Now at Portrait No 19

I have done 11 more portraits since the last post. Keeping up with a sketch a day and a portrait a day is only possible because I am still not able to walk much due to my foot injury and painting is a way to stay occupied and not fret about all those other things I have to do but can't.

So far I have done 5 women, 5 girls, 5 men and 4 boys. It is a short term plan that keeps me focussed on a smaller goal at a time. November has passed quickly because of this project. Here are two of the portraits

Pen and Watercolour Portrait by Bee KC Tan

Watercolour portrait by Bee K C Tan

For day to day progress please follow me on Instagram/bee_kctan as I will not be updating this blog as often.

6/100 Portraits

Portrait No 3/100

Portrait no 4/100

I was second guessing myself again, thinking perhaps I have made a hasty decision about wanting to do 100 portraits. However,  I have laid the inner critic to rest. So far, I did manage to do a portrait a day! I suppose keeping the sizes generally small did help, and also watercolour wash and pen is a quick method. I am still laying the watercolour down first very loosely before using the pen. I switched to using watercolour paper for No 4 and also used a different pen with not very satisfactory results. The nib was too thick and the ink ran, so much so that one of the eyes was ruined and I had to use a white highlighter to restore it. My approach for this series is that I am learning as I go along, so I just try to make things work instead of fussing over mistakes and imperfections.

I decided to vary my approach for portraits no 5 and 6. I no longer laid a watercolour wash first but painted the entire subject with watercolour and then added the ink outline on completion using a fine 0.2 pen. I will keep varying the approach and medium as I proceed. After all, this is also a journey of exploration and experimentation as much as practice. I am especially pleased with No 5, where I managed to capture a good likeness of both the subjects who are my friends.

Portrait No 5/100

Portrait no 6/100

100 portraits

To keep the momentum going after Inktober I have decided to embark on my next project: 100 Portraits. Being on Sktchy has made it convenient to find subjects to paint, and I have also started painting people I know. Here are my first two portraits:

Portrait No 1

Portrait No 2

Both of these are done with Ink over a watercolour wash, in the pages of an A5 sketchbook. To keep it manageable, I've started with a smaller size, and the portraits can be completed in less than an hour. I have found that drawing everyday during Inktober definitely improved my speed and dexterity. I am now able to sketch directly with the pen without doing a preliminary pencil sketch and am getting better at controlling my ink pens. These two paintings were done using my ancient Rotring art pen which came out of storage after 20 years. This is very sturdy and the nib glides smoothly over the page though the ink tends to smudge. I have also used fine liners.

What I have discovered during Inktober is that if I turn up, inspiration will turn up. Even on the days when I found some prompts uninspiring, I was able to make things work once I got started. The main difficulty is getting started. So now that I have started, I do not want to stop creating. 

Hello November!

Reached the Summit, conquered Inktober 2107

Inktober 2017 is finally over! For 31 days I have been slavishly following prompts on Skytchy (you can download this app for apple devices only), spending from a few minutes to sometimes hours on drawing with some form of ink. I have not used ink in years. I used it a lot when I was much younger, before I discovered other media such as watercolour and oils, simply because it was the most affordable.Through Inktober I have become reacquainted with ink again. It was like meeting an old friend. I also used Chinese ink, which is wonderful and very versatile. Used with a brush, it offers huge variation of tones when diluted with water, much like watercolour. I also tried out a self inking Chinese calligraphy brush.Below is an example of a painting I did combining the two, which turned out very satisfactorily:

Inktober day 16 Fat Ⓒ beekctan

I used primarily watercolour on the left and transitioned into Chinese ink on the right. The result is very satisfying. Another one that I am quite pleased with is this portrait of a little girl painted on day 17 to the prompt Graceful.

Inktober Day 17 Graceful  Ⓒ beekctan

On some days I did use nothing but ink as in this portrait of a cute but messy little boy on day 18 Filthy:

Inktober Day 18 Filthy  Ⓒ beekctan

So, at the end of Inktober, it looks like ink is here to stay for a while in my work!

Hello November!

To view all the works I did this Inktober follow me on Instagram/bee_kctan

A Painting A Day… or Two?

The first page of current sketchbook

"I was jolted into action by the words of a very dear friend. She rebuked me saying, "You are wasting your talent if you don't paint!" I have not been painting as often as I would like. I suppose life always get in the way of painting for me, because it has not always been a priority. It takes a fair amount of discipline for  me to do a painting, even if it's just a small sketch, everyday..."

The above was an entry I never published, because after doing a sketch a day for perhaps a week I fell victim to "Life" again. There is always another crisis in the family, another emergency to attend to, another busy spell. Not until an accident that put a stop to "normal" Life recently.

On the eve of Fathers Day here in Australia, we decided to go out for an early celebration dinner. Just before leaving, I stubbed my toe in the bathroom when I tripped and fell while in a hurry. Not good. Never be in a hurry. I had fractured my toe.

I had to stop my daily activities because the foot was sore and swollen. After two weeks, I could hobble around on crutches but remained house bound. For a normally active person, it was depressing to say the least. I had to do something to keep my sanity. I decided to draw. My foot was injured but my hands were perfectly fine. The first thing I did was to watch art videos on You tube for inspiration. This led me to sign up for an online course which did wonders for me. I also discovered the Sktchy app on my iPad. Sktchy is a place where artists can draw people (muses) who post their photos to be drawn. It's perfect for me as I really wanted to practise my portraiture skills.

Two things happened this time. Firstly I started sketching daily since 24 September, and have now nearly filled an entire sketchbook. Simultaneously since joining Sktchy on 29 September, I was catapulted into joining Inktober, making a drawing everyday according to the prompts, one for each day in October. So finally, I am making at least 2 artworks daily and more. I can see myself doing this as a habit now. Its wonderful. In fact, its the best thing that has happened in my artistic journey in a while!

Drawing with the Sktchy inspiration on my iPad
The first drawing for Inktober 2017 /Swift

I have been posting my daily drawings on Instagram. Follow me to see my daily sketches on https://instagram/bee_kctan

Breaking the Silence

I note that it has been more than a year since my last post. Life does interfere with blogging indeed!
It is now well into 2014 and in the thick of winter where I live. Since the Noah's ark murals, I have painted another mural last december for Maylands Church. Here it is, Maylands Church on the Eighth, where the River flows...

Maylands Church mural - front by artist Bee KCTan

Maylands Church mural - side by artist Bee KCTan

Noah's Ark Murals: Project Completed!

Noah's Ark Murals
Copyright Bee K C Tan

Noah's Ark Murals: African animals

Copyright Bee K C Tan

Eight walls, Four long corridors, 132 animals representing 60 species and 110 days later, the transformation of the ground floor which used to house the staff offices of the Subiaco Church of Christ is now complete. From dark drab walls to colourful expanses of light and bright vistas, the changing landscapes transport visitors into a unique space.

Corridors double up as a portrait galleries of animals from around the world, beginning in Australia. Visitors are greeted by flying black cockatoo mobiles and pop up trees. 

 From Australia, Antartica, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America to South America and finally the Ark, the animals line the walls and tell a story. The final corridor presents a message and three vertical mirrors provide interesting perspectives, allowing the viewers to literally see themselves in the picture.

The Australian Corridor
Copyright Bee K C Tan 

Looking back at the Australian Corridor
Copyright Bee K C Tan