New Year, New Life

I was sick as a dog on New Year’s Eve, but I only rested all day on Jan 2nd. By Jan 3, I was driving friends to SF and watching the emeralds and diamonds on exhibit at the Legion of Honor. The year will go by fast and I hope I do not miss anything. It is going to be raining today and I hope to stay indoors. I was at Jack London Square yesterday lunching with Jane. She treated me to a lavishly delicious Arabian dinner. It was too good to be true! The food was superb! I ate every morsel. The desert almost made me cry.

2018 for me began as a great year, but it ended dismally when Tomas passed away in August. Tasty and Nanay followed suit after him, we had three of our loved ones go one after the other within a period of three months. But we had a birth, Marcus came two days before Nanay passed.

My resolution this year is to grab life by the horns, experience everything to see the world and meet with people, cheer someone up, do something fun. No worries, no negative thinking, just keep going and brightening things up!

I am going to start with self care, now finally confronting diabetes care and seeing a new dentist. Being 63 is no picnic but I intend it to be one! I want to travel some more, participate advocacies addressing mental wellness in particular.

I had lunch with Shane at Drayfa in Oakland. Drayfa means hospitality in Hebrew. Every morsel they served was outstanding at that restaurant.

Jane’s chocolate creations.

Jane made chocolates from scratch. It is her expressive cooking diversion. Her results are awesome!

Jane created these bits of heaven, it is her passion to cook and create food, but this sinful decadence takes it all. She nailed it!

Everyone has to follow their creative calling. I was floored by her skill and technical chocolate wizardry! Here’s to chocolates and 2019!

View from VA parking lot

Fountain of Youth

I helped my 2nd daughter move to her new home in Sacramento. New baby in tow, she and her husband bought a two bedroom two bath bungalow in a suburban area, north of Elk Grove. It was tidy and spacious, a dream for a new couple just beginning the family they have dreamed of. To be able to see them transition from apartment confines to home ownership made me very proud. The two of them are hardworking and committed to each other.

With a VA loan, the young couple picked this affordable and meticulously cared for starter home as a shelter from the rising costs of rent in the Bay Area, SF. 

I liked the airy openness of the floor plan of the house, the big wood deck outside is  sunlit and spacious. It has the potential for gardening vegetables and flowers.

My role as a mom is to watch their home unfold into a grateful and loving home, full of abundance and God’s grace. Meadow, their young 3 month old is a joy to hold, a very precocious talker and communicator, she delights me to no end.

Meadow, 3 months old sleeps on grandma’s lap

She, and my two older grand children Adeline and Arthur is the real fountain of my youth.

Work in Progress

I guess a shirt can have a life beyond its purported usefulness, nice shirts especially. A good friend gave me two vintage Burmese shirts. They were almost ivory yellowed from storage. There were slight tea stains, a perfect canvas! Wait, two perfect canvasses.

I had no focus on what I would create. I had only the inspired vision of a shirt gone mad with strokes, a shirt was waiting to be marked, drawn on or simply worn.

But I was armed by silk fabric paint. My two new large flat brushes were already raring to go!

For a whole week, I kept on thinking about color and lines. I wanted dynamic lines and swirling color. Purple and black.

It was pure delight to pour purple paint that was smooth on the silk. I was mad at the color for not being more vibrant. I made circles and swooshes, I made spheres and serendipitous scenes of violet squiggles. Then I stopped.

This was a stool with faux leather, it sat between a wall and a wooden and glass etagere in my living room. We have put our house phone on it, all kinds of clutter that either got removed or remained on it. I decided to give it to the garbage pick up pile. But something happened between my removing it from its spot and committing it to the pile. Armed with green paint, I saw it being the perfect backdrop for lavish vines that curled into buds of future flowers. Hibiscus, mangoes and blue dots graced the vine. The brown stool was now a plant, it bore flowers and a fruit.

I found a bottle of Dr. Ph Martin’s waterproof India ink in my stash of calligraphy inks. Going back to my silk shirt with violet spheres, I got emboldened by the one inch flat brush. I poured all the ink in a plastic square dish and began doing broad strokes, lines and fast dashes left to right! It was like checking papers.

I could not stop but I had to. That is the biggest challenge, learning when to put the brush down to end the exhilaration. The magic of a flat brush was in the uneven mess of the paint getting applied. The more missing spots on the lines, the better it was.

I hung the shirt with a palm tree pod. I had saved it because it looked like a skinny boat. Using a purple dog leash, I made a balanced hanger for the painted ovre.

Random things people lose in Hawaii

Have you lost anything lately? A shoe, a set of keys? Your phone? I photographed lost stuff and you may get a kick out of these.

3t Carter’s toddler pants

hat and hanger by the church

Where do you think lost articles go? Do they end up with someone else, the trash, or into the world of forgotten objects, never to be reunited with their owners?

broken black flip flop

Not only is this slipper separated from its mate, it is also broken and left by itself on the beach. It may as well be washed away with the incoming tide.

Hawaii is for Lovers

That is what we all are, people in the phylum of love. We are all lovers. Hawaii is the shining example of the abundance of life and God being close by, all bound with love. Teeming with green grass, verdant trees and azure water, Hawaii is nothing but love.

I spent September 4-9 2016 in Kailua, Oahu to celebrate the love and beginning of Grant and Lily’s wedded life.  They pledged their vows on the beach on Wednesday, the 7th. It was a short and simple ceremony at 6:20 am sunrise, there were a total of 14 people in attendance including the bride and groom.

Grant’s very close friends, Cris, Amber, Jay, Arthur and their significant others were at the house for the whole time we spent in Kailua preparing for the event.

Grant and Lily rented a beautiful beachfront pink bungalow that is a stone’s throw from one of the five most beautiful beaches in the world. Lanikai beach is fine sand, no rocks and dangerous coral, only sugary perfection. The water was tepid, the waves were gently  undulating, there was ample sun and occasional rain. The little spot where they were wed was windy, the flowers we scattered on the beach would not stay. A young officiant took them on the side and before us let them recite their vows. 

I had a special time being mother of the bride, I took to kitchen duties that was easy, considering the comings and goings of several people who drank, partied and had  welcomed Grant’s visit. They missed him terribly and his arrival with his bride was a homecoming with all the loving that anyone could receive.

Lily was beautiful, happy and content. She had Grant and that was what mattered. I know that Grant also loves her so much. 

Watercolor tints and brushes

I have never appreciated my paints until this summer when I sat in the sketching and water color course offered at the Rec Ctr. But now I have realized I own the Rolls Royce of pigments!

Shmincke aquarelle in paper wrapped pots, 24 colors

I bought this in 2004 and have let my grand daughter play with it, I did not know its value. I do not wash the pans, I simply reuse the paints and freshen up with new water. This is as it should be. Watercolor requires very little tints if used properly. Here are some more ways to acquire colors.

paint comes in a container with separate compartments

My fascination with artist tools started from the saying, “you are as good as your art materials.”  The quality of the paint is foremost.

some mixing and attention to cleaning the pans

very clean pans and palettes, no mixing?

I have a collection of Chinese calligraphy brushes. I keep some of them in a rolled up in a sushi mat. I have some others in a recycled calendar paper scroll calendar. I have a motley collection or acrylic brushes, sable and oil brushes. I have been rough on these brushes. Now I have to take stock and make sure they are available for use. Calligraphy brushes have a pointed tip that needs to be cared for when in the process of drying. They are very expensive and caring for them is of utmost importance.

Waterworld

Early June, 2016, I met a gentleman at Flax Art Supply store in San Mateo who introduced me to Charles Reid, watercoloring guru and master. It was not a face to face introduction, but he scribbled names of well known watercolor painters to check out. He also scribbled his website showcasing his work.
I checked out Charles Reid. The fluidity of his work is remarkable, all strokes look like brush play, the surprise details are reflective of masterful insight on a scene or object. I wish I could paint like him.

watercolor by Charles Reid

 

 

watercolor by Charles Reid

Another watercolor master I was introduced to was Joseph Zbukvic. This gifted contemporary painter is from Zagreb, Bosnia Herzegovina and his work speaks of grandeur and lavish landscapes. Bill Dunn thinks very highly of his work.

 

I really like painting landscapes because it can be done fast and one can skip minutiae. I like bold strokes and washes so landscapes lend me quick and easy subject matter. The San Francisco Park Service at Land’s End by the VA hospital presents the most scenic views of the golden gate area of the California coastline.  I bring a small Strathmore postcard size pad of watercolor papers and Schmincke Akademie Aquarell pans and two brushes with me everywhere. I even have a tiny vial of water handy for smaller washes.

As my collection of tools are mostly Chinese calligraphy brushes, I have had to scrounge around for the very few sable brushes I owned. It has been energizing to connect with my old art materials, I have had these for a long time and this is the first time I am in formal classes to pursue my avocation. I learned a new French “plein air” which means painting outdoors. Now I cannot seem to get enough outdoor time.

watercolor by Candy Bandong, 8″x 8″

“Back of the VA” watercolor by Candy Bandong, 8″ x 8″

The miracle of painting with a water medium is the fluidity of the lines that can be achieved. You cannot predict its outcome but you can be disciplined to learn techniques of controlling the brush and the amount of paint you load. I guess there is no perfect way to watercolor, one simply has to enjoy it. The mixing of the pigment with water is just as magical. I can only hope somehow Charles Reid or Jonathan Zbukvic  take over my hands!

“Three Pots” watercolor by Candy Bandong 8″ x 8″

“My Garden” watercolor by Candy Bandong, 8″ x 8″

“Studying Succulents” watercolor by Candy Bandong, 5″ x 7″

“Echeverria” watercolor by Candy Bandong, 5″ x 7″

I signed up for two classes this coming fall to attend Matt Crane‘s classes with the San Mateo Union High School District’s Adult School. I sat in two classes this summer to take the sketch classes that included perspective, (one point and two point), how to draw faces and heads, how to draw hands and feet. Matt is an illustrator and creates logos for companies, creates art for video and electronic games. He has extensive training in design and graphic arts from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. On Thursdays, he holds the watercolor sessions of 43 adults at the Alameda de las Pulgas Senior Center in San Mateo. I have met very disciplined and enthusiastic seniors there who share their work on the studio stage.

I hope to improve on my watercolor paintings. I have had 5 classes by sitting in, and so far, I have experienced nothing but accomplishment with joy!