PingSee

I knew it would take me a while before I could post again, but I never knew that it would take me this long. Apart from moving my wife from Mississippi to Texas, re-adjusting our lifestyles or living together, purchasing and building a new house... we thought that life could not get more exciting. I was so wrong.
In between, my wife's grandma got so sick for weeks she had to be admitted to the ICU, and we have learned that UTI(Urinary Tract Infection) affects elderly very differently than younger people. It's very dangerous so here's the link where you can read more about it and understand it better.

In parallel to that, my cousin was battling acute cancer in ICU 10,000 miles away. We later found out that she had been in pain for over 10-years but didn't really go for a thorough medical check-up and just toughened herself up and dealt with the pain. Just a few months ago she finally decided to get herself treated, only to find out later that her body was failing and shutting down. She battled the disease for about a month, and passed away a month before her 45th birthday.
Until today, I still see her face when I close my eyes. I hear her voice and laughter when I think of her. She's more like a sister to me, and probably the kindest and most hardworking person I've know. She's worked for the same company for over 20 years and had lived a modest lifestyle. She's caring and loving towards people around her and loved by people she surrounded herself with. She will forever be missed, and her absence forever felt,  the gap she had left in so many hearts will be filled only memories of her and the comfort of knowing that she's no longer in pain.

This is by far the hardest tribute sketch I had to do, and tears were rolling making it hard for me to see what I was doing. This is for PingSee, my beloved cousin.

Pencil on Moleskine Sketchbook (3.5x5.5")

Tiffany 2 - SNSD

Another post on the same day? Wow! ^____^
Actually I know that I wouldn't be able to post anything next week, or maybe even the week after that, so I just drew more this weekend.

Here's Tiffany again from SNSD, another Korean pop group. I did a compilation of her earlier, but they didn't show her smile, and that wasn't right of me because she's known for her smile. So there ya go.

 Moleskine Sketchbook (5.5 x 3.5")

Moleskine Sketchbook (5.5 x 3.5")

Thought I'd like to show how the spread looks.

Thank you very much for visiting and leaving comments. I really appreciate your support ;)

4Minute - HyunA

I've watching quite a bit of Korean movie on Netflix lately, so I felt like drawing some Korean pop stars again. =)
This is HyunA from a Korean pop group 4Minute. She also appeared on PSY's Gangnam Style music video.
I must say, it didn't turn out like I wanted, and it doesn't look like her, so I apologize. But if you're interested in knowing how she looks like, here's the link about her on Wikipedia.

Moleskine Sketchbook (5.5 x 3.5")

Thanks and Happy Mother's Day!

Green Eye

It's St. Patrick's day today, and I am not wearing green, and I am not going out as well(eventhough my car needs a wash desperately). I don't think I will get pinched even if I go out, being a 6'2 tall Asian guy can be pretty intimidating, and I always have excuse of being cultural ignorant or something like that :) But I don't want to get cyber-pinched too, so I have decided to draw something green.

Mixed media on Moleskine Sketchbook (5.5 x 3.5")

I've also included some steps of how it got from just outlines to semi-realism state. Hope you like them and HAPPY SAINT PADDY'S DAY.

P.S.: Don't pinch me, or I'll get really angry, and you won't like it when I am angry....- Hulk(before he turns green that is) ^^

In memory of Guan Hin Tan

I grew up knowing that I had a grand uncle who was a famous artist. He was a teacher, and he specialized in Chinese paintings, especially tigers and bamboo trees. No, I didn't have the opportunity to meet him in person, but I only knew him through his paintings when he had passed which he left his paintings to my other grand uncle.
I started drawing even before I knew about him, and I am not sure why I like drawing, but I am glad that at least I share this same passion with my grand uncle. Every once in a while when I draw, I do feel like I am just a child playing in his shadow. This page is dedicated to him, this sketch is for him.

(Pencil on Moleskine Sketchbook 5.5 x 3.5")

I know it's unusual for me to post 2 drawings in 2 days. I guess I am in the mood to do so (and I am staying away from my PlayStation ^^). Thank you all again for dropping by and leaving comments.

For those who are interested to know a little more about my grand uncle, here are a couple of websites about him and his work.
Tan Guan Hin (Penang)
Virtual Memory of Guan Hin Tan

Tiffany SNSD

I have not been drawing any celebrities for a while now. Since it's holiday today, I thought I should have enough time to do another one on my long neglected Moleskine sketchbook :)

(Pencil on Moleskine Sketchbook 5.5x3.5")

This is Tiffany. She's one of the 9 girls in SNSD or Girls Generation, a very popular Kpop group in South Korea. It's a compilation of shots taken of her(probably by some paparazzi) while she's in the airport travelling. She's known for her usual sweet smile, but I thought sometimes a person's most natural expressions can tell a lot of stories. I might do another one with her signature smile, someday :) But for now, if you want to know how she looks like when she smiles for the camera, just Google Tiffany SNSD images, you'll have an entire array of pictures with her smiling ^^

Thanks for visiting and your comments means a lot to me.

Black Ops 2

I thought I wanted to do something with color this weekend, and then I realized that it's already Sunday, and I just don't feel like colors anymore. But why didn't I do it on Saturday? I can answer that easily, but I have decided to draw the culprit instead :)

(Pencil on Moleskine sketchbook 5.5 x 3.5")

This is the front cover of the very popular video game from the Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 2. It has stolen most of my time away from my sketchbooks, even since Black Ops 1 more than 2 years ago(apart from my day job of course). Yeah yeah I know, I am such a child. ^__^

Thank you all for taking your time to visit, and for your comments on my last post. I miss my family no doubt, and hopefully me and my wife will be able to visit them this year before Fall. It'd be so much fun!!

Sanjay

I am sorry I've not been drawing or posting for such a long time. The move to Houston was a very time AND energy consuming one, plus the new job and getting used to new schedule as well. I couldn't even find the time to look at posts by all the EDMers and I know I am missing A LOT! I apologize for that and hopefully I'd be able to start drawing and posting regularly again very soon.

(Pencil on Moleksine Sketchbook 3.5 x 5.5")

Here's a short one. I thought I needed to do a quick sketch(well it took about 2 hours in the end). Sanjay is my friend Revathi's boy and he's a smart one! I just got to know him a little bit more on Friday and I am so glad we had such fun time playing Monopoly, and Revathi's amazing cooking too. I will be doing a portrait of both of them as a gift to her some time soon, and I will post it up for sure.

Thank you all so much for your comments and concerns. I am sorry if my absence caused any worries, but we're doing fine and I am just taking a break from drawing that's all. :)

A Tool

Finally my first week of working in normal working hours. I am truly enjoying the weekends like normal now, and I do sleep better at night after getting off the swing shift. Though not everything is perfect, like for example, my PS3(PlayStation 3) broke on me last weekend. I really wanted to draw last week but I was too busy trying to find out what was wrong with it. It wouldn't play the games on the Blu-ray discs, but it would play the Blu-ray movies or DVD movies just fine. I did many formatting to the hard drive full format included(which took 18hours) and it still didn't work. Finally I just took my bestfriend's advice to just clean the Blu-ray laser lens.

I have never taken the PS3 apart, so I thought I needed some tools. This is one of the tools I used(my wife bought me that for Christmas and I love it because it's got magnetic bits, it extends, and designed by the Germans. 

                                                    (Moleskine Sketchbook 5.5x3.5")

So I cleaned the lens with rubbing alcohol, dust off some parts, and cleaned off the excess grease on the moving parts and relubricate them with gun oil, and put it back together. And guess what, it worked! =) I saved $100 of repair bill, and probably saved $250 from getting a new PS3, and I earned lots of confidence from opening the unit, and I can confidently tell people that I could service their PS3 if they want me to, that is priceless ^^

Just so you're wondering how the Blu-ray disc drive inside the PS3 looks like, here it is:-

Thank you all for your comments =)

ChunOn

I know I've been drawing the girls(my nieces), so I thought I should give a little attention to one of the boys now. This is ChunOn, my younger nephew. He's the only one in the family with curly-curly hair, and everyone thought it's cute. He's turning 8 in July(I can't believe that!!) and he plays the piano and violin.

I used to tease him because of his name ChunOn(means Handsome-Safe) Chun-Off, like the On/Off switch. I don't know if he still remembers that, but he's such a good and talented boy and I miss him a lot too. I just hope he doesn't grow up too fast(yes that's a selfish thought of his little uncle living so far away)

This is a sketch of him playing video games. I know he looks worried in picture, but he's not, he's just concentrating really hard while playing the game ^^

(Moleskine Sketchbook 5.5x3.5")

Thank you all for visiting and your comments on my last sketch of KaQin. My sister said she loved it and I am glad she did.

Chinese Dragon

I've been away for way too long... 2 months to be exact. A lot has happened within this 3 months, but hopefully I could draw regularly again.

Here's a simple sketch of a Chinese Dragon, in conjunction with this year's Chinese New Year celebration, the year of the dragon. I hope you like it, and thank you all again for your time and precious comments.

(Moleskine sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

KaRyn's Teeth

Another quick sketch of KaRyn, and this time is just her sticking her finger into her mouth probably because she's teething. This picture makes me spontaneously giggle everytime I have it in my mind, and thanks to my sister having it posted on her Facebook. Had to draw it and share with the group of course. =)

(Moleskine Sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

I can't thank all of you enough for your wishes and comments. My shoulder is getting better...slightly, but I can't expect internal injuries like that to heal any quicker. My wrist only hurts when pressure is applied, at least it's not getting any worse. The cat I think has completely recovered from her surgery, and the coat over her belly has started to grow as well. We were supposed to go back to Louisiana for thanksgiving, but unfortunately my wife and I both weren't feeling well and we spent most of our days off sleeping and getting rested. But I must say though, I have been heavily distracted lately by the new Modern Warfare 3 game which I bought 2 weeks ago. Happy Thanksgiving!

KaRyn's iPad

Just a quick sketch(trying not to strain my right wrist and shoulder as much) of my baby niece KaRyn. She has a fake iPad, and this is how she "utilizes" it ^^

(Moleskine Sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

Not an accurate sketch of her actually, just wanted to capture her action using a single pencil, single eraser that's all.
Thank you all for your wishes, and concerns. Had a good birthday with my in-laws, and had seafood gumbo(yummy) for dinner instead of cake, and I picked pecans for the first time in my life(we've got 87lbs in less than 90minutes). I miss home, and everyone at home, and I really appreciate the thoughts and the birthday card and birthday song video they've made for me.

Pascal

Watched a good movie yesterday, Disney's Tangled. It's been long overdue, but I love almost all Disney animations, 2D or 3D. I am easily touched by movies like this, and I told my wife how much I liked it. And then I told her "Okay I am gonna draw" "Draw what?" She asked. I said I don't know. And then she suggested "Why don't you draw something from the movie?" So here's the very cute chameleon named Pascal from the movie(hopefully I don't get in trouble for this). I've always liked chameleon because I thought they are so cool(especially when their eyes work independently simultaneously, like 2 separate radars.

(Moleskine Sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

Thank you all again for your comments, and time to write them. 7 days of 12hours shift had costed me quite a bit, exhaustion to name a few, and a slight twist on my right shoulder which saved me from a potential 20 foot dropped. I didn't get any treatment, just letting it heal by itself, and it is still weak and hurts every time I try to push or pull hard with my right arm. But the 7 days off after the 7 days of work helped a lot. We went back to Louisiana for 4 days, celebrated my father-in-law's and my birthday since they are just 3 days apart, ate a lot of good food(Seafood Gumbo!). So everything is good except that Meela is getting spayed tomorrow and I am worried for her.

Meela

I have a hectic schedule. I had to drive back to Louisiana to drop off the car, and me and my brother-in-law drove back on the same day. It was 5am in the morning September 30th, and by the time we got back home it was 2am October 1st. While I was in Louisiana I met with my publisher and revised 3 pages of the blacklines and with hope, it's finalized for good.
And then on Sunday, October 3rd, we drove to Nashville and back to get this girl, Meela. =)

(Moleskine Sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

She's a British Shorthair, and close to 5 months old as of today. She's very playful, but very quiet, and has got a pair of beautiful amber eyes. She follows people around like a little puppy, and she sleeps like a champ. After sketching Bosco and Athena, I thought that I should at least sketch our own pet. Hopefully this won't be the last, and I'll try to do more of her as she grow to be bigger each day.
I'll start my 7days-in-a-row 12hour shift tomorrow, won't have time to sketch until afterwards. Happy drawing everyone and thank you all so much for your comments and remarks.
(Update on Athena post : The owner almost cried receiving the portrait of her little puppy. Too bad I wasn't there to witness it, but I am deeply gratified)

Bosco

My sister-in-law's terrified of dogs. I am not sure why and I did not ask. But when Bosco came into their lives, Bosco changed her life.
Because of Bosco she found the kindness, the loyalty, and the child that dwells every dogs that people love about. Because of Bosco she started to appreciate and collect Snoopy merchandises. They almost lost Bosco once in the park, but she was the one who insisted that they must get Bosco back after searching for hours. Bosco did come back and Bosco is definitely staying with the family as well.

(Moleskine Sketchbook 3.5x5.5")

This is my brother's special request, to sketch Bosco for her birthday on the 30th this month. I knew that I wouldn't have time to draw this entire week so I did it on Sunday in that tiny 2-3 window of time that I had left. Thank you all so much for your comments and visiting.

Happy Birthday my dear Sister-in-law.

KaRyn

(Moleskine Sketchbook 8x5, final page of 1st sketchbook)

I have a baby niece that I have not met yet. She's more than 6 months old now, and she doesn't know that I exist either. But I miss her, like how I miss her older sister KaQin, and her older brothers. I will my the effort so that me and my wife are  to go back home next year and see her (and for my wife the family) for the first time. I know that the path I have chosen has set me and my family in Malaysia far apart, I just hope that they will understand that Uncle Alex is far away for a reason, and when there's a time when I am needed, I will be here waiting for them.

The sketch of KaRyn marks the final page of my first Moleskine Sketchbook, my first sketchbook that is actually completed. And I have a lot more to come, and I think I am going to start with the tiny one next and see how well that works out  =)

Moleskine collection

Thank you everyone for your comments on my previous post, Gia. I still miss her terribly, but I will be strong for her.

Gia

(Graphite on Moleskine Large Sketchbook 5x8")

My wife bought a hamster 2 years ago. I thought it was silly because it's just a hamster, not a cat or a dog. She was such a tiny little thing. She didn't eat a lot back then, but she ran a lot...especially at night. She loved her wheel, and her ball.
When my wife's at school, I was with Gia at home the whole time. I'd feed her everyday(I didn't know I wasn't supposed to) and she started to get picky and only ate sunflower seeds because she realized she's got endless supply of those. I spoiled her, she got fat, like a ball of fluff, the cutest little thing ever.
Gia came with us whenever we spend more than 3 days away from home. She hated being in a car, constant movement of her cage was no fun to her at all. She wouldn't come out from her little cage after every road trip, and the fact that we moved twice in 2 years didn't help either. Gia never escaped out of her cage, even when you have her doors wide open. She didn't like to be held or pet either, she's shy all the time
Just about half a year ago, I started to realize that Gia actually "talked" back when you talk to her. She made these cute squeeky and clicking sounds, especially when she's happy that you give her lots of sunflower seed and treats. Just months ago she started to let us pet her, very gently, but she still didn't like it all that much, so we thought we finally tamed the wild beast in the house.
About a week ago, Gia didn't look good. She hadn't been eating a lot.. and her eyes were shut, showing signs of exhaustion. She was frail and weak, having hard time moving around or climbing up her little platform. She's tired, she's old, she needed rest. But she still wanted to move to us when she saw us in the house. And after 2 days fighting natural aging, she gave up, right after my wife telling her it's okay, she could go rest now. I was worried at work, but prepared. We gave her a proper burial in our new backyard, her own little spot.
I caught myself looking at her empty cage everytime I walk pass it... and I would whisper in my own breath..."Gia...."
Gia is not just a hamster, or just another pet. She's family, and she will always have a special place in our hearts, together with her little brother Oni.

My car

This is a post long overdue. Been busy at work rushing complete things I needed to learn, and shift work is definitely wearing me off in such a away that it's almost impossible for me to draw after working 12-13hours. And on my days off I'd be running errands and was busy moving in and getting the essentials done. Along the way we celebrated my wife's birthday, bought some furniture, and then there's a car.
Yes I finally bought a car, my very first in the states, and I am really happy about it. Taking Betty's advice, I decided to sketch a part of it.

Why only a part and not the whole car? Hmmm... I ran out of space on my Moleskine, plus I also thought about having a little quiz. Open to all EDMers only, the first one to guess what car it is correctly(Make and Model), I'll send something nice(hand drawn) to your doorstep/mailbox. Yes, my very first giveaway! YAY! So only ONE guess allowed  per person, unlimited comments and feedback allowed though ;) and it'll last until someone gets it right. I'll then contact you for your contacts and all.

Plants Vs. Zombies

I have to admit, I love video games. I wish I have more times playing them, but they do occupy a lot of time, almost like watching movies and very often requires a lot more concentration and good hand-eye co-ordination.
I was at first a little skeptical about this Plants Vs. Zombies game(available in all game consoles, computers, and smartphones) that it's just a simple game with simple designs, simple musics, simple structures, simple objectives, and simple graphics, made by perhaps people with simple minds. And boy was I so wrong =) It is the simplicity of the game that helped me to remember why I like video games in the first place, to have fun and forget about stress in life for just a moment of course.
I've probably spent more than 50 hours playing this game since I got it, defending my home against brain craving zombies using my plants, and I can't remember not laughing or giggling everytime I play it. It's the same feeling I get when I watch cartoons(and yes I love cartoons too, and I think the cartoonists are the most creative people in the world because they make people laugh).
So all I am saying is that, people behind Plants Vs. Zombies are not simple minded at all, but really creative and fun people. Perhaps that's why Electronic Arts (or EA, video game giant company) plans to acquire Popcap(the company behind Plants Vs. Zombies, and games like Bejewelled) for the rumored amount of USD1.3 billion, pretty impressive right?

5x8" Large Moleskine sketchbook

Thank you all so much for your comments. I felt sorry for my Moleskine sketchbook as I've neglected it for a while now(again). It's hard to be consistent nowadays with the 12-hour shift job, and the packing to move by the end of the month. Yes we're moving AGAIN =) but hopefully for the last time in at least 2-3 years. Appreciate all the wishes, and I shall be posting again when I have the time to do so right after settling down.