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!

I'll be very very BUSY soon

In two weeks time, Javier will be one-year old! How fast time flies. He's getting very hyperactive. He can stand and walk a bit, provided he holds on to something... sometimes he will let go of his hands and try to balance himself but still ends up falling over.... ha ha
Keep trying!! Daddy knows you'll succeed soon!!

Javier at 10 mths old

Well, after he celebrates his first birthday, I will start attending a part-time course (work related) for about 2 months. The classes are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and almost the whole day on Saturday! It's been 5 years since I passed my ACCA Exams, and now I have to go back to studying and there will be a TEST at the end of the course. YIKES!!

Therefore, for the next couple of months, I'm not sure if I will have anytime to paint. :-(
It will be very very hard to juggle around my full-time job, the classes, co-ordinating the activities of Singapore Watercolour Society (I'm thankful to have the help of our capable committee members!!)...... and of course, playing with and looking after my precious Javier. I guess painting will take a back seat for a while.... in fact, I haven't painted for 2 weeks already. :-(

Well, here are two 1/4 sheets which I painted a couple of years ago.... Hope you like them.

Port Arthur Ruins - Tasmania, Australia (10" x 14")
If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

Serene Creek (10" x 14")
If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

Gift of Love - Part 2

I managed to carry on with the mural painting over the weekend and finally finished it off last night. Of course, It was tiring, it was tough work... but I enjoyed every bit of it! But one thing is for sure.... It was a mammoth task not to be repeated in the foreseeable future. Ha! Ha! Give me back my watercolours anytime!

Well, here are more pictures of the painting in stages... (sorry for the reflections due to camera flash, as most pictures are taken at night)

I added a tree at the distant, some bushes around the house, painted more texture to the grasses and painted the roof tiles... and then, I decided to change the colour of the road from light blue/gray to a more earthy mud colour.

Argh! Something is not right with the roof tile.
It just looks weird to me...

Next, I painted the mushroom and added more light green leaves to the main tree. Everything is well taken care of, the house is there, the tree is done, I just needed to add a little more details to complete it... but

I still do not like that roof tiles!

So, I mixed some brown and covered it up even though I spent almost an hour painting it! Well, I guess it takes bold decision like this to paint a perfect picture.

There! It blended better with the rest of the painting now.

By this stage, I added the details to the whole paintings, and had more or less painted everything I wanted to be in the painting.... except for one last things.... FLOWERS!

Oh... there's the ladder again :P


So I painted many flowers, in white, pink, red, yellow... you name it, there're all there! I also made some changes to the windows .... and to finish it off... I inked the outlines of the main subjects like the tree, the houses, potted plants, etc.

This is how it looked like after I completed the painting.

Do you like to live in such lovely village? I do!

.... and here are some of the Winnie The Pooh stickers... these fellows are going to live in that painting permanently!


Alas, I sticked them onto the mural wall... and they looked as if they'd really come alive! I'm glad they feel very much at home! Ha! Ha!

Cost of House Paints $50
Cost of Acrylic Paints $100
Cost of ladder $30 (although I already had it for many years)
Cost of knowing that you did something that will put a big grin on your kid's face.... PRICELESS!

Gift of Love - Part I

I have been elected as Secretary-General of Singapore Watercolour Society for the term of 2007-2008... Hopefully, with the support and contribution of the other committee members, we will take the society to even greater heights...

Although Javier's first birthday is still another 3 months away, I decided to paint a humongous mural on his bedroom wall (measuring 160cm x 495cm or approx 5 ft x 16ft). No amount of money could ever buy such gift of love....Well, perhaps you say I could hire a mural painter, but it isn't the same when it's painted by Daddy himself, eh?

You see, his Mommy has bought a few stick-on Disney's cartoon characters namely Winnie The Pooh, Tigger, Kangka, etc. Instead of sticking them on plain monotonous walls like everbody else, Daddy wants to be different and he intends to paint a huge mural of a village with trees and flowers and houses where Winnie The Pooh & Friends can live in....

Gosh! This will be the biggest painting I'll ever paint!

To start it off, I bought some emulsion house paints (Blue and yellow) and painted the walls, with the blue as the sky, and yellow as the wall colour underneath the mural. The rest of the mural colours are painted with Daler Rowney and Van Gogh Acrylics Paints.

I'm planning to paint the wall on the right, where the blue area
will be the sky and white area will be where the actions are
gonna take place!

After marking important subjects with a pencil, I started painting the distant mountain, the first layer of a tree trunk, a curvy little road, and a big green patch to suggest grass and bushes.

YUCKS! at this stage...

After that, I focused on the tree and finished the dark tones of the trunk and leaves... and built up the texture of the grasses to make them look more realistic.

The tree is nicely taking its shape

After resting for a couple of days, I painted the light shades of the trunk and leaves. The tree is more or less done now, but I still need to go back to touch it up a little after the rest of the mural is painted.

Ooops! I forgot to remove the ladder!

The next day, I painted the clouds, and started on the houses, and grounds... this is where I stopped yesterday. There's still a long way to go, but hopefully I can get it done in a week or two.

Coming along nicely... don't you think?

Stay tuned for Part II.... coming soon!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Again, sorry that I'm late with my greetings... anyway, Gong Xi Fa Cai to you.
I had to rush and finish off my work in the office before I go back to Kuching on 16th Feb for a week, just in time to celebrate CNY with my family.

This year is of course extra special as we get to celebrate it with Little Javier.


He's 8 months old now and although he still doesn't quite understand what is happening around him, he is a smart boy and is always curious when he gets a new toy or visit new places.



We thought he might be scared of the boisterous drumbeat from the lion dances or the noisy firecrackers and fireworks but our fears were unfounded. He is really a brave little boy and enjoyed the festival tremendously. We visited relatives and he wasn't afraid of new faces and willingly let other people carry him... in fact, he loves it.






I haven't had much time for painting for the past few weeks, but hopefully, I'll get to paint soon... :) Have a Happy and prosperous 2007! May your wishes come true!

Happy New Year 2007!

... 4 days late... but better late than never... ;-P

Well, it's this time of the year where we look back at the past 12 months and reminisce what we have done and achieved.



I for one has had a fantastic year. The birth of Javier is definitely the best thing ever happened to me and Adeline. Having a stable job that provides good opportunity to better my skills and knowledge is a plus. Although busy at times, I still managed to find time to do what I like best - painting watercolours.

Although I found it increasingly difficult to paint large full-scale painting due to my work schedule, I made it a point to paint half-sheets or quarter sheets whenever I could, and I can see my outdoor paintings have improved (though not by much) throughout 2006.

I've also fulfilled one of my resolutions to do some exercise which I started late in November but still it's within the year 2006. We have a small gym in the office which I've never set foot in until recently. Now, I go there twice a week during lunch break to run on the treadmill and do some light weightlifting. I should have done this much earlier!

So, what's in store for me in 2007? Watching Javier grow up would take most of my time, I'm sure about that!
There are so many things I want to do with him, teaching him to walk, to run, to kick a ball.... it will be the best day of my life in 2007 when he says Daddy for the first time!




.... and in between that, it's work, paint, paint and more paint... Have a Happy and Prosperous 2007 :-)