I’m rather proud of this artwork I did. It involved paint, duct tape, brushes, sponges and a lot of prayers to hold it together. It’s an abstract art based on the title of the post so I’ll call this The Picture of Huai Bin.
I’m not known for my artistic skills (understatement of the year). Whenever we had to do Pendidikan Seni (Art) in high school, I would inevitably draw this:
I’m not kidding. I blogged about it back in 2003 in under the absurdly grandiose title Behold, I draw again. 😉
One fine Saturday, Nippon Paint invited a bunch of us to the Nippon Paint Workshop at HomeDec ’09, KLCC. I was the first one to arrive so after checking in, I did some recon around the place and found a lot of interesting things such as regal looking porcelain thrones that is more for art’s sake than for actual crapping.
When I wandered back to the Nippon Paint workshop, I saw easels being set up around the area. It seems like we’ll be painting today!
The tables were filled with all sorts of painting paraphernalia – some of which I don’t have names for. Art just isn’t my forte. >.<
I thought someone was just going to shove a paintbrush into my hands and tell me to paint. It’ll be like Pendidikan Seni all over again. It took 15 years of therapy and thousands of dollars in medication to get over that stressful period of my life and I still have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)!
Repressed memories began to resurface and I felt my heart pound and blood rush to my head. Panic attack! Before I tore the hair out of my head and ran screaming out the door, Gladys came in and made us feel welcome with some food and a presentation.
The workshop by Nippon Paint was held to teach us about colors. I don’t just mean red, green and blue but also about how colors affect moods and how to create the ambiance you want. There are warm and cold colors and color combinations that can be manipulated for the purpose you want.
We also learned about how to make our own designs with a variety of materials. I was amazed by how a little self-painted art can really accentuate a wall, room, or space. I saw this pattern that was done to highlight a wall and cover a beam. It was inspiring! It really got me interested in being creative and adding a motif to my future living room wall.
I gleaned a lot of information from the presentation but my particular interest is in this color:
Red
Pros
Passion, fire, energy, courage
Cons
Defiance, aggression
You should never paint a meeting room red or office disputes might just explode to a whole new level, with disastrous consequences. It is a contentious color for the bedroom – it ignites passion, but also arguments.
However, I’m partial to red (notice my banner and my phoenix tattoo) due to the symbology associated with it. Studies have actually shown that it has a physical effect – increasing the respiration rate, raising blood pressure and making your heart beat faster.
I’ll tell you why I want red later.
Okay, with the presentation over and the basics ingrained (well, at least not totally lost) we were led by the friendly Nippon Paint staff to our easels and started working on our canvas!
I cut sponges into eye shapes with scissors
I used duct tape artistically to define zones
I used multiple sizes of paint brushes to color my canvas
I mixed colors and washed paint brushes with water
Hell, I even squeezed paint straight from the tube onto the easel
I almost felt like Van Gogh (except my left ear lobe is still intact and I haven’t succumbed to mental illness…yet) doing all that.
I loved the session so much I lugged my piece of art back home to Kelana Jaya on the LRT at the expense of my back. I seriously felt the need to paint and make beautiful things (which is very subjective, ya know :p) for the first time in my life! I already have a project in mind…I’m going to paint my work table! =D
That’s why I wanted the color red, I’m going to blog from that table and all the positive attributes are the things I want happening when I’m typing out a post. I’ll face my Pendidikan Seni fears and do a little design on the table while I’m at it too!
Hmm…now what creepy sketch should I do? 😉
