Family Friday: All About J & M's Painting and Anime Drawings

Second Friday of the month: Hobbies / Recreation / Kids

Ever since my kids were little, drawing has been one of their hobbies and a favorite activity for quiet time. I've featured some of their past works years ago on the blog and on Instagram as #ArtOfJandM. It's only recently that I've started taking notice again of what they've been creating. Please indulge me as I share some of their more current artworks that triggered some proud mommy moments for me. I am hard to please when it comes to my kids' works, but napabilib din nila ako with their latest artworks. :)

THE BOY

His doodling got less and less over the years, and homeschooling made it possible for him to explore art again. Noon puro robots and original game characters ang drawing niya. This year, he began taking painting classes at Art Smart. They teach him basic painting techniques and use acrylic on canvas.

Teacher said he is skilled, but sometimes tends to rush his projects. I've observed that he needs to be more meticulous and patient, and should work more neatly. Minsan ang daming patak ng paint on the sides and teacher will help him cover and clean it pa! Here are some of his works so far and I am looking for a spot in the house for each of them. =)

This painting below is for me. I'll claim this. =) He initially chose a blue and orange photo of a different jelly fish, but I wanted this more colorful version. It took me some time to convince him and told him to paint it for me, hehehe. Eventually, he obliged but did not quite finish... he missed some shading and shadows, but tinamad na kasi time is up na daw! Haaay!

He's currently working on this cupcake. Once he's done, I'll share the finished work on Instagram. =)

THE GIRL

Drawing cartoons was always her favorite and she knows she's getting better at it. Pero she has her moods -- sometimes she will hide her work coz it's private daw, and there are days when she will request me to take a picture agad and let me post it on Instagram. She still prefers pencil drawings and rarely colors her works.

From creating her own animal characters to animé illustrations, she now gained the confidence to teach her classmates who are interested to learn and draw anime. Here are two mystical characters from a series she made last month.

M's latest drawings are all about anime girls. Since school started last June, she's been bringing home some of her doodles and comics. Earlier today, she created another original character named Necko Chan. Her characters all have "Chan" daw at the end of their names... don't ask me why! I can't understand her explanation, heehee.  

Here's a sample. May frontal rendition and side view. Mahirap daw yung side view, she is still practicing.

Their school is now on their term break, so she asked me if she can invite friends over and they can draw. Kaya bigla tuloy ako napa-organize ng "anime drawing workshop" dito sa bahay! M and another classmate with be the "teachers" for beginners and advanced levels.

Everything is almost set, and I am all out to support this hobby coz I also enjoyed drawing even as a kid. In this digital era, drawing with a pencil on paper is as organic as you can get when it comes to expressing one's creativity. Especially for the younger generation, it makes them appreciate art even more since it's their original work, drawn by hand. No gadgets, no complicated or high-tech materials needed. Just pure inspired drawings that spark their imagination.

"This is you, mommy. I copied the exact shirt and shorts you're wearing now, see...?" 

I look so young in that drawing diba, hahahaha. But at least she got the ponytail right.

"I can't do boys. Ok... I'm going to draw our family..."  

This was a stolen shot, kasi hindi pa ata tapos, but I love it already. =)

More of our family's art:

fun-friday-art-of-j-m.html

fun-friday-whats-your-favorite-hobby.html

fun-friday-micro-toys-and-crafts-for-lps.html

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Mom-Finds: Adult Coloring Books to De-stress

Stress-relieving, therapeutic, addicting. Coloring these elaborate patterns and prints actually relaxes me. Once I start on a new print, it's so hard to stop. I just take a break once my hand hurts and get blurry vision altogether, heeheehee! Lately, I found myself going offline and moving away from my laptop and other gadgets longer than usual just to keep coloring. And that's a good thing. Even my girl wants to color with me!

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First Art Exhibit of The Boy and The Girl

Two weekends ago, the TMA Summer Art Class had their exhibit at Galerie Stephanie as their culminating activity. The students all did amazingly well and the families went to support them. I have to say I am a very proud, thankful and happy mom to have a boy and a girl who are both artistically inclined. Drawing has been a hobby for them since they were preschoolers. After years of asking them to take art lessons, they finally did it together this summer.

It's actually my frustration to learn how to paint. I want them to learn too, so I can display their artwork at home. But through the years, they continue with their pencil drawings even if they were introduced to watercolor, oil pastels and markers. You can see some of their works with the hashtag I created for them: #ArtOfJandM. See how the boy's "teapot from a different dimension" project turned out below.

The girl took basic art classes two summers ago, while the boy never continued after a few trial classes. He got bored. Their recent summer art class with TMA, which will be credited to the boy's homeschool art subject, got them together for the first time, and was a promising step towards taking more art classes.  Check out the progress of their self-portraits above. =)

The kids were fortunate that they were taught by contemporary abstractionists, Camille Ver. With over 10 years of being a professional artist, she guided the kids on creating their own masterpieces, shared a bit of art history, and exposed them to different materials.

From the classroom to the gallery, it was a very enriching experience for my kids and myself (coz I'm the one bringing them to class every week, and sometimes, I stay in the room for the whole session). At the exhibit, all the kids' works were displayed, with their portraits professionally framed.

First was their name in art, followed by their self-portrait, then their interpretation of summer, and at the bottom is their perspective and rendition of the teapots. That's Camille standing beside M's works.

Each of them had four artworks that they can sell or keep. Teacher Camille pegged the prices at PhP500 each, except for the frame portrait which was priced at PhP750.

Of course, the kids had mixed feelings since they don't want to part with their "creations" daw, but were tempted at the prospects of earning from their work.

The boy used mainly primary colors for his art. His sister said he looks like an old man! Hahahaha! I think it's the glasses. =)

Can you still spot the dragon from his initial sketch? 

My girl uses all bright and sunny colors for her artworks. I was actually surprised she used pink for the background on the last one.  She said she's over pink already and wanted to try other colors. I guess she'll always love pink.

Here are the kids, checking out their classmates' works.

The exhibit showcased works from the younger kids too.

Before the end of the program, the boy "sold" his pieces to the grannies and the girl sold hers to daddy. Each of their sets were sold for a package price of PhP2,000. They were assured that their artwork will stay at home, so they took the tempting offer and bought a toy from their "profit" before we headed home, hahahaha! =)

All I can say is that the kids had a wonderful experience and wanted to attend more classes. I have no objections. =) 

Here they are with their certificates from the TMA class coordinator. Thanks, teacher Camille, for being patient with the makulit kids. =) You can view some of Camille's amazing works here in Galerie Stephanie's site. 

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Family Friday: Just Another Candle on the Cake

Second Friday of the month: Personal / Motherhood

My birthday came and went. It was just like any usual Monday, even more stressful actually, kasi it's the girl's assessment week. In short, it was like lessons and studying the whole day for me, from homeschooling the boy, then reviewing the girl until dinner time. So, no birthday "leave" for this mom.  At least a break from cooking that day. We just went to a Japanese resto for dinner to celebrate.  I turned 42.

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Art Time with Meadow Kids: Fashion Designer and Box of Stencils

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Fun Friday: What's Your Favorite Childhood Hobby?

Third Friday of the month:  Hobbies / Recreation

I've been de-cluttering some parts of the house lately and in the process, I've unearthed so many of my old stuff which I brought with me after I got married.  I'm not so much of a pack rat, but rather more on sentimental, especially with things that reminded me of my younger years, who I was, what I did, what I liked then.  These hobbies really helped define who I am today, and how I influenced my children with their own interests.

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