Pens to Brushes

Romance- A Photography Post

2012-02-21T11:03:00.000-04:00

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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.
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Peace n' Love,

Wai Li.

Old Board House. Completed.

2012-02-20T14:23:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,

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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

2012-02-13T17:03:00.001-04:00

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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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Peace n' Love, Wai Li

Quick Sketch- Cigarette Lighter

2012-02-07T17:30:00.001-04:00

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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!
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Love always,
Wai Li.

Bottles n' Clocks- A Watercolour Post

2012-02-06T18:21:00.000-04:00

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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.

2012-01-28T20:04:00.002-04:00

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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

2012-01-23T17:11:00.002-04:00

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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

Chalk Pastel Vase.

2011-12-24T14:37:00.000-04:00

The title says it all. I swear this looks better in real life but I may still try to add some colour and darken the pre-existing pigments in the near future (for more vibrant photos). Here is a glass decorative vase I completed earlier this year, using brown recycled paper. I tried to capture the frosty aspect of the actual object. Let me know what you think. Hope you guys like.
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Digital Photography Edits.

2011-12-23T19:35:00.000-04:00

So, I am no pro at photoshop as I may have previously mentioned. The other day I got really bored and decided to fiddle around with some photos I snapped. Here's the end result. I'm not even sure I fully remember what I did. LOL. Go figure. Anyways, let's see if you folks can guess what the first edit is. I think the second image is pretty obvious, right?

Charcoal Art.

2011-12-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I last posted on this blog and there's a lot to share. Let's start with this charcoal piece: a flashlight and some batteries that I did some time ago.

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This flashlight was significantly more difficult to draw than I'd anticipated. I totally forgot that drawing a line down the centre would have helped with symmetry. I won't make the same mistake twice!

The batteries were easy. Nothing spectacular. A combination of charcoal sticks (the soft, messy ones) and a charcoal pencil (hard) were used. I don't remember the kind of paper this is...oopsie.

Charcoal is a wonderful medium but very messy. It is also sure to show up any splits or cracks you may have in your fingernails and isn't always easy to wash out. If you get any stray charcoal fingerprints on your artwork, remember you can always use a kneaded eraser to clean up.

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Wai Li

Amy Winehouse Charcoal drawing

2011-10-12T13:19:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone,

Today i'm sharing with you a charcoal drawing of Amy Winehouse. I've been meaning to do this one for a while. I used a combination of charcoal sticks and a charcoal pencil and completed it in about half an hour. My next assignment will be to get a good sketch pad. I used the worst paper ever and it made blending really difficult.

Below are two photos, one slightly closer up than the other. Hope you like. Comment below this post.

Wai Li.

Old Board House. Water colour painting.

2011-10-07T10:16:00.000-04:00

I gave water colour paint a second try. This one isn't yet finished but I thought I'd post it anyway to show progress. It is of an old, wooden house located in a beautiful place called Mayaro. I plan to go over this painting and do a few glazes to brighten up some of the areas. As it is now, the painting looks rather washed out. Though it's always an option to just do one layer of paint, I think adding layers may truly add character to this particular painting. Comments Welcome!

Board House

Chalk Pastel Art

2011-10-05T11:44:00.001-04:00

I'm back!

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Did you miss me? Anyway, today I have for you, a study that I did of a perfume bottle. I used a different kind of paper this time. I honestly don't know the name of it (someone gave it to me, what's new?). What I like about this paper, is the little specs of glitter that appear all over, adding to the sparkly-ness of the completed work (perfume=sparkles). I chose black because I thought of my own situation where I only use perfume at night... Cheesy? Oh well. So, I used chalk pastels as the medium and sprayed lots of fixative, maybe too much. Take a look and tell me what you think. Comments are welcome!
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Wai Li.

Blue Flower Painting

2011-09-11T14:03:00.000-04:00

Remember the flower painting I was working on? Well, here's a picture of where I've reached with it. I'm taking my time with this one. There is still a lot to be done with the background. I just haven't figured out exactly what I want to do. Feel free to leave comments below this post. :)

Sunshine inspired Makeup.

2011-08-30T17:17:00.001-04:00

This is just a short post to show you guys the last makeup look I did. Unlike my other makeup looks I did not use my Jumbo pencil below the eye shadows (actually I forgot to apply it). I used my L.A splash colours for this. Any gold and brown sparkly eyeshadow will do. I also used NYX lashes but I did not put enough lash glue on them. So.... guess what happened?
Hope you like my sunshine inspired makeup look for those gloomy, rainy days we've been having.
Have a great day everyone.
Wai Li

Fellow Blogger giveaway

2011-08-30T15:26:00.001-04:00

Hey guys I'm entering this giveaway too. I would like to own a brush from Sigma and I'm sure you all would like to have a chance at winning as well. Click HERE to enter. Good luck to everyone.

Acrylic Painting

2011-08-15T22:42:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,
I've been taking my time since the accident. I am working on two paintings these days. Here is a snippet of my latest acrylic painting of a flower I found in my yard. It's not your regular pink or white flower, it's actually a weed. Stay tuned for the completed version.

Dear Blogspot Friends

2011-08-05T11:48:00.002-04:00

I was recently involved in a car accident which left me with a damaged neck. I now have difficulty painting and have been experiencing some dizziness. Please be patient with me. Hopefully the recovery won't take long. In the mean time, I'll try to find other things to post here on Pens to Brushes. Let me know what you'd like to see.
Wai Li.

Drawing of an eye. So... Photoshop is not my thing.

2011-07-27T01:22:00.000-04:00

My friend Pishie and I have been really busy these days and have been finding it difficult to stick to a fixed day for our weekly challenges. I managed to do this one and I am going to hit the sack after I post it. I attempted to do an eye on photoshop. Time to get some books so I can learn how to better manipulate this wonderful programme. I did this with my laptop mouse... you know, the heat sensitive ones... Yeah. I should invest in a tablet too. Ha! The challenge was fun but just so you don't think this is how I'd draw an eye in pencil, take a look at these.

Hard Candy Stash.

2011-07-19T15:08:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine sent this "Hard Candy Bad Reputation" set to me in the mail. It comes with two eye shadows, two mascaras, an eyeliner and an eyelid primer. I have pictures of the actual products and some swatches. I'll post a look with these product soon.

China Glaze- Water Marbling

2011-07-19T01:18:00.001-04:00

Here is my first attempt at water marbling. Comments Welcome!
Products used:

Santee M44 Base Coat (to prevent black polish from staining my nails)
Jordana In Color Super Shine Nail Color-001 Black Charm (no photo)

Water Marbling colours-

China Glaze Shocking Pink (Neon)
China Glaze Reggae to Riches

I also used the opportunity to test out my LA Splash nail glitter.

To help the top coat dry quickly, I applied "Hoof hands not a minute to spare non-aerosol nail dry spray"

Drawing of a dog and her bones.

2011-07-16T17:09:00.001-04:00

As you guys may already know, my friend (Pishie) and I have this weekly challenge that we do. The objective being to push ourselves to be more creative. We posted this Saturday as we're both really busy during the week.

This weekend's challenge- Draw an animal and their bones.
I chose to do one of my dogs. I have to be honest. I have never done anything like this before. I've never studied human bone structure nor animal bone structure. So, take a look what at what I've done and tell me what you think of it. Thank you for commenting and following my blog.
Wai Li.

Regular paper.

Give the dog some bones.

Wax Paper.

How to Make a Beaded Bracelet using Memory Wire.

2011-07-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Memory Wire bracelet.

Here is a bracelet I made for a friend, using memory wire.

I used regular black, blue and iridescent plastic beads.You should be able to find them in any craft store.

The wire may be long when purchased, so clip it to the appropriate length. (In this case, I counted about 5 loops and then cut the wire).

Bend one end of the wire to keep beads from sliding off. Be sure to bend it all the way it. Pliers are a good tool to use for this.

Add the beads then bend the other end of the wire to close off the bracelet.

This is really simple and I think anyone can do it.

Thanks for visiting and commenting if you have.

Wai Li.

Blog Banner!

2011-07-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys!

I'm so excited to share my new blog banner, done by my friend Pishie at thinkingbubbles.wordpress.com Comment below this post and let me know what you think of this most recent addition. Have a wonderful week.
Wai Li.

How to Clean/ Disinfect Eye Shadows.

2011-07-09T10:53:00.000-04:00

What you need:
Rubbing Alcohol
Spray bottle (2 oz. Mist Sprayer)

Pour the rubbing alcohol into the spray bottle.
Spray the eye shadows thoroughly. I gave mine a good spray. If you wish, you can scrape off the top layer of the eye shadow before disinfecting.
Let it dry and TA-DA. Good as new.