Squircle

This particular piece is not on canvas (do excuse the lack of clearity on this piece) - but on a huge, long piece of canvas type material which needs to be framed up and I have issues going close enough to show the visual effects due to the size of it.

I am not exactly sure if anyone can relate to this, but have you ever felt like you just don't quite fit the mould?

I remember as a child, one of my favorite toys was a particular hollow shaped octagon-like plastic with different shaped holes on the different sides.There was a star shaped block, a square block, a circle, a rectangle, and the list continues which dictated the hole in which each shape was to go into.

Looking back, I have never really felt like I was a certain shape. In fact, if I were a shape, I would be a squircle - a cross between a square and a circle. And if that block truly existed, it would not have fitted into the circle or the square hole side of the octagon.

I have come to discover that we, in actual fact are not meant to fit the mould. Like unique thumbprints, we are each uniquely different;called to be who we have been wonderfully made to be. There is only one of us in this universe - there is no other person quite like the individuals that we each are. If we decide against living up to be who we are made to be, no one can replicate and relive our lives for us. More often than not, we seem to fancy the notion of coying what others are like. I deem that a waste, for variety is the spice of life. May we dare to be authentic; to be unafraid to be the distinctively different flavours that we each are.

Dreams

This was one of those customised art pieces that I made to match the colours of my room at one point in time. Again, I was playing with mixed media and was pleasantly suprised at the effects of it. May we never stop experimenting and discovering new things that truly delight us.

Dreams are powerful things to have. Dreams are boundary-less. Dreams are infinitely uncontainable. May we be individuals who dare to risk and to dream. May we hold our dreams tight enough to bring it to fruition but loose enough to give it back to the Dream Giver when required to let go.

Who should know the mystery of
What the heart desires?
The unexplainable way
One is wired?

How many dreams
Can a heart contain?
Until it bursts
Or goes down the drain?

What is the measure of dreams far-fetched?
Who defines what is?

When is it acceptable
To refuse the status quo
To go against the constant flow?

How is it possible that dreams are deemed inconceivable?
Or thoughts considered intolerable?

Day by day by day
My heart sings
A different song
It beats
To a different rythm
Of one unheard

My soul aches
For the day
When passions are unleashed
To rain on parched hearts
And barren dreams

Then maybe
One day
Who should discover
Dreams know no end

Letting Go

There are times in life when we need to simply let go. I remember clearly the time when I was on a flying fox; after what seemed like 60 seconds of eternity; with me swinging past unending rows of ancient trees at the height of two storeyed buildings and when I finally came to a halt, I thought the worse was over.

Little did I know that there was an important lesson I was about to learn - the lesson of letting go. I was faced with having to let go of the hangar-like gripper to be taken off my safety harness. It took me 20 seconds of contemplation (besides the fact that my arms were aching from supporting my entire body weight the whole time) and some elements of trust that the rope will be strong enough to hold me. It seemed like forever but when I finally did, only was I able to safely set my feet back on solid ground.

Sometimes life requires us to let go. Of things familiar; sometimes of things our hearts hold dear. When that time comes, we are required to lay it all down and trust that we will walk into our destinies.

I let go
I let it roam free
I let go
I throw out the key

Run far dear heart
Run fast
Run the race
If you need to stay a world apart

Move on
To new places ahead
Move on
Many dreams await

I let go
I let it roam free
I let go
Because you first loved me

Spaced Out Checkers

I go through phases in my art with different themes, colour schemes and styles. Right now, I can feel myself being in a 'checkered phase' for a bit. When I think chess, I think strategy. Not that I am a chess player myself but I am slightly fascinated at the fact that there is so much foresight and forward thinking skills required - a good thing to possess I suppose. In saying that, I love spontaneity as well and I cannot imagine life without it!

And on a slight tangent, I often wonder with the many lives I have and still come across, I cannot help but to wonder what each of their remarkable stories must be like. We each have a story to tell. There is so much to learn from people who have gone before us and there is so much to accomplish yet.

Carpe Diem

This is one of my personal favorites which no longer remains in my possesion today. I am starkly reminded to seize the day - to live in the now and to live it up ; to make the most of circumstances.

Regardless of how dark it may seem for a little while, a new day will dawn with new promises in store. Spring will always arrive no matter what a long, barrenly dark, or cold winter it has been.

My reasons to live life to the full : life is but a breath, it is short; plus we get to live it only once. There is every reason to choose life and to live and love fully.

Alabaster Jars

One of the things I love is the significance of alabaster jars. It speaks to me of brokeness and humilty. Of coming just as I am; broken, imperfect, chipped and marked but yet be fully accepted. And to be seen in the eyes of what I could potentially become, not just the current state of what I am blows me away. In short - work in progress would suffice to descibe me.

But what I love is how regardless of all the above, a simple object can be a vessel made for noble purposes and so much more. There is more than meets the eye. In ancient times, these were used to hold extravagant perfume. Such seemingly ordinary ornaments but used for innate exquisiteness. Like how vases are formed ; they are moulded and shaped from the miry clay and put into the furnace to retain their shape and to be made whole.

We may be marked, scarred and broken, but out of these trials form true character - the unfading beauty of an indomitable spirit.

Living an Adventure

This was one of those I did in the true theme of christmas tones - I was experimenting with a new technique and I loved the way it turned out. Life is far too short to be afraid to take risks, to do something never done before, to experiment, to explore and discover. To dream. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the enormity of a thousand possibilities in life and the many probable paths but yet at the same time, I love living life on the edge. There is such beauty and excitement of living in the now and in the midst of the huge unknown before me. This is what I call living an adventure.

Second Chance

If we were to be given a second chance to live this life - how would we live it? Would it turn our worlds upside down as we stand in the midst of gratitude? Would it change our perspectives on life, would our priorities differ? What would matter most?

Would things be indifferent; or would there be new light shed, new revelations, new radical ways of living, new hopes, new dreams,new passions and new visions casted?

I can only seek to learn the art of doing life better; having been given a second chance.

Contemporarily Organic

I decided to incorporate a bit of nature into this particular one. I am a huge fan of mixed media and I enjoy experimenting with new ideas especially since I love the great outdoors. I love it when I am inspired with fresh new ideas because it usually marks the beginning of a new season. Or that I have discovered a new revolutionary style uniquely me.

Layers

This is my latest painting based on a contemporary theme. I love contemporary art because in it lies so much freedom of expression. And expressing myself is what I love to do. I have realised just how precious it is to have true, transparently honest friendships and relationships - when we are stripped bare of the many layers which are often there- and when what's left is all it essentially really is. I love it how with art, I cannot help but to just be - plain, blatant honesty of where I am at.

May we live our lives unafraid to be who we truly are, to learn to live our lives to be true to ourselves and to do the things we have been set out to accomplish.

Hope

I am glad there is hope. I cannot imagine life without it. Many a times I fall short but I find myself afloat in a massive sea of mercy that remains indescribable.

Work in progress- that's what I am. And who I am clearly shows that. There is much to learn and much work to be done.

Pioneerete

This is one of the first few paintings on canvas that I completed in art class- I spent most of my years painting on paper and the likes. This was one of the marked milestones in my journey and I have been absolutely hooked on canvases since.

We are sometimes called to be pioneers in certain paths and certain areas in life. Some may be called to embark on the road less travelled by- Fear and self doubt is almost certain but I have learnt that as I step out and up into unknown territorries and unfamiliar boundaries in beautiful time, the rewards are unfathomable.

What is it that you are called to? Perhaps it is time to step out.

Love is..........

Love encompasses so many things. The term "love" is used so loosely in everyday life that sometimes I think the real meaning of love becomes diluted.

What exactly is love? The definition of love that I have inscribed on this canvas: "love is patient, love is kind..", and so much more-
Love is so many things beautiful.

Two Worlds Apart

Ever had one of those days when what you knew to be truth was actually not quite it? Just for the shortest moment in time when your world seemed to have tipped of its axis.

I discovered an entire world I never knew existed.

And thus began my journey; my quest for life.

I breathe

And I grow

In a bubble

Unaware

I live

And I discover

A world

Not there

I question

And I wonder

How is it possible

There down under

Lies a world

Dying

That I just discovered

Stumbling, striving

Darkness and despair

I hear silence crying

Is anyone out there?