Painting Lorikeet

I could spend an hour in the morning just observing and listening to the noisy lorikeets that come visit our place. We live in the top most unit and across our place is a large Australian Native Tree that has been a fortress to a lot of birds.

I have been planning on painting these cuties for a while but I haven’t picked up my watercolour brush as I have been catching up on some errands. This week has been really great! Got a good long break from work and managed to finish my first project on painting birds. Kris has been encouraging me to do one as they are a good subject since their colours are vibrant.

Since we are moving in a few weeks, I am so glad of the result and I am proud to put this in the photo frame and immortalised my memories with them in our balcony.

I will miss early mornings with them since our new flat does not have a balcony. I thank them for showing me how to appreciate the wonderful creations of God and that they remind me of the verse in the bible that assures everyone of us that God cares and provides for us more than the birds in the skies.

Matthew 6:26-34New King James Version

^26 (A)Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one ^[a]cubit to his ^[b]stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not ^[c]arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^(B)seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Thanks for reading and God bless you. 🙂

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My Favourite Artist and why..

Photo by Julia Solonina on Unsplash

..is no other than my husband, Kris! 😉

I don’t want to sound a bit cheesy but it is a blessing to be married to someone who has an amazing talent in art.

My favourite part is not just his paintings but the way he inspires me to believe in my dreams and work hard to achieve them.

For many years I enjoyed our countless art store shopping. I have seen how Kris toils on his paintings, brainstorm ideas and work on endless experiments using different art media. I have never met anyone as determined as him who aims to deliver polished project.

He puts his heart and soul into his art works and the end result of it amazes everyone. I did not know someone could paint emotions not until you see his ‘out of this world’ paintings. A lot of people have been inspired by his works and some are blessed to own some of his pieces.

I am so proud of what he has achieved as of this time and just recently he was featured by @theotherartfair Sydney as Fair Director’s Pick!

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So grateful for @theotherartfair Sydney Fair Director’s Pick feature! Thank you @theotherartfair team and @luketpotkin . So looking forward to do @theotherartfair Sydney at Barangaroo this year.

A post shared by Kris Ancog| Abstract Artist (@krisancog) on Jun 1, 2020 at 3:02am PDT

Kris reminds me of the Parable of the Talents in the book of Matthew 25: 14-30. It is a story about a master who puts his servants in charge of his property while he went away for a trip. He gave each servant a large amount of talent/money. Upon his return, the servants returned his money with good profit as they have used and invested on it wisely but one unfaithful servant hid the talent/money and returned it untouched. The master rewarded the wise servants in return and on the other hand chastised the unreliable servant.

Kris never fails to give back all glory to God at all times, who created us and gifted each one of us a talent unique from everyone else. I believe that we should use our abilities as what are intended for. As for me, I have found my talent in arts and in serving.

How about you? Who inspires you in your creative journey?

Kris’ Painting Giveaway

Instagram users GIVEAWAY ALERT! I’ve been overwhelmed by your amazing support with my Aurora Illuminata series. All the paintings have found their new homes within 24 hours of posting. So I would like to say a big THANK YOU by giving away this mini Aurora Illuminata painting. Up for grabs is a 29x29cm canvas on board mixed media painting in a beautiful white frame. Click this link to my Instagram post for contest rules: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAWTtsFHfAx/

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Special mini Aurora Illuminata giveaway! I’ve been overwhelmed by your amazing support with my Aurora Illuminata series. All the paintings have found their new homes within 24 hours of posting. So I would like to say a big THANK YOU by giving away this mini Aurora Illuminata painting. Up for grabs is a 29x29cm canvas on board mixed media painting in a beautiful white frame. TO ENTER: 1. Follow @krisancog if you haven’t already. 2. Like this photo. 3. Tag 2 friends (who love art) in the comment section (each comment with 2 friends tagged is one entry. Multiple entries are welcome). 4. Be willing to pay for the shipping of this little painting. Giveaway will be closed at 11:59 PM AEST, 29 May 2020. Winner will be selected using an online randomiser and will be announced on Tuesday, 26 May 2020. Please note that shipping of this little painting will need to be covered by the winner. In the event the winner does not wish to pay the shipping, another person who is willing to cover the shipping will be selected. This contest is not affiliated with Instagram. Good luck!

A post shared by Kris Ancog| Abstract Artist (@krisancog) on May 18, 2020 at 5:01pm PDT

Thank you very much and good luck. 🙂

Overcoming Negativity

Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash

I grew up in a community where becoming an artist is almost synonymous to economic suicide. I was always bombarded with unexamined opinions regarding artists being lazy, eccentric, and having no ‘direction in life’. The lives of the artists I knew that time somehow became the evidence of such a misconception so I can’t really blame why the opinions relating to the impracticality of creative pursuit of was quite pervasive. One of the first challenges I have to overcome when I decided to be an artist was shaking off all these negative perceptions which I unknowingly accepted as ‘truth’ for many years. I needed to change my perspective and replace the unhelpful ones with positivity balanced with maturity and humility. What I mean by this is believing that my art career has great potential but also being ready to do the hard work and sacrifices whilst always striving for excellence. 

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Blue is definitely the #coloroftheyear for me.

A post shared by Kris Ancog| Abstract Artist (@krisancog) on May 3, 2020 at 3:11pm PDT

Persistence

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My creative journey isn’t a walk in the park. And it took me years before I was even able to take part in art shows and run exhibitions. I had a lot of those moments when the only thing that made sense was the raw and pure joy every time I pick up my brush. 
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In her heartwarming TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert said “Don’t be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyedgenius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then ‘Ole!’ And if not, do your dance anyhow. And ‘Ole!’ to you, nonetheless. I believe this and I feel that we must teach it. ‘Ole!’ to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.”
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I’m so glad I did not give up. And as long as life goes on I will keep showing up.

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My creative journey isn’t a walk in the park. And it took me years before I was even able to take part in art shows and run exhibitions. I had a lot of those moments when the only thing that made sense was the raw and pure joy every time I pick up my brush. . In her heartwarming TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert said “Don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then 'Ole!' And if not, do your dance anyhow. And 'Ole!' to you, nonetheless. I believe this and I feel that we must teach it. 'Ole!' to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.” . I’m so glad I did not give up. And as long as life goes on I will keep showing up. . Like a Fairy Tale Mixed Media on stretched Canvas 30 in X 30 in (SOLD)

A post shared by Kris Ancog| Abstract Artist (@krisancog) on Apr 20, 2020 at 2:21pm PDT

Words of Wisdom

One day at a time and this will be over soon, then we can pick up what’s left behind and start a new beginning with a brave and hopeful heart.

Stay safe and strong. Tomorrow’s gonna be another chance to reflect and count your blessings.

Project Mona Lisa with Kris’ painting

Kris and I never ran out of creative ideas. I have been a fan of make-up tutorial transformations but haven’t really tried it yet. I marvel at how they copy someone’s face by just using their make-up. I enjoyed watching them and sometimes I show Kris some of the funny videos and we laugh at it together. Some of the girls looked as beautiful as dolls but very different from how they actually look like in real life when the make-up is washed off.

We have seen people in facebook post about themselves copying famous artworks and thought we could do that as well.

Today, we decided to make something challenging yet fun. The challenge was to copy Mona Lisa’s face to model one of Kris’ paintings! I got really excited and went to my make-up box to see what I needed. I didn’t have the contouring foundation but hey being creative means trying to use whatever is available so I used my dark brown eyeshadow.

Mona Lisa photo from Wikipedia (left) | Aileen’s version with Kris’s painting (right)

Let us know what you think by posting your comment. We welcome any suggestions on the transformation you want us to do next .

Enjoy!

Let’s Paint Together

Bird of Paradise

Few weeks ago Kris and I went to the City to buy his art supplies.

I look forward doing art supply shopping with Kris as I love looking at those beautiful display of colors in every corner of the art shop plus I get to buy tiny bits of pieces for myself such as color pencils and pens.

I won’t be doing anything that afternoon anyway so I randomly picked a table top easel, paint brushes, a small canvass and a few pieces of paint on sale.

My husband is a very talented artist who has done a lot of art shows and sold hundreds of paintings. He has been encouraging me to get back to my passion in drawing and painting so we could share the same hobby together. Wouldn’t be fun to paint and exhibit together as a couple? So, with no questions asked he’s gladly added my stuff to his cart.

I was so excited to get started as I opened my bag of art goodies. Kris set up my table top easel and taught me color priming techniques. He is a very good art teacher.

Looking for inspirations is not really that hard. I thought of things that makes me happy and for some reason I chose to paint the bird of paradise plant because of it’s brilliant colour that reminds me of tropical places like home in the Philippines.

Sketching on the plant was not that hard as I have been doing it before but I got a bit nervous picking up my new brush and dipping it to the acrylic paint then brushing it to the canvass. Kris taught me not to be scared as I can just cover mistakes with another layer color on top and just relax and enjoy!

True enough, I finished my painting that day and was very proud of my achievement. Thanks to my incredible art teacher/husband.

I came to realise it’s not too late to re visit an old passion and talent. It has always been there inside of me but I was just busy with some other things as well.

For some of you reading my blog, my paintbrush could be your book, a novel, a ball of yarn and needle, a fishing rod, it can be anything you love doing but somewhere sometime in the past you forgot about it.

Well, why don’t you re visit your old passion and re-connect with the things that you love doing most? It’s definitely worth the try!

If you wanna check my husband’s art pieces just visit his website at krisancog.com or search Kris Ancog on Instagram and Facebook.

Lots of L.O.V.E.

Aileen and Kris

Overcoming creative block

It’s quite strange whenever I’m having one of those days feeling ambivalent regarding my art. Those are the days when in my heart I wanted to paint but my mind seems uncooperative and picking up my brush seems too much work as though the magic is all gone. A lot of artists call this as the ‘creative block’, which I believe happens to everyone without any exception (it’s only a matter of when). These are the moments when I feel stuck. And the challenge, of course, is how to get unstuck and be productive. I tried different strategies over the years and here are five of those that I found helpful:

1. Just pick up your brush

A lot of times all I need to do is start that very first brush stroke and the rest follows. It’s like a domino effect– you only need to do one thing that will jumpstart your creative process. This is particularly helpful when you have a deadline for a show (or a commission) and you won’t have time to procrastinate.

2. Review your workspace and reorganize if necessary

I normally work on multiple paintings and chaos is inevitable. I realized that one of the reasons why I couldn’t execute my process easily is because my workspace is not set up ergonomically. What I mean by this is my paint tubes could be scattered everywhere I may have trouble finding the color I wanted. I have limited space in my art room and when the space feels too tight it affects my ability to be totally free in creating the brushstrokes essential for my pieces. Little things could add up and I start telling myself that I couldn’t be “creative”.

3. Step away

Your creativity could be stifled if you have been working non-stop or procrastinating for too long. You need to break it and do something different to defibrillate your negative creative rhythm. Physically stepping away from your work either briefly to have a shower or going out for a walk in the beach can make a significant difference in developing new ideas or making you feel refreshed to be creative. 

4. Perform your ritual if you have one

If you are like me who likes my cup of coffee and good breakfast before starting a painting session, then have your coffee and eat your breakfast. If meditation is what you do to go into the “creative zone” then meditate. Some artists have certain attire they need to wear, and some make sure they have brushed their teeth. It may be the only things that’s missing and needs to be done before you go deep in questioning what happened to your creative genius. 

5. Write it down. 

Journaling my thoughts and frustrations is quite cathartic for me. Sometimes the answers of those hard questions reveal themselves after I have written a few pages of reflection. Other times I just feel better after writing and feel free again to execute my passion.

How about you? What do you do to overcome your creative block?

This article was reblogged from Kris’s website. Click here to view the original post.

Kris’ Art Room

Hi Everyone!

Come follow me. Let’s have a peek at Kris’ art room and see what’s in there.

I feel like I have the key to the secret garden if you remember that famous children’s novel written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was one of my favourite books when I was a kid.

Kris had just finished cleaning up this room and I am just curious to see how it looks like.

He could spend an entire day painting while listening to his favourite classical music playlist. I am just in awe on how he could produce such beautiful art pieces and lay them all piece by piece in the living room in preparation for his Art Shows. I remember asking him one day on how he managed to create all of those artworks. He said he enters into a “zone” (perhaps a different kind of dimension) so he could express his thoughts and emotions and let them flow into the empty canvas.

Since then I wondered what kind of dimension it is.. Hmmm..

He is away today so I tried to sneak in to his room and wondered if I could also get in to that “dimension” LOL! then maybe I can be creative as Kris!

As soon as I opened the door I could feel goosebumps all over me just watching at his unfinished artworks. My goodness! Is there some kind of spirit in here? I do believe in ghosts but I think it’s not the ghost spirit for sure!

I just watched in wonder how amazing Kris is. I just stood there inspired of how one’s talent could create such a positive energy that could speak to my soul! Char kaayo! 🙂 but it’s sooo true!

If you want to see more of his artworks, visit krisancog.com and follow his Instagram @krisancog