Over the Christmas and New Year holidays, I finally found time to sit down
and finish two paintings.
D got me the easel and art gear for my birthday 2 years ago (or was it the year before).
It was about time I put it to good use.
So D’s granny loves pretty flowers and I thought I should do one for her to bring back to Adelaide. I found some references for different flowers online, and was hoping she would choose orchids (easier to draw and paint). When she chose the rather complicated peony,
I wondered why I brought this upon myself. But the challenge was set, and I tried my best.
“Granny’s Peony”
The strokes could have been better, the details could have been more precise.
But I’m happy it turned out pretty okay for a newbie like me.
The gold paint reflects sunlight beautifully in the evenings.
More importantly, granny’s thrilled.
“Yongfu Lu”
Now this one here, sat on the easel for over a year. I painted the first few layers when I was in between jobs before the wedding. After over a year, I think even D gave up on the idea of me ever finishing it.
I think it still needs a little touching up before I varnish it. This was painted from memory – the sight that greeted me every day at the street corner of Yongfu and Fuxing Xi Lu, where I lived for two years in Shanghai.
I wonder if the bookshop or that home decoration store is still there. Things change so quickly in Shanghai I won’t be surprised if they’re gone now.
My apartment was through the doors between the green bushes, and up four flights of stairs to the 2nd floor. I miss that old, decrepit art deco apartment building. Click here to read about my first few days there! 
I used a mixture of wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry methods I learned online (amazing what they teach you on Youtube), as well as some texture paste for the leafy bits. It was a huge learning process for me and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Can’t wait to start on my next one!