Art Affirmation

We all need affirmations; positive declarations from family and friends. If I'll be scientific about these, affirmations are like catalysts, providing us another perspective so we can make decisions over something we are ambivalent about, muster convictions over a choice we made or simply propel ourselves out of our gloomy nook and into the light of day.

 My life is like a roller-coaster ride that I often find myself overwhelmed and dreading the next turn. I also need my own dose of affirmations. But I cannot rely solely on my family and friends for each dose. I need to have my own source; that when the coaster makes the upturn climb, I have something to hold onto as it takes another breathtaking plunge.

Now as I turned into another year, I am grateful that my art provides me this much-needed affirmation and a reminder at the same time, that I may have failed at some point in my life but I'd never be a one-trick pony.

And now let me share an affirmation I learned from my favorite TV series Sex and the City:

Happy birthday.

The Foolish Amba and Clever Pong

Amba

Once there were two friends named Amba and Pong. A monkey, Amba was shrewd and self-centered. a humble turtle, Pong looked after the Amba and himself. Both of them lived beside a river, in a forest.

One night, a storm hit their place. The river surged and a lot of trees fell down. The following morning, the storm had left and Pong looked around for food. He found a banana tree floating on the river, with some fruits still hanging on it. Hit by an idea, he grabbed the whole tree and searched for Amba.

Amba was lounging in one of the trees in the forest. He was waiting for Pong to bring him breakfast. He was whistling tunelessly, while enjoying the after scent of the storm.

"Amba! Look what I found!" called out Pong.

Amba loped his arm on a branch and dangled himself. "What is it?" he asked excitedly.

Down the Memory Lane

Aside from dosing off while getting inked, my tattoo reminded me of something else: hiding out in my apartment, went out only to buy food. I know a lot of people get bored (or go crazy) when confined inside the room for a day (how much more if it's a week) but the experience had given me a good amount of time to practice my sketches ... and I made a lot!

In fact, I am sharing some of the sketches I made. These are famous celebrities. Warning to the fans! In the event that you feel these sketches haven't truly represented your idols, I claim to be in the early stage of my art career. You can't fault a newbie. That would be a complete injustice. :)