Christmas Photos 2012

I've been using the Christmas season  to brush up on my Spanish and to develop my photography skills. Here are a few photographs I took two days ago at a neighbour's house. I helped her pack cookies and some other sweets for distribution. I also made some dividers/separators for the cups placed in the box pictured in this post. Hope you guys appreciate my work, feel free to comment and have a Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad todo el mundo!
Wai Li.

Twitter @WaiLiArt

Ghoulish Goodies Review

Hey everyone!
I'm going to do a review of some items from Ghoulish Goodies HERE (you'll have to friend her). I've had these items for a while and can safely say that they're sturdy. The package came with two hair clips, (Hello Kitty and Betty Boop) and a bracelet (Don't recognize the character on the cap). All items were embellished using decorated bottle caps.
The hair clips in my opinion are purely decorative as the clip at the back doesn't have teeth and therefore does not clamp into place. It can sort of slip out if you are moving around a lot. The bow and bottle cap however are firmly glued into place.
The bracelet, I love. It's beaded with a decorated bottle cap in the centre and secures with a screw cap clasp. E-mail Ghoulish Goodies at ghoulishgoodies@yahoo.com for orders.

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty Clip at the back

Betty Boop

Betty Boop clip at the back.

Bracelet

Metal screw clasp

Small objects- Household items. Drawing exercise

Hey everyone.
Here are some drawings of ten household items. I included the shadows to  add to the realistic quality. Everything was done in pencil and sprayed with fixative to prevent smudging.
List of items drawn

• Cigarette lighter
• Bulldog clip
• Eraser
• Screw
• Bottle of oil
• Mug
• Sharpener
• Pen
• Cellphone
• Tweezers

Glitz and Glam- Inspired by Tumblr photos.

Hello friends,
This post is a photograph I took today of some costume jewelry. I've been checking out people's tumblr pages and photographs on a site called weheartit.com (Click link) and have fallen in love with the numerous overexposed shots of food, jewelry and just about anything else shiny. Most of the shots look like they were taken using a polarizing filter. Unfortunately, I do not have access to any filters at all so, I just made do with what I have. This was a fun project and I hope you all enjoy looking at the end product. Remember to comment, follow me on Twitter @WaiLiArt and share.
Love,
Wai Li.

Kiskadee

Attention all! I've come out of hiding and have a completed painting for you. If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember the incomplete acrylic piece I posted of the Kiskadee I spied in my backyard. Well, I finally completed it, filling in the branch and adding some new details. So, here it is. I tried a new technique to extend the "manipulation period" of the acrylics. I added glycerin to the paint to keep it wet. It worked so well that the acrylic sat there for over a month, uncovered and was still wet to the touch. How cool is that? Less wastage! The use of glycerin made it much easier to blend the colours after application.
Comment, tweet (follow me @WaiLiArt). Click HERE to view uploaded photos on Facebook.
Ciao for now.

Leaf Tip- A Photography post.

I seem to be taking lots and lots of photos of leaves and flowers. Here is another one I took about 2 months ago. I was again fiddling with manual focus. Let me know what you think of it. I am open to suggestions. Tweet or post this on Facebook if you like.
Wai Li.
Follow me on Twitter @WaiLiArt

Tree Trunk- A Photography Post

Some say papaya, others, paw paw. Whatever you choose to call it, I'm sure many of you will agree that this is among some of the best tasting fruit in the world (if you disagree... well, I can't help you. Ha!) Here is a photo I took a few weeks ago of the trunk of one of the trees in my yard. I'm fascinated by the natural heart-shaped "dent" left where the branches of the tree once were. Do you guys like this photo? Comment below if you do. Remember to subscribe to this blog, follow me on twitter @WaiLiArt and share with friends. Thank you for your continued support.
Wai Li.

Bottle Cap

Today's post is a sketch I did of a bottle cap. It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. Drawing circular objects at an angle always takes a bit of effort on my part. So, here is the "mini" sketch, done on the same page as the cigarette lighter CLICK HERE. My aim is to load this page with drawings of tiny objects.
Check back soon for another photography post.
Follow me on twitter @WaiLiArt.
Peace n' Love,
Wai Li.

Cocktail Shaker- A pencil drawing.

It's been a while since I put pencil to paper. Here is a drawing of an old cocktail shaker I resurrected. It's my grandmother's. Does that make it an antique? I used 2B, 4B and 6B pencils and a kneaded eraser to pull out some of the highlights. Hope you guys like this drawing. Leave me a comment and remember to subscribe to my blog for updates.
Follow me on twitter @WaiLiArt.

Romance- A Photography Post

CLICK IMAGE

CLICK IMAGE

I think I have always liked detail. My childhood drawings were always of faces and I would try to appropriately place wrinkles, moles, draw in teeth and so on. As I matured, I gained interest in photography and would find myself trying to take closeup photos of my friends' faces and of any objects that struck me. So here I am again, taking relatively "zoomed in" shots of the only expensive (for me anyway) perfume that I own, Romance by Ralph Lauren. The necklace is a cheap plastic "butterfly" necklace, gifted to me by a ten year old. Never thought I'd end up using it in a photo.
Remember to comment, subscribe, share with friends and follow me on twitter @WaiLiArt.
Peace n' Love,

Wai Li.

Old Board House. Completed.

Hey Everyone,

CLICK IMAGE.

I completely forgot to post the final/completed version of my painting done in water colour. CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL POST. There isn't much to say other than the fact that I worked to build richness to the piece by adding layers and that I finished it a long time ago. That being said, take a look at the photo and let me know what you think. Feel free to suggest anything. I'm open to constructive criticism. Stay tuned for more posts. Follow me on twitter @WaiLiArt, subscribe to my blog and spread the word!

The Leaf- Photography Post

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The hunt is on for a high quality macro lens, one that will capture the little details in nature that we so often miss. Until then, I'll be making use of my two Nikon lenses (AF-S NIKKOR 55-200MM and AF-S NIKKOR 18-55MM). Here are some leaves I shot in my backyard. It rained quite a bit and I couldn't help but notice the droplets that remained on the surface of the leaves. Aren't they beautiful? Guess which lens I used...Wink! Wink! 

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Follow me on Twitter @WaiLiArt
Peace n' Love, Wai Li

Quick Sketch- Cigarette Lighter

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I did this one last night while listening to some unfamiliar music. The photo is cropped so you cannot see the rest of the page but my intention is to fill it with sketches of various objects. The lighter was done with a 2B and 5B pencil. Comment below if you like or have questions. I enjoy reading comments!
Follow me on Twitter @WaiLiArt
Subscribe to my blog for updates.
Love always,
Wai Li.

Bottles n' Clocks- A Watercolour Post

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Greetings viewers/fellow art enthusiasts. Today I share with you a piece I've been working on for a while. I really took my time with this one. As many of you may know, working with watercolour is a slow process. If rushed, you may find yourself with a muddy, sloppy looking piece of art. It just is necessary to let the layers of washes dry before moving forward with the painting process.
This piece is far from finished but I thought I'd post a photo of its current state. The thing with watercolour is that the paint looks so much lighter when it dries. I am aiming for a  richer tone so, I have a couple more layers to go!
Here is a photo of the alarm clock and wine bottle. If there's anything you'd like to see me paint, comment below this post.
Love always,
Wai Li.

Coins Through the Lens- A Photography Post.

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This weekend I was determined to get the hang of shutter speed and aperture settings on my Nikon. Though I still have a way to go in understanding the two, I think it's safe to say there has been some progress. My subjects were some coins I gathered from about the house. As usual, the camera remained in manual mode/setting (manual has become my best friend). Hopefully I'll have some photos of coins from other parts of the globe but for now we'll stick to this handful of U.S. coins. CLICK HERE for a surprise!
Hope you appreciate my hard work. Comment below, follow the blog (GFC) and remember to check me out on twitter @WaiLiArt.
Peace and Love,
Wai Li.

The Watch. Another Photography Post

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So. I have the flu and it seems not to want to leave. I wish I could say that my ears and nose were the only things clogged but unfortunately, I can't think straight either. Anyways, I just had to do this post on a photograph I took of my new ICE watch (Popular on Youtube). I tried to be creative with the whole process.
I thought of how I could give the viewers the impression of a watch without doing the obvious: snapping one of the watch's face. BORING! After twirling it for a bit (the watch) I decided that the plate at the back was the next best thing. (Comment and let me know if you agree).
Here is the image of the ICE watch. If you follow me on Twitter, it may look familiar. I use a Nikon D40x. Sadly, this is not a tutorial, so I did not note what settings I used. I can tell you, however, that this photo was taken in the evening under natural light. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to write below this post.
Twitter- @WaiLiArt