Sweetness

My niece is totally into this Filipino soap opera about little twin sisters. And of course, it follows the age old cliche of an evil twin and a good twin, where the evil twin manipulates her way into everything while the good twin is absolutely powerless. It raised a little concern because my niece seems to associate herself more with the evil sister. When asked why, she said "because you have to be brave!"

I couldn't help admire her outlook, despite the negative association. I hope someday she realizes that being brave means so much more than aggressively fighting for everything. Right now though, I am somewhat comforted by the fact that my niece practices logic behind her choices and that I'm pretty sure that she will never let herself get walked all over by people.

I worry about her health at times because she's diabetic. My grandmother let her have a little ice cream the other day and she savored every little drop of it, with each bite exclaiming with great appreciation "Mmmmm!" What a sweetheart.

Speaking of sweets, my sweet tooth seems to be evident in the last couple of AOTD:

DAY 63 - March 04, 2010
TITLE: Red Velvet Cupcake
MEDIUM: Pastels and Acrylic

Right before devouring a delicious red velvet cupcake, I couldn't help but think "you're pretty. I'm going to make you today's AOTD". I thought acrylic would be a great medium to capture the texture of the frosting. Mmm!!

DAY 64 - March 05, 2010
TITLE: Brownie Love
MEDIUM: Pastels

It seems that pastels and I have been getting along. I still don't think I'm using it properly. Oh well.My cousin sent me a batch of her homemade brownies yesterday through my Grandma who came back from the Philippines. They're such awesome yuminess! So here I am, expressing my love for them. Thanks, Ate!

Silent

DAY 62 - March 03, 2010
TITLE: Silent
MEDIUM: Pen and Marker

Oopsie! While I was in class, I thought I put my phone on silent but it didn't seem to work out that way. So, take that phone!!

Oh... and I thought it would be more fun to draw an old-school phone rather than my cell phone. :)

Killer Kindness

I want to start this post by sharing a quote I found on Playing Grown Up-

“ When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.” -Abraham Heschel

So I prayed that March will be much kinder than February. These past few days, it certainly hasn't felt like because I've had my share of mishaps, but at the same time, for every negative thing that has happened, there's also goodness that I've experienced.

I wanted to share that quote because it totally applies to me. When I was younger, I didn't feel very smart so I always envied those who were smart. Over the years, when I grew into my smarts, I realized that compassion is a much more valued trait. There are not enough people with heart out there. People just become to analytical and process things with their suspicious minds as opposed using their hearts to understand things. I am finding that I live in a world where acts of kindness are often misinterpreted.

Just this week, while I was trying to extend an act of genuine kindness to another individual and it was received so coldly with a mumble. Then this person walked away. This encounter made me feel so discouraged, but I stumbled upon this quote and I was reminded that there are people out there that appreciate kindness.

This unfortunate encounter, in addition to all the random mishaps this week, is not enough to dilute the goodness I experienced from other people. Even simple and genuinely kind words go such a long way, so please, do not use them so sparingly.

Here's another 365 (I'm getting them up, slowly but surely!):

DAY 61 - March 02, 2010
TITLE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!
MEDIUM: Computerized Graphic

Thanks for being a wonderful friend!

Secrets and favorite things

I was inspired by my last post to write about my favorite things. I know, it's very Sound of Music, but I just wanted to take the time to appreciate the little things.

The smell of crayons. Breakfast food. Water-proof eyeliner. Rainboots. Nami kisses. Warm pajamas. Movie nachos. Drives around the south of Guam. Curry. Theme parties. Karaoke. Pasalubong. The $1.50 store. The snooze button. Paint. Guam sunsets. The buzzing of the tattoo gun. Sister secrets. FRIENDS. FAMILY.

This was a shorter list than I thought it was going to be. I guess it's hard to think of things I love on the spot. As I stumble upon them, I'll be adding to this list.

I've been behind on posting my 365 pieces, but rest assure that I am keeping up with them. Here is one inspired by one of my favorite things as well:

DAY 60 - March 01, 2010
TITLE: Shh
MEDIUM: Pastels/Computerized Graphics

This was a pastel piece inspired by the song called "Secret" by the Pierces. It started out as just a pastel piece, but I wanted to do more to it so I played around with it using Photoshop.

Check out the song here:



"Why when we do our darkest deeds to we tell?" :P

Curly Fried Happiness

I think I am starting to shake off the negative aura that’s been surrounding me all week. I started this year out with so much positive energy and I am a bit disappointed in myself that I let that energy vanish over the last few days, but I had enough left to remind myself what I set out to do when the year started. I somehow forgot that happiness is a choice and that I, just like everything good in life, must work for it.

I am always glad to prove that I can thrive amidst adversity.

I had a pretty good weekend. Last Saturday, I had an awesome time at a party my friend was hosting. I was really looking forward to this party because it was a guaranteed good time. Great company and great music with a splash of alcohol isn’t too bad of a combination. :)

Here is yesterday’s art of the day:

DAY 59 - February 28, 2010
TITLE: Curly Fried Happiness
MEDIUM: Pastels

Thought I'd do something simple but fun. I had curly fries the other night and it just made me think of how much I loved curly fries as a kid. When we lived in the Philippines, McDonald's would have curly fries as a limited promotion and I loved them so much, my dad would get me some practically everyday until the promo was finished.

Yay for two months of Art, completed! 306 days to go! ♥

At Last

DAY 55 to 57 - February 24, 25, & 26 2010
TITLE: (none)
MEDIUM: Acrylic

It's been a long week. It hasn't been very hectic but I've just got a lot going on internally that everything I do seems to be taking twice as long to do, with twice as much effort. My body parts haven't been comunicating with each other properly, but at last, I finished.

DAY 58 - February 27, 2010

TITLE: At Last
MEDIUM: Acrylic

So here's the finished piece. I wanted to create something whimsical out of a sad moment. I just want to recreate a moment, so that I don't associate that particular sad moment with my everyday life.

Add a caption

DAY 58 - February 27, 2010 TITLE: At Last MEDIUM: Acrylic So here's the finished piece. I wanted to create something whimsical out of a sad moment. I just want to recreate a moment, so that i don't associate it with everyday life.