Anything On Paper

Rainy day sketching, work in progress. #drawings (Taken with...

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:51:30 +0800

Rainy day sketching, work in progress. #drawings (Taken with instagram)

this is trouble and i’m feeling restless #lyrics #brause...

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:55:34 +0800

this is trouble and i’m feeling restless #lyrics #brause #lettering (Taken with instagram)

Can’t sleep. #clapton #lyrics #lettering #brause (Taken...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:41:35 +0800

Can’t sleep. #clapton #lyrics #lettering #brause (Taken with instagram)

Today’s reading list while on quarantine Day 4 and in...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:28:58 +0800

Today’s reading list while on quarantine Day 4 and in between reading work emails. #books #bulutongblues #graphicnovels (Taken with instagram)

#lettering #brause (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:17:59 +0800

#lettering #brause (Taken with instagram)

Day 1: Good news: spent the day doodling. Bad news: dunno how to...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:35:36 +0800

Day 1: Good news: spent the day doodling. Bad news: dunno how to use acrylic or gouache anymore #doodle #notebookism #poxylady (Taken with instagram)

Happy pens! :) (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:20:38 +0800

Happy pens! :) (Taken with instagram)

Today’s doodle is inspired by Christopher McDougall. Rest...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:43:49 +0800

Today’s doodle is inspired by Christopher McDougall. Rest in peace, Caballo Blanco. (Taken with instagram)

Live and give! (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:11:48 +0800

Live and give! (Taken with instagram)

Bataan Over The Weekend Most of us are usually keen to get to...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:01:00 +0800

Bataan Over The Weekend

Most of us are usually keen to get to our destination without realizing it’s always the journey and the company that makes the trip worth it. I went on a quick rendezvous this past weekend to Montemar in Bataan with my college friends; my 2nd beach trip this March and this year. Despite the long drive (which I didn’t sleep through, mind you), I really had loads of fun. The vacation was actually too short, but I think Bataan is perfect for an overnight stay as you can just take a car, vroom along SCTEX and stop by Meat Plus in Subic or C Italian Restaurant in Clark for lunch and get there by early afternoon. Of course I had to steal some z’s for a quick hour before jumping into the pool and playing disc as the sun went down. On Saturday night, we sent out floating lanterns on the shore for Earth Hour. For a short vacation, we managed to do a lot.

My favorite part of the trip? Catching up with my friends, eating the strange food (Binagoongan with chocolate, anyone?) and singing songs under a tree with Jim.

Iloiolo-Guimaras August 2011

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 01:52:00 +0800

Iloiolo-Guimaras

August 2011

Scenes from Cebu - March 2012 We stayed at Bantayan Island which...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 01:11:00 +0800

Scenes from Cebu - March 2012

We stayed at Bantayan Island which is a quarter of a day’s trip from Cebu City proper. You’d think that the only beach that the Philippines could brag about is Boracay Island, but there are waaaay more undiscovered beaches in our beautiful archipelago. We have 7,107 islands after all. In the afternoon when it’s low tide, you can skimboard and play frisbee on the wide shore, in the morning when it’s high tide, you can swim and snorkel without having to go very far.

It’s more fun in Cebu. It’s more fun in the Philippines!

J Herbin ink and felt tip markers on paper

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:43:00 +0800

J Herbin ink and felt tip markers on paper

doodle for Amy

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:18:03 +0800

doodle for Amy

bought my first bottle of J. Herbin ink in Café des Îles!

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 11:03:22 +0800

bought my first bottle of J. Herbin ink in Café des Îles!

Looking Back At Project 365

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:47:00 +0800

Before I got sucked into the world of Project plans, and countless meetings at work, I actually had time to draw, so I started a project called Project 365 for Drawings. Back then, my friends were so much into Project 365 Photography, but I never had a decent camera at the time and as much as I’d like to consider myself as a lomographer, I am just an occasional film enthusiast nowadays, taking my LCA+ with me on major vacations and travel. I was more comfortable with the idea of drawing something everyday, so that’s what I did.

Mind you, I didn’t complete the project, but had managed to stick around only til day 45. Here’s a bunch of drawings from that era:

What do you think, should I start this project again?

Artstalking: Andrea Joseph

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:18:00 +0800

Oh mygosh, I think I found my role model. Just stumbled upon these daily sketches from Andrea Joseph and I am crazy about them!

The details in her sketches are amazing, but what I love about her is her commitment to draw everyday. Random things that catch her fancy become immediate subjects and voila! Moleskine pages turned into artworks!

When I feel the urge to draw, I am blocked by thinking of what to draw when in fact anything as mundane as a set of keys, a pile of postcards, and a few pens can be a source of inspiration. The important thing is to get your pencil and your paper and just get drawing. It’s all about practicing how to see.

How wonderful is her ultra-realistic shading technique?

*sigh*

I love her and I wanna be her friend.

all photos by andrea joseph

The Start Of Something (Beautiful)

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:55:00 +0800

Since I last bought my Brause Calligraphy Pen, I wasn’t able to post something worth showing in my attempts to do pretty letterings as I got frustrated a lot with my handwriting. Every morning, I made it a point to write something, any random thought that comes to mind just so I can practice. Even at work, in between meetings and project planning, I scribble on my planner with my list of things to do using my calligraphy pen.

Yeah, I’m obsessed.

I find the process very calming despite my frustrations, and before I knew it, I finished my first cartridge! I picked the blue one, and this is what I’ve come up with. I knew this is going to be a somewhat expensive hobby. I bought a cheaper calligraphy pen from Artline just so I can practice my strokes. Oh but the Brause is different, and I kept coming back to how the ink flows out from it.

I want to buy more pens and nibs, but havent found the time to check out Scribe Writing Essentials to buy the 1.5 nib of the same Brause pen that I have right now. If I can’t find a pen, I’ll probably buy more lined paper, because I can’t, for the life of me, still work on blank paper yet. I’m so excited!

This is really a start of something, I’m inlove!

Chinese New Year in the Philippines is colorful, chaotic and...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:48:00 +0800

Chinese New Year in the Philippines is colorful, chaotic and festive. This year, we went to Binondo to celebrate Chinese New Year and took a bunch of photos of the dragons and the street dancing. Of course we would never miss the awesome fried siopao and got ourselves tons of tikoy and hopia too!

Oh Manila, I love you!

Monday Blog Hoppin'!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:38:46 +0800

When I was at my old company, I always found the time to blog hop and just check out different websites for inspiration. Being an I.T. consultant used to be boring, but now since I’m always busy, I never notice the time! With the busy schedule also comes the lack of idle time that I hardly ever get to check out great creative bloggers who can satisfy my need to get inspired through art, design and craftwork.

So it’s Monday and while most people feel quite gloomy about the start of the work week, I’m making a resolve to post inspirations.

1. Canvas Transfer DIY via abeautifulmess

These are so neat and I’d like to try this out for my doodles soon. I think this only works well with black and white to get that distressed old photo look.

2. designismine Summer Allen’s Thought of the Day Posts

I especially love the daily reminders about how to best live life. They’re not life changing, but they are reminders of how we should be thankful, sieze the moment and keep on learning. Of course, the romantic posts are sweet too, but I love the affirmative and encouraging tone of these typographic prints that were collected by Summer. The prints are so pretty, they give me ideas on how I can make my own typography prints too. These are just important words to live by.

“SPEAK KINDLY,” print by Shelli of Studio Mela.

“Don’t Hold Back,” typographic print from Nan Lawson.

Ideas are like stars from robayre

“Singer Print,” by Clare Owen’s photostream

3. Paper Pastries Handmade Card blog entries

The blog features all sorts of delightful inspirations and handmade products from greeting cards to stationery. Margaret also shares about artists and calligraphers who have masterfully handcrafted cards and invitations. I came across this blog while I was researching on calligraphy styles, actually. One word that comes to mind: delicious! Exactly like pastries.

This makes me want to make cards and send off to my friends in other countries. Snail mail FTW!

Credit: All photos sourced from (1) abeautifulmess (2) designismine and (3) paperpastries