The Birdhouse

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30 June 2010


This birdhouse is  real cute.  The standing perch and the two top horizontal additions above the open circle makes it real 'homey' I think.  The colours were as requested by the customer.





Happy painting

Lakshmi

Intan's Tray Project

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Wednesday, 23 June 2010


School term has started and it is back to classes as usual after the somewhat long holiday.

The picture below is of  Ms Intan, beautiful name, isn't it?  Short, sweet and  inspiring name, really.  To be called 'diamond' everytime is a great boost to the ego and to have the qualities of a diamond is even more so.........

The picture below shows Ms Intan with her 3rd project, painted in a beautiful tray .  The pattern  was taken from Ross Stallcup's  Gran's Memories.  This pattern  is one of the most widely used designs for trays because the  pattern fits perfectly in any rectangular  or square surface, its easy to paint and the finished painting always brings a smile to the owner.  Look at Ms Intan and you'll know what I mean.......
 


The colours have been changed  as not all exact shades were available.  I prefer to use the colours that the student has or mix and match the palette with a colour wheel as a guide.  I also don't tell new students to buy the entire range of colours ;  just the basics for starters, and then continue to add colours as they progress.  Most often, I intermix Jo Sonja and Americana paints and use whichever is available at the time of painting.  It saves time and money !

Having said that, I would recommend students to buy Jo Sonja's Dioxazine  Purple Series 3 and Burgundy as a basic requirement for decorative painting because the intensity of the colour pigment is excellent.



Happy painting

Lakshmi

The Rose Console Table

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Thursday 17 June 2010


This console table was given to me for painting with instructions to deepen the shades and add highlights to the rose.  This is one of the China made console tables which comes already painted.  However, the owner  wanted better contrast because of the barley white background, thus the request for re-touches.

The first picture was taken without any touch-ups






The second picture below  was taken after the shadings and highlights were done.  On both the right and left sides of the table, I painted a replica of the front design as requested.  The owner also requested that the top surface of the table corners be painted as well.








The sides were painted as below





Well, Kak Noor,  your table is ready and waiting.............


Lakshmi

A Picnic with Scones, Cream and Strawberries

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Tuesday, 15 June 2010



This beautiful picture of  scones, cream and strawberries on a picnic layout invokes my favourite rite of English tea.  In actual fact, my daughter, Shireen , did serve me scones with fresh blueberries and cherries ( couldn't get the strawberries though ) for my afternoon tea on my recent birthday.  I'm all of 51 years and life is just beginning for bambina Lakshmi - ( that's what my brother called me when I was a kid)

It didn't take a long time to paint although it looks complicating.  The only tedious part was the strawberries and leaves,  they were small in size and cascading everywhere.  The basket was a breeze and so was the  jam jar and jug and scones...... and everything else !




It's really very inviting, isn't it......  The same picture can be painted on a bread bin too and additional leaves, scones  and strawberries added randomly  to the sides of the bins.

Happy painting and have a cup of tea on me when you do it......


Lakshmi

Norshita's small table stool

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Saturday, 12 June 2010



The picture below is Norshita's small table cum stool  .  She has painted it in Grans  roses and
hydrangeas with ribbons at the sides but I was too impatient to wait for the sides to be painted. So I took the pics as it is...........



Norshita has kindly allowed me to post the pic in my blog.  Thanks Norshita




Happy Painting

Lakshmi

The Big and Beautiful Bread Bin

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Wednesday, 9 June 2010



This is Christine's beautiful bread box.  The danish pastry and bread painting is simply gorgeous, isn't it ? I've also posted pictures taken from the two sides for the benefit of readers who might want to paint or to pick up ideas for their own bread bins.   By the way, it's not only the bread bin/box which can host these pictures., the same paintings can be done on kitchen boards, chopping blocks, cake trays and holders, etc .. etc...

Christine has kindly given her permission to put this in my blog.  Thanks Christine ...



The front side                      





The sides of the bread bin









Happy painting !

Lakshmi




               

The Kitchen Board

Posted by Lakshmi
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Sunday, 6 June 2010


The picture I painted below is from the Lang calender series, which is available at Borders Bookstore towards  end December of each year.  The Lang calender series have wonderful pictures which are perfect for painting.  They come in many themes - kitchens, home, sceneries, farm, etc and they make for good collection or keepsakes.

After a long reign of florals , it felt good to paint this ................... the overall background was done in texture paste to depict a stucco wall.  It was pretty exciting painting this.









The finished painting looks good, I must say. 

Lakshmi

The "Awful" Teacher

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Saturday, 5  June 2010

Ha, ha,  don't think that the 'awful teacher' is me.  It's the guy /male teacher, who was recently in the papers for the most awful indecent statement he made.  ( That's my opinion, of course ) .  I cringed in embarrassment when I read it and still do when I think of it. Fancy telling the whole world the intimacy of your married life and have it published in the dailies!.  Why, even his students and family members would be blushing . Why in the world did this teacher had to say such remarks during an interview  as a recipient for the " Tokok Nilam Award" ? ( state-initiated award to honour a teacher who has managed outstanding achievements in education ).


(for all those who are blinking uncontrollably, please go to: http://thestar.com.my 

dated 31 May, 2010, captioned :Award-winning teacher’s secret – reading and S**.

You could also go to blogger at   http://art-harun.blogspot.com               article dated 1 June 2010 and read a funnier take on this article heading.



Honestly speaking, I've nothing  personal against him.   He must really have been a fine and dedicated teacher to have been honoured with such an  award.  It's only that,( maybe I'm from the  old school ) I find his expose of his private  conjugal obligations and duties  to the entire  public realm , highly  offensive, repulsive  and ungentlemanly.  All the more because he is a teacher, for goodness sake ! There are so many things he could have said when getting  the award except that..............

What happened to chivalry and decorum and good old fashioned manners ? You simply don't go about telling all and sundry what you do or not do in your privacy of your  boudoir.  It's simply too much to swallow  .

It was Samuel Goldwyn ( of MGM)  who said famously " I seriously object to seeing on the screen what belongs to the bedroom"  . Well, I'd like to modify his text a  wee bit and say " I seriously object to hearing in public  what should be discussed in your  bedroom "


Objections, anyone ?





Lakshmi

Antique Hydrangeas

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Wednesday, 2 June 2010

This is my good friend, Rashidah's summer basket.  The hydrangeas are painted in  Fawn and Titanium White.  The leaves are in washy Teal Green.  I've not done hydrangeas in an antique looking style but I must say that it does look very different and unique .   The edges are trimmed in metallic gold. 

I  would most probably paint it soon but I've to finish painting all my backlog of stuff.






I recently had to conduct a demo at the PJ   YWCA centre and the theme was my favourite topic, recycling.......   As I was hard pressed for time,  I didn't have time to go scouting around the junk stores  - there's none in Shah Alam, where I stay and as you all know, I'm sooooooo terrible on locations and directions.  The only thing that I could rummage around my house was the ubiquitous
' Julies' biscuit tin and so I painted it, with  what else, but  roses..........  Anyway the YWCA members/ladies  were all so taken in and couldn't believe their eyes and ears when I explained to them what decorative painting can do.      Mission accomplished ! 




Lakshmi