Passion Project: My Dearest Co

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It’s been a while but it’s been a good few months. I went ahead and did something that I’ve been meaning to do for a while - I finally shared my artwork with the world! Some of you may know that I’ve been practicing both calligraphy and watercolor for a few years ago. 

This year I decided to create a separate place for me to share my creative expression with the world: MY DEAREST CO. My dream is to make every piece symbolic of what “my dearest” means - a statement of love and endearment - for people who bring it into their homes. You can read more about it here, follow on Instagram here or visit my Etsy shop here.

The purpose of this blog post is to reflect on the past months and share what I’ve learned about myself on this exciting journey.

You’ll never be ready for your first step.
Don’t wait until you feel 100% prepared to do something because you’ll never feel absolutely ready. Don’t worry about needing to know what the next 10 steps are, just keep taking one step every day and it’ll become clear as you go. In other words, be okay with not knowing.

Don’t compare your practice to someone’s masterpiece.
If you expect to create an end product every time you practice - you’ll just be let down. Go into each session with the intention of bettering your craft and good work will come naturally.

Find the work you cannot do, and actually do it.
Is there something that you can’t wait to dig into every morning? Where “work” doesn’t really feel like work, and where you have uninterrupted flow when doing? Then you’ve found something that makes you feel alive and/or gives you meaning for living. Seek out that thing and find ways to spend more waking hours on it to nurture that passion.


As a final note... 
I’ve also come to embrace the “seasons” of living and now believe that there are times and places for different opportunities throughout our lives. I’m blessed to have this be my side project right now with the hopes that one day this could be something bigger. Until then, baby steps onward!

What is a passion project you’ve been wanting to explore?
What are you waiting for? 

Calligraphy: You Are Precious

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"Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you."

Hello wonderful people! 

Check out my latest work. I'm still trying to find my personal hand lettering style. Is it neat, straight? Does it flow loosely? Is it playful, sophisticated? I think the more practice I have, the closer I will be to figuring it out. 

In my watercoloring, I've been experimenting with masking fluid! That's how I achieved the white textured background in this piece. What masking fluid does is temporarily cover up parts of your paper, allowing you to paint freely over it. Once the color dries, you just rub it off. HERE is an easy 101 on it. It's useful for painting waves, small details, accents. Basically anything that you can imagine! 

YouArePrecious

Watercolor: The day is ending

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Today is a sad day. 

This week's practice included lots of abc's (I am trying out a new nib), and a watercolor session. It was a great outlet, and it kept me busy for a couple hours. I'm happy with how this landscape painting came out. I think I will continue to put on finishing touches tomorrow, and perhaps show an update in the following week. 

I am also running out of black ink. It feels like getting to the very end of a chapstick - super fulfilling. 

Watercolor: Summer Florals

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Hello lovely lady bugs! I've previously mentioned that I'm experimenting/learning my way around watercolors. Here's a quick sketch of florals, inspired by the summer time. I don't love it, but that's OK because documenting it will help me progress forward!

As for learnings: I found it a bit difficult to control my color/water ratio. From my readings, I've learned that layering colors (through water) is essential as it adds texture, depth, and helps bring life to the entire painting.  Another beautiful thing I learned recently is that you should never paint on colors as they are - always mix. Similar to layering, it adds dimension and personality into whatever you're trying to capture. 

I remember growing up and playing with my Crayola watercolor set. Watercolor seemed so simple and straight forward. Now I'm beginning to realize how much technique and skill is involved. I'm excited to get better! 

Calligraphy: Dream on, darling

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Happy Sunday again! (Perhaps I should make this a weekly routine.)

Today's calligraphy piece is au natural, aka has not been digitized. I've began experimenting with watercolor, and am planning to ease my way into gouache paint. There's also a bit of ink bleeding here, so may need to purchase different paper too. 

But regardless, enjoy! A simple reminder to keep on going.