96 Amoy

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"96 Amoy Street"
6x16 Oil on Gessoboard
$300 Unframed
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This is a lovely pale yellow shophouse on Amoy Street, which is right near Chinatown. I loved the colors, as well as the reflections of the trees in the windows. The details in the crown molding were definitely tough, but I think I'm getting a lot better at doing them.

On a side note, my husband and I decided that this week is going to be a great week. No reason, we just decided it. So far KU won their game and are moving on in March Madness, so everything is looking good, right? Happy Monday!

Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 98

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"Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 98"
6x12 Oil on Panel
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This is another night scene from Emerald Hill, this time I was playing around with a slightly different cropping. I just love this house. One painting I really want to do (when I have time!) is of several of these Emerald Hill houses as one long painting. I think it would be really cool. Someday!

Today I am heading out to do some research - at Raffles Hotel. One of my commissions is of the Billiards room, which serves a fantastic weekend brunch and weekday lunch. I will be participating in the lunch today - all in the name of research, of course!

Citylights 2

"Citylights 2"
6x12 Oil on Panel
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This is another scene from wonderful Koh Samui. Oh, how we loved it!

One of the luxuries of living over here is that you meet some fascinating people that have truly traveled. They know the nooks and crannies and some have lived in crazy places I can only imagine. Yesterday the AWA (American Women's Association) held a coffee at a collector's house. She is from the US, but has been living in SE Asia since the mid 80's. Her house was absolutely amazing - it looked like a museum. I think my favorite thing that she and her husband had collected was the Indonesian Kris. Their collection was absolutely spectacular. This isn't one of the hilts from her home (Wikipedia, yay!), but she had some of similar quality and beauty:

This particular style was Balinese. The Java and Sumatran Kris styles are much simpler and the more valuable scabbards (to the locals) in those areas are the ones made with beautiful wood. They have a wicked looking blade, and each blade has an intricate design on it, with very exacting standards depending on the region where it comes from.

Men carry them on their backs usually. Even though they can be used as a weapon, they're more objects of power, or a talisman. We were told that people will sleep with these under their pillow for protection. Supposedly the spirits will take the Kris from under your pillow and slay your enemies while you sleep. You know it has worked if you wake up the next morning with blood on your pillow. Fascinating, and such beautiful objects.

Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 90 - SOLD

"Singapore Heritage Shophouse No. 90"
6x12 Oil on Panel - SOLD
Click Here to see other available artwork

I loved, loved, loved doing this night scene in Chinatown. There was something so wonderful about the dramatic lighting and the shadows that they cast on the windows and doors. Plus, it looked pretty sweet in its gold frame. There is just something about these night scenes and a gold frame. They seem to just glow once they are in a frame. Yummy.

I know the past two posts I've had have been kind of down because of my camera. So I thought that I would mention something that made me super happy recently. One of my collectors has become a wonderful personal friend. She happened to buy Shophouse #1 at my show this spring. Then, at the Fair last week, she unknowingly bought #100 (which I haven't posted yet!). I'm just so happy that she got both of those paintings, as she has been such a fantastic supporter. Kind of neat that both the first and the last (supposedly last...) went to the same person, isn't it?

Beachin'

"Beachin'"
6x12 Oil on Panel
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I've taken a little break this week from the shophouses, and expanded into the rest of Southeast Asia. It is definitely a challenge, and the paintings are taking much longer than the little shophouse ones, but I also think that the quality is coming out very nicely. This is a fond memory from Koh Samui, an little tiny island in the middle of the South China Sea, off the east coast of Thailand. 

Also, Blogger seems to have eaten one of my posts, about which I apologize. I posted number 68, but then it never appeared on the blog or on my list of entries. It has disappeared somewhere, probably the same place that socks go when only one of a pair comes out of the dryer. Those gremlins are awful!