How It All Began – Looking Through the Inspirational Work of Wayne Anderson

Somebody once asked me how I ended up choosing a career as an illustrator. Of course, there were so many reasons. To begin with, I had a consistent passion for drawing as a child. Not to mention the constant need to learn more about art and to make art of my own, and so on, and so on. But I’m sure as many people have experienced before, dreams and passions can easily get lost along the way.

So there I was, two years after getting out of college, stuck in a job that was making me numb. How classic. I wanted a change desperately and I never dreamed that all it would take was a trip to the bookstore, where I stumbled upon a book that was about to change my whole perspective forever. It was ‘Through a Looking Glass’, a book that features the incredible work of an accomplished British illustrator, Wayne Anderson. Being young and inexperienced, the name rang no bell at the time. I was, however, totally blown away by all the brilliant illustrations, which were unlike anything I had ever seen. It was like entering a hidden world of mystical creatures, faraway lands, loaded with fairy tales, both old and new.

That day, I felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was inspired. So, bought and paid for, the book became my sole companion through the last of my working days on that mind torturing job, before I decided to follow Wayne Anderson’s steps to pursue my long lost dream and passion. And the book? After ten wonderful years, it still sits on top of the book pile next to my drawing table, always a reliable friend whenever I need a helping dose of magic.

If I could, I would post every image in the book to show you his amazing talent, but since that would take forever, you can see Wayne Anderson's full gallery at his official website.

A little Note: 

Please send a written permission to the artist if you are interested to use any of his featured work here.

IF - Hatch (Reborn)

 

When one starts to wither away, another will spring to fill in the void...

IF - Crunchy (Sir Rabbit Worthington)

Sir Rabbit Worthington sat by the fire on a cold Sunday afternoon. Determined to enjoy this moment, he puffed away his smoking pipe, before engaging himself with a book and a bowl of his favorite crunchies.

Wallpaper link

Winter Nostalgia

Twenty years has gone by since I last saw you.

I still remember your crisp scent in the morning.

Your soft touch as the wind blew.

The cold awakening as I gathered you in my hands.

Now it's that time of year,
when everything seems clear as yesterdays.

Those days when I would leap in joy,
to catch you in my arms.

Winter has come,
but not where I am.

How I miss you terribly...

Posted at Watercolor Wednesdays

Loro Blonyo - Legends of Ancient Past

Loro Blonyo

Meaning: "Two become one"

A portrait of God Sadono and Goddess Sri

of Javanese cultural legends 

A symbol of Fertility

A symbol of harmony

IF - Entangled (Forest Nymph)

"Rest now, dear one, though your once sturdy figure now wilts away lifeless. I shall keep you safe and lead you home where the green grass awaits," the nymph whispered as she gently entangled the dead tree with her soft silky crown.

(Amalia K, 2009)

IF - Music of The Night

 O, faraway delights of the golden slumber

Come whisper softly to my ears

Your sweet nothing lullaby

In sleep I awaken to your gentle tunes

Swiftly drifting away in the musical embrace

(Amalia K, 2009)

Featuring My Personal Muse: Enchanting Arts of Louise Robinson, a.k.a. Art and Ghosts

Watching horror movies has never been a thing for me. Not because I'm a scaredy cat, but only because I find it a little off to watch people hide, runaway screaming and eventually getting stabbed, slashed, eaten or just die in very unnatural deaths. Strangely enough, some scary movies actually appeal to me and most of them are classic tales of past histories, both fictions and non-fictions. These include stories about vampires and ghosts that have been known to roam the earth for hundreds of years. Or so they say.

Which is why, I find the works of Louise Robinson, a.k.a. Art and Ghosts, to be most intriguing and fascinating to my eyes. Fairy tales and dreams, ghosts and imaginary portraits of enchanting characters are her main featured themes, all ingeniously done to perfection. All her works seem to send off a kind of eerie but pleasant feel, and give a somewhat sad but serene mood to them. So I was incredibly pleased to have found her beautiful blog where I now find myself constantly coming back for more inspiration.

Levitating Girl

Snow White

Anja and The Bear

Sylvia

The Birthday Present

A little Note: 

Please send a written permission to the artist if you are interested to use any of her featured work here.

IF - Unbalanced

Two Sisters

The Beaufort Sisters were always the talk of the town, for they were such a peculiar pair of combination.

Rose the eldest was graciously beautiful, but with a temper that could frighten even the strongest of hearts. Most days she would stomp and scream while her face burnt red in her uncountable tantrums.

Charlotte, being so much less adorned because of her simple features, was on the other hand humble and kind. She would be seen with her sweetest smile throughout the day and be the first person to lend a helping hand.

Mr. and Mrs. Beaufort, as many parents would feel, often wondered how such beloved siblings could be different as night and day. Baffled each time, they would just shrug the notion away and understood it as one of life’s unbalanced gift.

(Amalia K, 2009)


Colored pencils and digital imaging. 
Wallpaper source's link

The Love Letter

The candle was burning bright in front of him, but somehow Terence was seeing nothing else but black.

He winced and then closed his eyes to think hard, but no words came to his mind. Blank, blank, blank.

“This is hopeless!” He exclaimed, throwing his head back and felt the sore on his neck from the long hour he had spent in front of the unwritten scroll.

“There, there, my boy. This is never an easy matter. Just take your time”, Rufus said with soothing words, “Try picturing her beautiful face, her enchanting smile, her glorious hair…”

Rufus’ voice trailed off in Terence’s mind as he again closed his eyes to see the image of his one true love. A smile appeared on his face. Then as if involuntarily guided by a hidden strength, he began to scribble the first simple words of his heart’s overflowing surge of feelings, “My dearest Eliza…”

(Amalia K, 2009)

Remembering

Fourteen years ago, I met someone who showed me so many valuable lessons in life. She was the most giving, warm, honest and free spirited person that I have ever met. Never pretentious, always ready to lend both hands to whomever needed her and never expecting any reward for her sincerity. She was a good friend to so many people. She was the only true friend I have ever known.

In 2006 she passed on at the age of 30, after what seemed like a long and painful battle with cancer. That day I felt a very large part of my soul ripped away from me and the hollowness has lingered on for so many years, leaving an empty spot that will always remain within.

Farewell Andia my dearest friend, you will forever stay in my heart...

A blow of wind danced across the sea

Touching each wave with her cool breeze

The free spirit that travelled far

Flying high beyond the sky

She sang with the birds in beautiful melodies

Taking away all sorrow and grief

A tender touch that lingered in the air

Embracing the soul in warm loving care

The blow of wind danced into the night

Answering to the voice that came from the light

She whispered a song in peaceful bliss

Wiping all tears with her gentle kiss

-Amalia, January 2006-

IF - "Blur"

One thing that Ryan loves the most is riding the train. He likes listening to his favourite music while the train moves fast to the beat of  the songs. But most of all, he loves it when the train arrives on a new station in fast speed, where blurry images of impatient people await on the platform.

Sunset in My Room

The clock's hand struck eight and the sun was about to set after a long summer's day.

Nina turned her head to the bell that sounded eight little 'dings' and her soft cheeks pulled a faint smile as she looked out through the window.

"Oh, how I love this time of day", she whispered to herself, slowly touching tiny rays of sunlight reflected on her bedroom wall.

Annie's Dream - Another Watercolor Experiment

In one of my older posts, I promised myself that I would try experimenting more with watercolor. Funny I know, this is one technique that I'm still struggling with until now...I just can't quite nail it down yet. Somehow I get nervous and indecisive when it comes to applying the colors. A friend told me once that maybe I just think too much about it :)

So I did another attempt last night, and to my surprise I'm kind of happy with it. What do you think? Well, if you'd like to see more of my nerve-wrecking attempts, come visit Watercolor Wednesdays!

Baby Sketches

I was looking through my old stuff the other day and came across some sketches I did for a product image. It just occured to me that I haven't been drawing babies at all for a while and I kind of miss it. Well, I guess it's a good idea to start again...

 

IF - "Skinny"

Have you ever wondered why some people could get away with eating almost anything they like? That they could gobble up a huge portion of lunch and the fats just never seem to end up on their thighs??? Well, it's that magical 'metabolism factor' that keeps these people amazingly skinny, no matter what they eat, however fatty the food they're consuming. The envy is just too much to bare...Honestly, it's the kind of thing that would eventually break even the toughest diet and the strongest willpower, leading those poor miserable souls of slim-figure wannabes right back to square one. (Based on a true story of yours truly...haha!)

PS: I wanted to do something different this time, just a little refreshing break from my usual style :)

 

Drumroll Please...

I'm so excited because today I received a lovely e-mail from Linda T. Snider Ward, welcoming me into Watercolor Wednesdays... Yay!! Can't wait to get back to the drawing table and cook something up for this month's challenges :D

Featuring: Kathy Hare's Amazing Work

I think of myself as a growing plant that needs to be nurtured in order to blossom and create beautiful flowers for others to see. Inspirations, of course, have always been the major nurturing key in my life to keep me going, and after creating my first blog, I have became more aware that inspirations can come to me in a form of other artists from different scales and backgrounds.

Today I've decided that I'm going to put one artist on the spotlight each week to show his or her unique talent and influential work in my blog. Of course, also as a reminder to keep pushing myself to the limits when it comes to walking down my path in the creative world. This chosen artist will be my inspiration...my muse, so to speak.

Finding this week's artist was like finding gold in a dark mine. I was in a state where I felt overwhelmed with work and life, needing just a little light to see what's in front of me. So then I found Kathy Hare's blog, Moongazing Hare. Although I know she's been in the art industry for sometime, I never actually got the chance to ponder on her work before I found her blog. Her style is simple yet outstanding, traditional and heart-warming...a true classic in my book.

 

Hollow

 

Impatience

 

Poise

A little Note: 

Please send a written permission to the artist if you are interested to use any of her featured work here.

IF - "Fast"

Fast Asleep

Violet listened to the wind as she laid her head onto the soft petals. 

It was singing her favorite lullaby. 

Then slowly she closed her eyes and began to doze off... 

Soon she was fast asleep.

Daily Wish Away

This morning I found myself waking up with an image in my head. Whether I was dreaming or not, I had no idea, since I was still feeling woozy like I haven't slept at all. It was a serene picture of a forest pathway, silent and shadowy with just some specs of light coming in. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a feeling of longing to be there, to walk the pathway and discover what was waiting at the end of it, beyond all the trees. I just couldn't get it out of my head.

To view full size, go to : Link

When we have to face all of life's tricky business each day, I guess it's not such a bad thing to wish I were somewhere else, right? What about you? Where do you wish you were now?

Clever Little Alice

I was watching Alice in Wonderland the other day and I still find it as fascinating as I did when I was a girl. Alice, smart, stubborn and overly curious, is the perfect portrait of an average girl I find these days. Hardly obedient, always able to find the perfect excuses and answers to everything...Believe me, I live with one and have to face her creative mind every single day :)

So here's a drawing I did based on one of my favorite fictional characters ever. Well, not so fictional in my present time...

Alice (pencil on paper)

"In my world, the books would be nothing but pictures."

Still in Business!!!

Just a quick announcement to family, friends, old and new...All crazy deadlines aside, I've decided to accept more portrait commissions since it's so much fun to do! :D...But bear in mind that I still have to adjust them to my schedule, so I won't be accepting any 'rush' projects for these.

For a more detailed portfolio, please visit http://www.translucentblue.wordpress.com

 

 

Blast From The Past

I'm in the mood to create comical characters for a 'story idea' that's been playing around in my head for sometime. Like many illustrators have experienced before, I'm pretty sure, my mind is going blank right now and I can't seem to nail down any vision of the character that I want to portrait. So I thought maybe looking back at some of my old work might be a good exercise for the brain.

Left:"King Crinkle and Queen Minx"

Right:"Got The Flu"

Wings

My latest submission for Inspire Me Thursday...I sure had fun drawing the little cupid and his friends.

Something New

I'm playing around with pencil and pen today, just something I haven't got around to do in a while (thanks to crazy deadlines and motherhood :D). A little experimenting is always good and because I've always wanted to do a much softer and transparent version of my style, I thought a balance between pencil and pen could work. Maybe I should also try watercolor again one of these days...

Frozen

My first ever submission for Illustration Friday...

Spreading New Wings!!

I'm enjoying this new blogging passion, so I decided to create another one. Feel free to check out my old blog and see my works at:

http://www.translucentblue.wordpress.com

So here's hoping for more new friends, wider horizons, better possibilities and heaps more inspirations! :)