Dyanne's New Tattoo ( PART TWO ) & miscellaneous things

Check my cousin Dyanne's tattoo out! Read her wonderful interesting story on her blog about the female professional tattoo artist, Racquel Natividad. When Dyanne's tats will be fully finished, I'll keep you guys posted. Can't wait!

Whew... I'm back here in my quiet province La Union. After my Lumbang family & I traveled to Manila & Davao City for more than one week, I became extremely exhausted & tired. It was greatly fun! I can't upload a ton of my images. Here are my few favorite shots of my trip & my uncle's wedding in Davao City. Thanks to my beloved trusted compact dslr camera, Panasonic GF1. I enjoyed taking pics! Next time, I must order a Lumix 7-14mm lens!

Pearl Farm Beach Resort. Mhmm, quite blissful.

My grandma & my first nephew Liam took a break from swimming.

My fresh sun-kissed freckled skin (it's not my hand... that's my sister's silly hand... now you guys see my tiny hearing aid).

I saw many unique restaurants in Davao City! Oh man, I ate a lot! Glad I gained a little bit, burp!

My uncle & his new gorgeous wife. Sigh, they are so lovely!

My uncle's wedding night party! Fa-fa-fabulous!

My youngest sister Erica & me (nyahahaha, my dress seems sexy... O_O)

My beautiful grandma.

3 in one portrait: Mama & her silly daughters. Hahaha.

My eldest brother Jeremy and his son, Liam. Sweet.

Currently, I still hold on my numerous art commissions because I'm working on my digital illustration for the mural wall of my sister's new internet cafe business. Erica requested me to make chibi characters: Naruto, Kakashi, No Face, Ragnarok, CounterStrike, etc.

See more details on Photoshop. I RARELY do digital illustrations, really. I must admit that I really love doing more traditional stuff than digital medium.

I made simple different logos for my mama's new restaurant store, Gasera. Gasera means "lamp" in Spanish language. It's up to her choice... the girl drawing is not included for the resto business, hehe.

Coming up about my two group shows!

"Sailing through Shadows" @ Gallery1988 San Francisco

Watch out, my beloved art buyers... My 7 original colored works aren't expensive! Good luck!

"A Few of my favorite things" @ Gallery Nucleus Alhambra California

See you guys in December!

Dyanne's New Tattoo ( PART ONE )

Boo, I'm still unhappy with my super crappy slow internet connection. I keep getting booted EVERY 3 - 5 minutes, argh. My net makes me so frustrated. Yey, I finish my last two big pieces for the Gallery Nucleus group show. They look more vibrant, just like my previous work, I see you, Cheshire. I really enjoyed doing my new color scheme. I'll post my new paintings in December. Ohhh... This November month, I'm busier with other plans (my uncle's wedding event, mural painting in my sister's internet cafe business, travelling to Davao City, etc.)

Anyway, I'd love to share my story with you about my closest cousin Dyanne, who is a vocalist of EVEN. She requested me to do a sketch for her new tattoo so I said "Sure sweetie!" Dyanne really loves beach, sea, sand, fishes, clouds, sun, corals, etc. Indeed, she's a beach lover. Here's my sketch.

After that, Dyanne shared a lot with me about the first female professional tattoo artist in Philippines, Racquel Natividad ( hands down! ). She has her own business, Rakel Tattoo. You guys must see her professional tattoos on Rakel Tattoo, they are wickedly detailed, wonderful colors and tones!

Then Dyanne said, "The design contained nature-inspired bio organic artworks from Racquel, her hubby Macos and me for me." Awesome collaboration!

Here are Dyanne's images. Oh amazing! Wish I could have my own FOX or TIGER tattoo on my back or arm, huhu!

Please visit Dyanne's blog entry about her tattoo experience. I must say, Racquel is crazily amazing & talented! In time, I'd love to meet her in person! I can't wait to see Dyanne's full finished tattoo! Go Racquel Go! To be continued. . .

During typhoon

Hello guys! How are you all doing? We are at least okay! Sadly, my garden got damaged by a super typhoon. My pets are really okay, glad they didn't fly away by strong winds, hehe. This typhoon started after I finished my 5th & 6th paintings. The sound of the strong winds scared me. I laid down on my bed and looked at my window.

Argh, we got no electricity. So I went to the other room, locked the windows, doors, etc. I checked the window... Eeepp, it looked like a tsunami! I must admit that I really wanted to go to the beach and take pics there, just like the National Geographic adventure... But it was too dangerous for me, haha! I was thinking of myself, "Mmmm? No way Mall. Stay here. You're so crazy Mall. STAY DRY, DON'T GO OUT." As a matter of fact, the angriest sea waves attacked my house in 1990's year.

Yeah, I kept busy when I worked on my 7th piece during no electricity / typhoon. Then I wrapped my Joby Gorillapod tripod around my neck. Hehehehe, it was so fun... ah well, I felt bored.

OH WAIT! I forgot to share my funny webcam pics before the typhoon arrived. So there... My GF1 camera + Joby Gorillapod tripod stalked me. So creepy.

Ok ok, forget my silly funny webcam pics, let me continue to share my story... Yep yep, I felt quite bored when I created my graphite drawing for less than 30 minutes. I looked at my drawing and I realized, "Hmmm, wait... OMG, she looks like Audrey Kawasaki! awwww.... I shouldn't add an extra mole!" I should give my drawing to Audrey. I am waiting for her email reply patiently. :)

When I woke up, we got electricity, yey! But my internet connection got damaged. So I started watching the Akira Kurosawa marathon. I was in awe with Kurosawa's concepts, stories, etc. "Dreams" film is the best.

After few days, my net is back but so slow! Currently, I'm working on 8th & 9th pieces. I adore glowing jellyfish & amphipod. 2 big wood panels are for Gallery Nucleus and 7 small pieces are for Gallery1988. I can't wait to finish the last two ones! Ciao! When I have time, I'll reply to you all in my previous blog entries! Hugs!

Clarifying

Today, I found out. I wasn't happy that they said something on other site, something like "Mall is wrong to use $%#$@ epoxy-resin clay without GLOVES 'coz it's dangerous! She should need to learn!" I was like, "Whaat?" That made me sad & disappointed. Hey, I mean that it's not a epoxy-resin from autobody car parts like two-part glue variety (not craft-sculpture category).

Before you guys misunderstand, I tell you the truth, I am always careful and observant to read art materials / crafts before using. I used MAGIC SCULP, it's safe. Visit to read more details / information about Magic Sculp http://www.magicsculp.com/

Magic Sculp is just like Apoxie or Milliput (two-part epoxy-resin mixture clays), which I made small ears for my first Mellow custom toy, The Midnight Garden of Great Owl.

So my skin is not sensitive to the chemical composition. I'm not only one, there are many professional / amateur sculptors (especially famous toy / doll makers) in public sites / blogs / forums and Flickr. Yes, OBVIOUSLY. If your skin is SENSITIVE, then use GLOVES, be sure to test it before using clay. If you're unsure, get to know more information on Magic Sculp site and Apoxie site. If it's impossible for your sensitive skin, use paper clay, terra cotta or something friendly like plaster of Paris OR DIY cold porcelain (mix all non-toxic ingredients: cornstarch, glue, cream, etc.)

BEFORE YOU START WORKING ON YOUR FIRST CUSTOM TOY, I recommend you to read all instructions about making custom toy, here's a link: KidRobot Discussion. That's how, where and what I learned from KidRobot masters / toy makers before I worked on my first custom Owl toy.

Don't judge nor misunderstand me because of the material I use on my sculpture. You can ask me kindly before making final judgement. But for my own rights and art style, I can't share my secret art techniques / materials. No one is perfect but importantly, we must take care of our health and of course, we must be CAREFUL. Better learn, study and research about materials before using.

Just like " Better safe than sorry ".

Thank you so much.

- Mall