This is how I managed to do it:

foodscape

* Illustrations above were used in one of our web design projects, I will post the design soon when the website goes live!

Here is what I handpicked from their delightful collection:

Hahoe Dance Mask from Korea

Korean Mask, Watercolor Illustration

Chinese Chest and Southeast Asian Burial Jar

Chinese Chest and Southeast Asian Burial Jar, Watercolour

Concepts of spirituality and celebration have been attached to these pieces.  Drawing from these still life figures give me a sense of connection to the concepts encapsulated within these inanimate objects.

Maybe some objects do carry a piece of history engraved within its form.

You can just imagine me standing there, staring at that tin box with all the intensity of a child whose eyes gazed upon a coveted dream toy. And that’s how the idea of a gingerbread house appeared before me.

I want to have fun with our Forecepts’ corporate Christmas eCards, so I created this simple, fun and quirky illustration of a gingerbread house. I added those four tiny birds flying up towards the top of the house carrying four Asian-inspired house accents. I have used curly Christmas trees in our last year’s Christmas eCard, I want to keep that as a “trademark”. 

Forecepts’ Christmas Gingerbread House: rendered as animated Flash electronic Card – http://forecepts.com/greetings/

Forecepts' Gingerbread House

The fun had not ended that  Christmas Season. I’m living in a country where people all get hyped up for Chinese New Year the same way that I used to get hyped up on Christmas Day when I was still a kid. My gingerbread house morphed into an eclectic mix of orange hues with pseudo-Chinese elements. And oh, the rabbits, they must be cute and at the same time, help to usher in a new year of prosperity. This time, we sent out Chinese New Year postcards to our clients.

Forecepts' Chinese New Year Postcard

Gingerbread:

The harder German-style Gingerbread is often used to build gingerbread houses similar to the “witch’s house” encountered by Hansel and Gretel. These houses, covered with a variety of candies and icing, are popular Christmas decoration ^[5] often built by children with the help of their parents. This form of Gingerbread houses is also popular in Norway. (Source:Wikipedia)

The Rabbit:

Cuddly, warm and affectionate are the attributes of the Rabbit. Mysterious and a great party-giver and host, the Rabbit enjoys being the centre of attention once in a while. The Rabbit is occasionally over cautious and can be a bit boring. He is also one of the luckiest signs in the Chinese Astrology chart.

Every Christmas tree has its own unique charm that reflects the characteristic of the people who took the time to lovingly and joyfully decorate these trees. I grew up in the Philippines where Christmas is a big thing and my childhood memories is happily peppered with colourful balls, stockings, Santa Claus, gifts, and of course, Christmas trees.

It’s the sheer enjoyment of decorating this symbolic tree that has inspired me to create this concept for Forecepts’ 2009 Christmas eCard. I have worked on the illustrations for all the elements; the trees, baubles, socks, candy cane and the gifts at the bottom of the box.

We originally planned on a “create your own Christmas Tree” concept, wherein users can customize the background, the tree and the elements that each would want to place on their eCards. A personalized greeting would also be possible and in the end, the user can send the card to their friends as jpeg files. They can also invite their friends to do the same. Unfortunately though,time constraints have not allowed us to push through with this idea.

Below are some screen shots of the design. In the end, we just opted to send out a simple flash eCard. Hopefully this year, we’ll be able to push through with the original concept and share the joy of decorating your own Christmas Tree.

There are of course, some really bad days when my hands would feel very stiff and my line becomes very heavy. My drawing would have some hard edges and my fingers wouldn’t budge. They will just stay suspended somewhere in the middle of the paper, and stubbornly refuse to follow what my brain is telling them to do.

So whenever this feeling of “lightness” comes to my fingers, my hands would automatically grope for any pen, pencil and paper or notebook that I might be holding at that exact moment.

I was drinking coffee at Coffee Nations in Bali Lane while waiting for my friend, Camille, to join me for dinner. At that time, I was reading the book, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and I was using this postcard from Vogue Magazine as a bookmark.

This feeling of “lightness” seized my hands and I found myself copying Cate Blanchett’s portrait. The goal is not to exactly copy what my eyes can see from the printed photo, but to distinguish the lines, shadows and shapes that is visible to my eyes, and in the process, stamp these visions into my paper. I find comfort and fulfillment in relying on my senses to be sensitive to some light and shadows here and there. Drawing and doodling really gives me a kind of primitive happiness.

This is another doodle that I created while hanging out for dinner in a nearby McDonald’s. I don’t want to go home early so I decided to exercise my little hands. I’m fortunate enough to feel that my hands feel very light at that exact moment.

I’m looking forward for more sensations of lightness to seize my fingers.