Painting in bedroom

I painted this today to hang in my bedroom. I will take a picture of my room soon to show you all how it fits with the rest of the deco.

My mum and brother were out tonight. My dad and I were the only ones at home, left alone to our own devices. I was engrossed with my painting and my dad was sitting across the table reading the news. Once in a while, I would ask him for his opinion on my progress. Dad is a funny one. After an intent study of my painting, like one would observe a painting at the Louvre, he said, "Hm...it looks very nice but I don't quite understand. What's the meaning behind your painting?"

"Em...there's no meaning. It just looks pretty."

"I also don't understand why do you leave a white patch on one side. Why can't you paint the entire thing brown?"

"But that's how the painting is suppose to be!"

"Oh I see. The brown line is not very straight. What's all these jagged things?"

"That's the design!!!"

"Oh..."

I was trying very hard to ignore his last comment but against my own will, I took it in! I've decided that the brown line wasn't very straight. And so, I kept working on it. But it kept getting worse and worse. And I can't paint when I'm frustrated. But I couldn't stop painting as well because I couldn't stand the sight of the ugliness. So for the next half hour, I was trying to paint a straight brown line in between blaming myself for my lack of skills and poor dad, for throwing in his two cents worth.

Finally, I told myself to just stop! I reckon the hardest part is stopping because you'll always think that the painting can be further improved.

So there you go, that's the story of the painting with the not-so-straight brown line.

Goal #16: Autumn leaves on a lonely wall

I removed some old picture frames from my room. It's about time that I replaced those kiddish pictures with something that reflects my age. To cover the bare wall, I decided to put up some simple paintings.

I painted this tonight. I'm not satisfied with it at all =( Sigh. Multi-tasking is evil. I was surfing the net while painting. Bad move.

Goal #15: Photoshop tips: Turning a picture into text

Edited from this picture.


I found this tip on the photoshop911 website. It's pretty easy to follow!

Step 1: First: Select the image you plan to use. Here, we've moved it to a new layer with white as our background in order to demonstrate the effect later. You do not necessarily need to do this.

Step 2: Set the type: Now, set the word using the type input method of your current version of Photoshop or Elements. Here we used a heavy, condensed type style to provide as much area for the image as possible. In earlier versions, this type will be rastarized as a picture object. In later versions it will be live type, and you can leave it like that if you wish.

Step 3: Select the type to make a "cookie cutter": In later versions, you can Command / Click (Ctrl/Click) the layer to SELECT the type. This displays the "racing ants" around each letter indicating that it is selected.

Step 4: Float the Image into the Selection:
a. Click the Photo layer to select it - while the selection is active
b. Float or "pick up" the image by using the Float command/J (Ctrl/J)
c. The selection will fill with a COPY of the art within the selection and generate a new layer (below)
(Note: older versions will need to use Edit > Copy, then create a new layer, and Edit > Paste)

Taken from Photoshop911

Goal #16: Geisha on ostrich egg

Over a decade ago, my family and I traveled to South Africa. On our trip there, we visited an ostrich farm. Ostrich eggs are fascinating. The egg is the largest of all eggs. The egg shell is extremely hardy. We tested it by jumping on the egg numerous times. Not a single crack was in sight.

As a souvenir, my dad bought an unpainted ostrich egg for me. I was meant to paint it. But being the epitome of a procrastinator, it sat on my desk for over 10 years, untouched.

Finally, I got down to it two days ago. I'll be giving it to my grandmother as a gift. It took me much longer than expected. Initially, I didnt have the right brushes. My brushes were too thick. I resorted to using satay sticks. That didn't work out too well. I re-did several parts numerous times. I'm still not satisfied with it but enough is enough. I need to move on to more important things in life!

Here's the result (I've yet to gloss the egg)