelling mistake on 'Margarita'. This salt crystals on the rim of the glass took me longer than I thought.

Classic Mojito - I got that lime rum classic thing that you like.

One of my favourite cocktails.

I can imagine myself sipping on a tall glass of Mojito while watching the sunset.

Tequila Sunrise - Only available on sunrise lol

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Watercolour supplies for beginners.

Hello everyone!

It has been a  while since I made a lenghty post about watercolour. For I am such a nerd for watercolours.

Choosing what to buy for watercolour can be a pain. Especially when there's too many choices to choose from. But it's okay because I'm going to show you a list of affordable items that you can get for a decent quality for watercolour painting.

September Calendar 2016

My apologies for the delay of posting this beforehand. I have no excuses but procrastination has gotten the best of  me.

But i'm trying for a different approach this time!  I was experimenting mixing water with ink to create  a classy approach for this month's calendar.


I hope you like it! Feel free to download the Hi-Res version below!

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Birds in South East Asia

Disclaimer: I'm sorry this is a very backdated post. I totally forgot to post this up.

Some of my bird paintings based on the common bird species in South East Asia. I might add in to this series in near future.

Chestnut Munia

***fun fact: This black headed Munia used to be the national bird of The Philippines before the Philippine Eagle takes over.

Rhinoceros Hornbill

**They always appear at my backyard calling for their mate. It can be very noisy sometimes.

Oriental Magpie Robin

Fun fact: This bird species sing a lot. The males sang louder to attract females.

Zebra Dove

fun fact: They camouflage well on ground. (lol)

Progress shots

Over here you'll see some bad quality progress shots(for that I apologise). I didn't have the patience to keep in track of the progress shots as it sometimes kill my mood to continue. It's just my habit to keep painting while I'm in the zone. I wonder if anyone has this experience before. 

The magpie and the chestnut munia are my personal favourite to paint. I think because I understand how their feathers flow. However, the hornbill got me confused while adding the details on the feathers. I kinda hide my mistakes by adding more purple and blue :D

The zebra dove is the most tedious among all and it always made me procrastinate from continuing. The spots and the patterns got me overwhelmed. But  I managed!
Patience and listening to music got me through this process u_u

The process of painting is not all difficult. Actually not everything is difficult if you have the patience and the understanding of colour and form. But it takes a long time to understand. It took me a few years to understand that adding blue shades makes a great colour for details instead of adding black itself.
I still have my habit of procrastinating -which is unbeatable for now.

I am still a work in progress and I am enjoying the journey to improve myself.

I'm glad that you read my thought process in this blog and I hope you get to enjoy (or to be inspired?) reading it :D 

x

Ashley 

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Homemade muffins still taste better :)

July is the month that I spent alot of my money on restocking my skincare products D:


1. NYX glam shadow stick in pink ruby
I bought this a few years ago, just because i like the grapefruit shade. Only recently I figured out how to apply this on my inner corners. It perks up my tired eyes in the morning at work sspecially when I wear glasses.

2. Most used colour for the month goes to.... Winsor and Newton Cotman's Raw Sienna!
I find myself going for this colour alot when I paint food illustrations.

3. Mizon Skin Repair Ampoule.
Really like how instant the product absorb into my skin.  No breakouts ever since.

4. Frozen fruits ( grapes and mangoes)
They just taste sweeter. my coffee snack actually.

5. Homemade Banana muffins.
I wanted to make some healthy snack for work, Muffins make a great substitute for my usual white bread for breakfast at work.

6. Nubian Heritage Raw Shea Butter.
I have dry skin problem around my knees and elbows and fingers. Not the best one I've ever tried, but its okay enough to keep my skin hydrated from flaking.

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August calendar 2016

Going simple and pink for this month's calendar.

Feel free to pink it up on your own desktop wallpaper! 

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June has been good to me.

Hello Hello!

 I hope you've been good so far!

Not too late for a monthly favs yes?

1. Rainy Days.

The monsoon season has changed and we have more rainy days. I like to stare outside my window during heavy rain with warm coffee.  

2. Mangas ( pardon my rusty drawing, it has been a long while 'u')

I have alooot of mangas to recommend. 

Ask me for recommendations if you like shoujo mangas.  Ask me! 

3. Oh wonder 

 My favourite will be midnight moon  and livewire .

4. Documentary about Australian parrots

(psst. check out  34:11 )

I started to get interested in bird behaviors right when i painted a few birds this month. I think this can make a good conversation starter for awkward people like me.

Fun fact: The oldest cockatoo, which happens to be the palm cokatoo that can live up to 90 years!~ 

I've been spending my long Raya weekend with my family and less time in painting. So probably explains why I'm inactive in Instagram. Long weekends like this are rare so it is better to be grateful :D I hope you have a great weekend and stay happy!

x
Ashley





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July Calendar 2016

July calendar is here!  

These are some sketches i did during the month of June so I thought it'll be a great idea to use it for July calendar. (and also to make use of my washi tapes lol)

 Feel free to use it for your own purposes :D

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Bird paintings

Observing the small details of nature's gift. 

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Eastern Meadowlark

bluebird

The Great Tit

June Calendar 2016

Inspired by batik designs, I like to make it a summer-ish feels to this month's calendar. 

I hope you like the colourful theme for your wallpaper :) 

click the thumbnail above to download the wallpaper size! 

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May Favs 2016 + mini reviews + making a tutorial?!

May Oh May, How slow it has been. I had a couple of bad moments, mainly from my day job that I am trying to like(ugh..). So.. I vent my frustrations on a game or two on DOTA2, and that was most of my time went to in which i am so guilty for it and I am going to work my way out. 

Anyways! Here's some stuff that made me happy on May! 

Not much of a art related post, i apologise! 

1. Uncharted 4 : The Thief's End   ( now this is the part when you might get bored a little, sorry! ) 

I don't own a PS4 therefore I watch the gameplay through radbrad . Seriously everyday I looked forward for his videos after work. I first know radbrad when I was searching for gameplay walkthrough for the uncharted 3 ( which I have played already!) and that was his first ever series uploaded in his channel! 

I love every bit of the detail in this game! the environment, storyline, prop design and the gameplay. I'd get myself a PS4 but i doubt i ever have time to play it. Probably next time :)

2. Pilot Wingel 0.5

I like how this pen goes on so smoothly on paper! I mainly use this for note taking and lettering doodles. 

3. 3ce lipstick in kiss woo. 

This goes under my impulse buy section. It was on sale and i never own a red lipstick before. I like how red it is for my lips but i'm still suck at getting the bold lip look. So i just apply a thin layer of it D: 

4. Innisfree eye shadows in Trend series # 15 and #20 

I'm learning to wear makeup to work everyday. Because I have to use it before it gets expire and i'll be guilty. These eye shadows are so beautiful. I like to use the shade #15 for base and  #20 for contouring my eyelids. 

You can find the swatches here 

5. Innisfree gel liner in Brown Suitcase

Another innisfree product! i absolutely fell in love with this liner. Doesn't smear on my oily lids and stays on for the rest of the day!  I got another liner in burgundy but i have yet to try. One thing you have to be mindful of is that you need to sharpen it manually, which sucked. 

You can get this baby here 

For the month of June, I want to try making a watercolour tutorial. so i need ides from you guys! What do you want me to do on the first tutorial on watercolours? Comment down or give me a hoot in my other social media links! 

I thank you! for reading my lenghtly post today. Thank you for being with me on this journey! 

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