Rainforest World Music Festival 2008

As a participating artist at the Folk Art Forum, I was invited to the launch of Rainforest World Music Festival 2008 at Sarawak Tourism Complex (The Old Court House) on the evening of 10th July. After the launching ceremony, we were treated to a buffet dinner and to add more flavour to the party, Fadomorse from Portugal performed for all the guests.



Too bad it rained very heavily at the start of the concert and I missed the performance of the first 3 bands, I think. Due to the downpour, the field in front of the main stage became very very soggy and muddy. However, this makes it even more exciting I guess for those who were eager to party regardless of the state of the ground they're dancing on. People started to throw mud at each other and they ended up having a mud bath!! haa!

Silly mud fights aside, the music was fantastic! I trully enjoyed them all although I don't know any of the bands. Sadly, I didn't go to the second and final nites but I heard the Japanese drummer was awesome... too bad, may be I'll go to next year's again :)

More photos in my facebook album

Folk Art Forum 2008

I was invited to take part in this inaugural art forum cum exhibition, held from July 10th to 13th 2008, in conjunction with the Rainforest World Music Festival.

At first, I find it a bit weird when I was introduced in the local press as a representative from Singapore when I am a Sarawakian but now residing in Singapore, probably an identity crisis of some sort eh? Anyway, I had a good time there, getting to know new friends and enjoying the art works and music on offer....

Although I think more works need to be done in terms of publicity and promoting this event, it is a good idea to incorporate an art exhibition at this popular music festival, so kudos to the Sarawak Tourism Board and Galleria, the organizer of Folk Art Forum.

Here are some photos taken during the event.

Then, we had the priviledge to listen to Tuyang Tan Ngam, the first Chinese sape player LIVE at the exhibition venue... he agreed on the spot to play for us despite not feeling well that day. Tuyang, thank you if you're reading this!


He switched effortlessly from traditional music to more upbeat raggae and rock style using his self-made sape, a traditional guitar-like instrument used by the Orang Ulu in Sarawak.

Obviously, I had a grand time! :)

More photos in my facebook album

Demo ~ Shopping at Gambier Street, Kuching

It's been ages since I did a proper demo. So I guess I should do one again.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was invited to an exhibition this coming July in my hometown in Sarawak, Malaysia where the theme is "Our People, Our Culture". I did one portrait of a local native man recently, and was quite satisfied with it. Now, I'm going to paint a street scene. I wanted to show the community in its daily activities, so what's better than to paint shoppers in a busy market.

This is a scene based on a photo I took several years ago of a strecth of shophouses selling spices and groceries. I've painted the exact location at a slightly different angle about five years ago. I believe my painting skill and style have improved and changed since then. So, hopefully this one will be a lot better, crossing fingers and toes.

Here's the drawing, on full-sheet of Fabriano Artistico stretched on 20" x 28" stretching frame.

Then, I painted the first glaze of colours wet on wet, but pretty controlled using a no.8 round brush, which I reckon is a decent size to use for such detailed painting as it holds sufficient water and yet small enough to control where I want the wash to go to.

Before the wash is completely dried, I lift out some paints to get the highlights on the clothes and rice sacks.

This is a messy chaotic market so I need a lot of patience to paint all the different objects and yet not to turn the whole thing into mud.

Next, I built up the forms and structures of the various objects in this complicated scene. I made use of negative spaces, lines and glazes of darker colours to define shapes of the carton boxes, rice sacks etc. while at the same time I darkened the background. Also, the main figure is slowly built up with glazes and strokes to indicate shadows and creases on her cloths.

After that, I threw a variety of colours to the upper shelves to create more interest which would have to be darken in my next instalment in order to contrast the main figure against the shopfront. I also painted the canvases on top of the shop. I used mainly wet-on-wet technique on the blue canvas and while the paint was still fairly damp, I lift off some paint with a clean brush to create the soft highlight effect. In contrast, I used the dry brush technique on the green canvas just below to vary the textures and feel. However, I'm not sure if this is a good decision as both canvases are so near to one another and yet they are rendered so differently.

More details were painted, adding more darks as appropriate to the sacks, boxes, merchandise hung from the top shelves, then I darkened the background. At times, I have to paint carefully around the various objects as I hate using masking fluid which will always leave a trail of harsh lines so I try to avoid it.

Finally, I made some corrections to the left side of the blue/orange canvas, painted the ropes using white gouache, gave the background another cerulean blue + burnt sienna wash to darken it so as to create more contrast against the main subjects and lastly, finished it off with some darks here and there as I deemed fit.

..and last but not least, here are some close-up shots of the painting...

Glad it's done now... hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

*EDIT: Change of title to "Shopping at Gambier Street, Kuching"

Iban Man

It has been a while since I'd painted a portrait (It must be more than 2 or 3 years ago?!!) I'm definitely more comfortable in street scenes, landscapes, boats, etc. I guess it's a personal preference, I find portrait difficult especially when I often can't get the likeness of a person.Having said that, a local gallery in my hometown (Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysia) got my business card from my mom and they e-mailed to invite me to take part in an exhibition. The exhibition is to be held in conjuction with the renowned Sarawak World Rainforest Music Festival this coming July and the theme of the exhibition is "Our People, Our Culture". So, I guess I have to paint a portrait or at least something to do with the people of Sarawak.So, I painted this... This old man is from the Iban ethnic group. The largest tribe in Sarawak. You can read all about them and their lifestyles here. Many of them are now living in modern facilities and lead better lives than thier ancestors who were once the infamous Borneo headhunters and pirates.


Full sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham, Holbein Artist Watercolour paints.Hope you like it. Comments and critiques welcome as usual. I will probably paint a few more paintings and choose a couple of better ones... stay tuned... :)

Outdoor Painting - Kinta Road, Singapore

I was out about painting en plein air again last Sunday with a group of artist friends. This is an old shophouse along Kinta Road, near Little India. Many people crowded around us to watch us paint. Some looked on quietly, some made a few comments amongst themselves in their own language, probably in Tamil which I do not understand... they could criticize, said it's a horrible, or bad mouth me all they want and I won't understand a word! haa!

After watching us for a while, an Indian woman came up to me and asked "Are you guys having a competition?" I was dumbfounded, unsure how to react to her question, so I just smiled and said "No, we're just painting for fun". Then came her next question "Are you an architect?" "no, no... we're just here to paint. It's our hobby".

She nodded and left us... this is just one of the many questions and funny incidents I've encountered over the years when painting en plein air... fun, isn't it?

Well, here's the painting...

Here are some close-up shots of the details...

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome!

Jalan Besar, Singapore

I painted this a few days ago at home. This stretch of road is called Jalan Besar, literally translated as Huge Road in Malay, probably because it was the widest road before Singapore's independence from British rule.

Here' s the painting, a quarter-sheet, painted in 2.5 hours.

Jalan Besar, Singapore (11" x 15")
If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

and here are some of the close-up shots of the painting

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Festival Grand Art Exhibition 2008

I was invited to participate in this group exhibition in conjunction with Singapore's Chinese Cultural Festival 2008. There are many different types of artworks in the show, ranging from traditional chinese brush, calligraphy to 'western' arts like watercolour, oil, sculpture, etc. There were even bonsai plants amongst the display. The exhibition was opened on 29 Feb 2008 and ended on 5 March 2008

Here are some photos taken on the opening day.

... and my boy decided to pay a visit over the weekend.

There was a huge drum outside the exhibition hall, and he definitely had a great fun hitting it.... I think he wants to be the new Kitaro.


Hope you enjoy the photos... :)

Trying my luck on eBay again!

Well, it's been more than 6 months since I sold my paintings on eBay. So, I guess it's about time I do it again. I painted this beach scene based on my recent trip to Bintan island. It's a quarter sheet painting, just the right size for easy packaging and sending by mail to buyers from anywhere in the world.

Bintan Lagoon Beach (11" x 15")

If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

Port Arthur Ruins - Tasmania, Australia (10" x 14")

If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

Yes, if you think this one looked familiar, it's because I've listed it before but since there was no taker, I'll list it again. Hopefully, my eBay sales will pick up again... it was quite encouraging the last time I ventured into eBay but went into hiatus probably due to work, family commitments and mainly because I have not been painting quarter sheets, therefore having no inventory for eBay sales. I figured there are still a demand for affordable small size original paintings judging from the e-mail inquiry I received from time to time. So, I'll try to at least paint one or two quarter sheet a week. Wish me luck!

Bintan Lagoon Resort - a Pictorial

I went to Bintan Lagoon Resort with the missus over the weekend to have a quick getaway from the busy work life we had in Singapore. It's only a short 2D1N stay but we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here's some pics taken with my Pentax K10D dslr camrea...

Quite different from my usual watercolour posts... but nonetheless I tried to incorporate some knowledge of arts in terms of composition and colours into my photography as both painting and photography definitely compliments one another especially in these two aspects.

Enjoy!

Outdoor Painting - Pandan Shipyard, Singapore

Ever since I moved to Singapore in 1998, I have always lived in the Eastern part of the island and worked in offices located in the island's Central Business District and East for the past 10 years. My weekend plein air locations are usually around the city area and well-known landmarks like Chinatown, Little India, Singapore River etc. Hence, the Western part of Singapore is almost like a foreign country to me.

So, I was really glad to find out that my fellow artist friends have planned to paint a shipyard located at the very end of the West coast of Singapore.

Here I was last Sunday at Pandan Shipyard... it was like a breath of fresh air, definitely something different from the usual street scenes and shophouses that I've painted numerous times.Here's a picture of the location, we had to walk under a bridge to get to this spot.



It was a cloudy day and the surrouding under the bridge was quite dark and we had problems seeing our paintings clearly and it was definitely difficult to determine and judge the right colours and tonal values. A few artists decided it was too taxing on the eyes so they did some sketches but I presevered.

Here's the painting...I spent about 3 hours painting it on location and probably another half an hour doing final touch-up at home. Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") painted using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.



I decided to change the colour of one of the boats from blue to red so as to have more varieties and make it more interesting but after I'm done, it seemed too dominant now. I could probably still tone it down a bit but might ruin the transparency I currently have.... I'll probably come back to it a few days later to see if it really needs a fix. What do you think?

... and here are some close-up shots of the painting.



Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Outdoor painting - House on Emerald Hill

Last Sunday, I was back at Emerald Hill, a classy residential area just a stone throw away from Singapore's famous busy shopping district, Orchard Road. The houses here are all built during the pre second world war era with a mixture of European and Asian architecture.

I arrived around 9:30am and the sun is already out. I was here just a few weeks ago but this time I chose another house.

Here's the location pic

I spent around 3 hours to finish this.Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") painted using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Outdoor painting - Maude Road, Singapore

I have always started and finished an outdoor painting on the same day, in one sitting, and perhaps touch it up a little bit when I get home. But I have seen some of my artist friends patiently plan, compose and paint their outdoor pieces in two sittings or even three. They would pick a spot, ponder and plan the composition, draw the outline and then start painting. Half way through the painting, it's almost lunch time, so we all pack up and leave. They would then come back to the same spot, same time on another day and complete the painting.

So, that's exactly what I did for this piece. I realized sometimes I am too quick to rush and finish off a painting. So, for this painting, I decided to paint slower and have time to plan and think about my colour, composition and was able to paint more details than my usual outdoorworks..... and I think the result speaks for itself... I just love the rich colours and strong sunlight in this piece.

Here's the location where I'm seated. This is Maude Road, off Jalan Besar in Singapore.

The finished painting.... done over two Sundays... half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.



... and here are some close-up detail shots





Hope you like it. Critiques and comments are welcome as usual.

Fishing Boats - Penang

How did you spend your Christmas? I hope you all had a grand time! Well, I went back to my hometown and spent quality time with my family. I guess that's what Christmas is really all about... being with your loved ones and having a meal or two together :clap: :thumbsup: ..... although most festive holidays are now being exploited for commercialism and profit-making and lost their true meaning :(

Anyway, I was bored one afternoon when Javier is having his afternoon nap, so I took out my painting gears and painted this scene in Penang, Malaysia based on a photo I took last year.

I spent about 2 hours on this piece. Painted on Fabriano Artistico using Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham and Holbein Artist Grade watercolour paints.

Hope you like it. Critiques and comments are welcome as usual.

Wishing you a HAPPY & PROSPEROUS new year 2008!

Another plein air - Emerald Hill, Singapore

Together with an artist friend, we went to paint plein air again last Sunday

This is another location that I've painted many times. The most recent one which i did more than half a year ago was a quarter sheet plein air and it was snapped up at the first listing on eBay.

The weather was perfect today and the strong sunshine is casting fabulous shadows all over the place, although it may not be visible from the location pic I took using my camera phone below.



Here's the finished painting... half sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham and Holbein Artist Grade watercolour paints.



The foreground is my own use of "artistic license" as I felt the road is too empty, so I added the foliage... not sure if it works well but anyway... guess what?!! A guy who came over to watch us paint, decided to buy both our paintings. This place is beginning to turn into my favourite hunting ground now.... or so I thought...

You see, he was so interested in our paintings but didn't have enough cash with him, so he told us to deliver them to him the next day, and he will have the money to pay us, so we gave him our namecards and left with our paintings. However, he sent me an e-mail the next day...

"Marvin,

I've decided against buying the paintings.

Thanks anyway."

Just like that, our hopes are gone! Looking at his address, he's staying on the top floor (penthouse?) of a posh condominium in town... So, I think financially, he should be very well-off and able to afford the paintings... but who knows? may be the wife said no..... oh well... better luck next time.

Anyway, critiques and comments on the painting are welcome as usual.

Plein air - Singapore River

It's a beautiful sunny day last Saturday, so I went out to paint again... and I'm running out of location to paint in Singapore LOL... and didn't know where to go, so back to my old haunt - Singapore River.

This scene is particularly interesting as it blends together the old and new of Singapore, with the old represented by the old Supreme Court with the emerald dome and the Asian Civilisation Museum on the right and the spaceship lookalike new Supreme Court and the Parliament House on the left.

Here's the location pic



There are many people including locals and tourists gathered around from time to time to watch me paint, luckily I held my nerves and didn't destroy the painting... :P

Here's the painting... Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrant, Schmincke, Holbein artist grade watercolour paints.



I have a problem with that ugly spaceship structure... it looks too fat and thick in my painting compared to the real thing... may be it's packed with gas and about to burst and shoot up into space...LOL... now you know why I hate painting modern buildings.

Anyway, critiques and comments are welcome.
Thank you!

Plein air - Malay Village, Sarawak River

I went back to my hometown in Sarawak, Malaysia (in Borneo island) two weeks ago to attend my cousin's wedding and managed to do one plein air painting one morning.

The scene is a malay village at the opposite bank of Sarawak River which flow through the heart of Kuching city. I was seated at the waterfront, on the other side of the bank, looking across the river. This is what I see...



This is me with my painting...



and here's the completed painting...
Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham artist grade watercolour paints.



I took about 3 hours to finish this. I think it's OK, but definitely not one of my best as I struggled to get a focal point from this composition. Anyway, I'm just happy to have painted something. Critiques and comments welcome as usual.

Hobart, Tasmania

Adeline and I visited Tasmania, Australia during our honeymoon back in 2004 and spent around 2 days in the city of Hobart. I especially love the scenic view around the harbour with many boats docking around the area. I still remembered vividly how we tucked into a nice big seafood platter in one of the floating restaurants there, and it was delicious!

I took many photos then with the intention to paint some of them and they have been with me for nearly three years now but I was either too busy or was being put off by the complicated scene.... until now

So, I decided to challenge myself and painted a full sheet painting of the harbour last week. I think it turned out pretty well. Here's the painting.

Paper: Fabriano Artistico 300gsm - stretched and stapled into stretching frame (20" x 28")

Paints: Winsor & Newton, Holbein, Rembradnt, Schmincke, all artist grade paints and some white gouache for highlights.



and here are some close-up shots...






Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Demo - Taman Ayun Temple, Bali

It's been ages since I did a full-sheet watercolour and I'd have to admit that I'm getting rusty at painting large-size watercolours.

Anyway, Singapore Watercolour Society (SWS) has been renting a room at Telok Kurau Studios, a Art Housing Scheme by Singapore's National Arts Council, as its official premises since the start of the project in 1997. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Telok Kurau Studios, the management committee of the studios will hold an art exhibition and invited three SWS members to represent the society in this event. As the society's Secretary-General, I was chosen as one of the society's representatives but I haven't got any recent painting for the show, so I painted this full-sheet watercolour over the past two days.

This is a photo I took nearly 3 years ago while holidaying in Bali.



Step 1 - Drawing the outline



Step 2 - Painting the first glaze.
I did the sky with Cerulean Blue and mixed a little Cobalt Blue and threw in some Ultramarine Violet to add more interest to the sky. The roof of the huts are painted mostly in Yellow Ochre with a little touch of Turqoise Blue and Translucent Orange. The Pagoda-like buildings in the background are painted in Sepia, Yellow Orche and Burnt Sienna, while the foliage is painted in Sap Green, Azo Yellow and Cerulean Blue. I also painted the ground with light washes of Yellow Orche and Burnt Sienna.



Step 3 - At this stage, I started to build up the values of the various structures by glazing darks over the shaded areas, paying attention to the light source. Colours used are essentially the same as the previous stage but using more pigments than water but making sure I maintain the fluidity of my paints so as not to turn the darks into mud.


Step 4 - Finally, I added the finishing touches to various things throughout the paintings by painting in the details and decided to darken the foliage on the left, soften the clouds in the sky, emphasized the shadows, painted the plants on the foreground and the two figures, etc.



Below are some close-up to show you parts of the painting in detail.




I used mostly Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt, Schmincke, Holbein - all artists grade watercolour paints. Paper used is my favourite Fabriano Artistico 300gsm Rough.

I hope you like this little demo that I've put together. I can see quite obviously that the painting s I do at home more detailed compared to my outdoor works as I have the comfort and time to sit down and paint slowly. This is painted over 2 days (or should I say late nights), approximately over 8 hours in total. I hope this is good enough for the show. :)

Critiques and comments are welcome as usual.

EDITED: I realized that the distant tree on the top left-hand corner was running almost parallel with the roof line. So I changed the tree a little to get more variations. Also, I felt that the foreground foliage was weak and decided to darken it and add a few stronger and bolder strokes to punch it up. It served to anchor the whole composition better that way.


Now, that's better... :)

Bridging Ties With Watercolours - A Success!

Here are some pictures taken during our exhibition Bridging Ties With Watercolours - Singapore Watercolour Society's 38th Annual Exhibition, which is also the second joint watercolour exhibition between SWS and Penang Water Colour Society (PWCS). It was held from 31 August - 4 September at Ngee Ann Cultural Centre, Singapore.

It was a success as everything went as planned, although we had initial hiccups when we lost the detailed painting information submitted by our Penang counterparts. If you're reading this, thank you Mr Khoo, for calling back to Penang to gather all the important information. We really appreciate your help.

We had a big crowd on the opening day, and we got some rave reviews from friends who attended it.... and I had another good reason to be excited this year too.... you'll understand when you see the pics below... :)

Preparation

Arrival of Guest-of-Honour, Mr Seng Han Thong

Visitors admiring the artworks on display

SWS President, Dr Michael Lim making his opening speech

President of PWCS, Mr Khoo Cheang Jin addressing the audience

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Seng Han Thong officiating the opening of the exhibition

Mr Seng Han Thong touring the exhibition hall,
accompanied by Dr Michael Lim and Mr Ong Kim Seng
(can you spot me at the background? Haa!)

(From L to R) Me, Ms Anne Lim, Mr D.J. Tan, Ong Kim Seng, Dr Michael Lim,
Mr Seng Han Thong, Mr Ho Yee Ping, Mr Khoo Cheang Jin

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and finally... me and my two paintings

Little India, Singapore .... SOLD on the opening day! Yay!!!

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne .... still available :P

You can see more photos of the event in my facebook album

I'm Back... with pictures of Tokyo, Japan

Well, I'm back! it's been one hell of a long time since I last updated this blog. As I've mentioned earlier, I was attending a work related evening course and I'm glad to announce that I've finished the course and barely passed it... but a pass is still a pass... so I'm done with all the reading and revising... haha

I've also picked up photography during this absence although I have been toying with the idea for sometime. Photography has always been a secondary hobby which supplements my watercolour art, but I decided to own a digital slr so that I can shoot better quality photos. So, I bought myself a brand new Pentax K10D, after much research and found that it is exactly what I wanted at a reasonable price.

I went to Tokyo, Japan for a week in August for work and I took the opportunity to go there 3 days earlier to tour around the city, and took lots of photos. Here are some of my favourites.

The Imperial Palace and residence of the Emperor of Japan, aka Kōkyo

Colourful fans and souvenirs at Asakusa

Beautiful Sunset at Sensoji Temple, Asakusa

Night scene at Ginza - I just love the contrast between the trailing
lights from the moving cars and the idling traditional bicycles

Have bikes will travel - more and more tokyo residents are
going green by riding bikes around the city centre

Traditional Japanese parade at Harajuku

KAWAII!! This little guy is so full of energy!

Hope you like my photos, comments are welcome.
Of course, this doesn't mean I'll stop painting and become a photographer instead.
Watercolour is still my first love, but obviously with this new toy, you'll see more photography stuff from now on too... :-)

More pictures of my trip to Tokyo in my Facebook: Album 1 and Album 2

Inviting All Watercolour Art Lovers...

Singapore Watercolour Society will be holding its 38th Annual Exhibition 2007 from 31st August to 4th September 2007 at Ngee Ann Cultural Centre, Teochew Building.

This year's event will be bigger than ever before as members of Penang Water Colour Society (PWCS) will jointly participate in the exhibition in conjunction with the 2nd Singapore-Penang Watercolour Exhibition. Hence, the exhibition is titled Bridging Ties With Watercolours, which significantly represents the co-operation and close friendship not only amongst artists from both islands but between the young and senior artists in both societies.

Over 60 artists from both societies are participating and 120 pieces of high quality watercolour artworks on display and most of them are for sale. Don't miss this opportunity to see for yourselves the magic of watercolour works done by established watercolourists.

The opening of the exhibition will be held at 6:30pm on Friday 31 August 2007.

If you wish to attend the opening, kindly drop me a mail at marvin@marvinchew.com so that I can send you an invitation card.

See you on the 31st August!

National Day Fireworks

It was Singapore's 42nd National Day yesterday. Usually, I'd just stay at home and watch the parade 'live' on TV. Sometimes, I took the opportunity to take a break and went back to Kuching like last year. But this year, a couple of my colleagues have just started photography and asked me to go with them to take photos of the fireworks. Now, I don't even have a decent digital slr camera and my knowledge of photography is also limited to basics like what are F-stop, shutter speed and simple composition rules which I apply from my painting.

So, I went along with my humble Panasonic Lumix FZ20... we had dinner at Lau Pa Sat and by the time we reached the big field behind One Raffles Quay at 6:00pm, the place was already packed with families in picnic mats, photographers with bulky gears and tripods, and happy people waiting to watch the fireworks.

We couldn't get a good view at all as there were too many people in front of us, so we decided to shoot our photos a few metres behind, resulting in many heads on the foreground spoiling our photo composition. Nevertheless, it was fun and I enjoyed the nightout with my good friends and colleagues.

The crowd

Giant jelly-fish??

Here are two of my beginner's effort in shooting fireworks... one lesson learnt, i should have upped the shutter speed to at least 5 seconds or more to catch the tail-lights of the fireworks.

Although my effort pales in comparison with the pros with big-shot dslr camera, I hope you enjoy the pics... Happy Birthday, Singapore!

I am ONE!

I have started attending a part-time work-related course. Classes are on Tuesday & Thursday (6:30pm - 9:30pm) and Saturday (from 10:00am - 5:00pm). I've just completed the first week of the course and so far I'm coping pretty ok, but I get tired the next day... sigh! Luckily it's only for 2.5 months...

Here are the two posters Daddy did using Photoshop showing photos of me from birth till 12 months old

My precious Javier is now one-year old! Somehow, I missed the little baby who would lie on my laps while I sang lullaby to him. But on the other hand, I can't wait for him to start walking on his own and play all kinds of games with him, teach him how to read, write and... draw of course.. haha.

We celebrated Javier's birthday by holding a buffet dinner party for relatives and friends on 16th June since it's a Saturday (the actual birthday is on 21st). My wife baked a gigantic birthday cake in the form of Thomas the Tank Engine... I must say the artistic veins run in the family.

Mommy's home-made birthday cake.... not bad eh?

Daddy, Mommy and ME!

It is a tradition in our family that we put all sorts of things in a tray and ask the birthday boy to choose and grab. The things he chooses will represent his likings and future career... it's all for a bit of fun really... the blue tray contains an apple, a ruler, a book, a calculator, a measuring tape, a syringe, an egg, a paintbrush, a miniature hand-held drum, an ang-pow (red packet) and a camera. I sat him down in front of the tray and instantly, he moved in for the small drum (a career in music perhaps ... haha), then he grabbed the pen (literature? a future journalist?), he also grabbed the ruler, apple, syringe (a future doctor?).... haha... and towards the end, he decided he wants everything and grabbed the whole tray to everyone's laughters.

"Hmmm... what's this long pointy thing??"

When we were taking group photos, Javier dipped his finger into the cake and he must be having the shock of his young life when everyone including me exclaimed "Oh no!" ... he cried out loud perhaps scared of the sudden loud "Oh no!" and the sticky icing on his finger... haha

"Oh.... don't cry don't cry" says Grandma

But still, we managed to take a couple of group photos, here's one of them...

Wahhh... why are there so many people taking photos with me?!!
I should be the STAR of the night!

The next morning, we all gathered in the living room and Adeline helped Javier to open his many many presents one after another...

Don't I look handsome in this?... and look at my beautiful Mommy and my mountains of presents...

I think he must be enjoying it very much. Each unwrapped present is a surprise, curious of finding out what is covered under those colourful wrappers....

"Give me FIVE!"

... and guess which is his favourite? No prize for the correct answer... he simply loves sitting in his new little red car while Daddy or Mommy pushes him around the house.... vrrrooooom!

Start your engine!