Eeek, I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I’ve blogged! April always seems so busy. Work has also ramped up considerably. And it doesn’t help that Hong Kong has also started to turn unpleasantly humid and warm, with frequent thunderstorms!

I completed two new prints in early April and they are now available in my etsy shoppe:

English Rose (pastels + pencils + watercolour)

Mei (pastels + pencils)

I haven’t had much time to draw this month but I have gone back to markers to re-work this print, which I hope will be ready soon!

The One Red Robin Facebook page also celebrated 100 likes in April by giving away an Art Print. I’m so thankful for the continual support (despite my lack of creativity this past month!).

And finally, in April Jodi of Art by Wiley featured One Red Robin on her lovely blog. Thank you Jodi! You can read the interview here: Art by Wiley – Interview with Jhoanna Monte Aranez

Nothing like a long-weekend at home to inspire some creativity!

As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up a set of pastels recently. I had two sets of pastels back in high-school and managed to fill 3 sketchbooks with portraits! It was my favourite medium. The Easter long-weekend was a good excuse to spend more time re-acquainting myself with pastels. Yes, they can get messy but I love the way you can easily blend them and build up layers, and how the texture of the paper comes through.

A quick face study:

And another portrait in progress:

And finishing off the portrait from my last post. This one is a mix of watercolours, pastels and pencils:

Hope you enjoyed your Easter break too!

Thanks to those who entered the giveaway for two copies of the “Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids” book! It was fun reading through all of your favourite crafts as a child. It brought back good memories as well as providing lots of ideas for crafts to do with my girls :-)

Thanks to Random Number Generator, we have two winners!

Congratulations to Deb and Fiona!! I will both be in touch with you shortly to get your mailing addresses.

I’ve been able to fit a little bit of time to do some drawing and recently picked up a set of chalk-pastels. These were my favourite medium to draw with back in high-school and it feels good to be re-acquainted with them again. Currently in-progress:

I can’t believe it’s Easter already! I love the message of Easter – of hope, of new beginnings, of death and of new life, and victory. Wishing you all a happy Easter!

I’ve never been very good with purely digital illustrations. I had a Wacom tablet previously but just couldn’t get used to it. I have great admiration for illustrators who can do all of their work digitally.

On the weekend I decided to give it another try and downloaded ArtRage Studio Pro. I had read some good things about it but mostly I wanted to try out their range of paper backgrounds and drawing tools. I commandeered hubby’s Wacom Intuos tablet and starting playing.

I think I have a lot more practicing to do! It was fun sitting with my girls whilst all of us played with ArtRage (me on my laptop and they were on their iPads). It was quite strange seeing a 5 year old know how to work layers on her drawing though! ArtRage is quite easy to use and I really like the different tools that are available and how real the brush and paper textures appear (although it was a little slow at times and crashed my laptop once!).

I will always prefer an actual sketchbook and pencils and markers over digital tools – I feel like I have more control over the work and it’s also a lot more portable! But I think I’ll keep experimenting with digital illustration too.

So happy it’s Friday! Is it just me or has this year just been completely exhausting!! Feeling drained by Friday morning seems to be a recurring theme. And it’s only March!

But I’m still buzzing about the wonderful opportunity with Gorman! Feeling very blessed about that and a lot of other good things that have happened this week. And also, have you heard that Gorman are opening their first store in New Zealand on the weekend? (and I’m secretly hoping they open one in Hong Kong too!)

I’ve had some very small slices of time this week to sketch and draw, so the above are currently what’s on the go in the sketchbook.

Yup, still loving the pink and purple hair :-) May have to buy more pink and purple markers!

Hope you’ve had a good week so far. Bring on the weekend!

I’m a big fan of Modcloth. I’ve got a few of their cute dresses in my closet – but I’m always tempted to add a few more every time I visit their site!

This sweet dress – “Shades of a Seascape” – caught my eye:

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And soon, it ended up in my next illustration :-)

How’s your weekend been? Mine feels like it has flown by in the blink of an eye. My parents are here for a few weeks and we (especially my girls) are having a great time with them. We’ve had an awesome, warm and sunny weekend here in Hong Kong too, as Spring finally makes its presence felt. Plus we’ve had friends from Melbourne visiting! It’s been nice to be a tourist again – lots of walking and eating!

Have you seen the Autumn/Winter 2012 collection by Gorman yet? I love it! A striking mix of colours, patterns, and textures. If only it had been available here in Hong Kong during our very cold (and gloomy) Winter!

I previously did a drawing based on a dress from Gorman’s previous collection here. I follow Gorman on Facebook and saw photos of their runway show at the recent Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. It was exactly the inspiration I needed to get my sketchbook out.

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I had so much fun with this illustration. I hope to do more!

And thank you to Gorman for kindly sharing the sneek peak of this illustration on their Twitter feed and Facebook page :-)

Bought myself a new Moleskin for drawing-on-the-go, and happily starting to fill up the pages with ideas and rough drafts during breakfast or lunch-breaks!

As much as I think technology is great, I don’t think any piece of technology or gadgetry could replace a sketchbook!

Inspired by my two daughters, I’ve been drawing sisters lately. This one is based on something my eldest says to my youngest on a regular basis: “You are the bestest sister ever!” :-)

It’s actually more of a quick mock-up as I’m hoping to try my hand painting this one on a proper canvas and hanging it up in the girls’ room.

And with it still being so cold in Hong Kong, I couldn’t help but draw these sisters helping keep each other warm.

And finally, (not sisters) but a girl and her best friend out for a walk.

Still loving playing with markers and pen, but hoping to get more practice with paint soon!

I finally feel like I’m on the proper road to recovery from this silly flu. It’s been freezing here in Hong Kong these past few weeks. A slow recovery has meant I’ve had more time at night to draw – on the downside, it means I haven’t run in almost 3 weeks, which means it is gonna hurt when I start up again!

Lately I’ve been practicing drawing full bodies, and clothes, and experimenting with colour.

I’m loving the opportunity to doodle and sketch and draw at night. It’s such a relaxing way to end busy and stressful days – especially in this current cold snap, where I can just curl up on the sofa with some tea and chocolate at my side!

A few days ago we celebrated one year of living and working in Hong Kong! Of course, I can still remember very clearly the mixed feelings I had when we landed at Hong Kong airport 12 months ago, excited about the possibilities but also nervous about how the girls would adapt and what life would be like in a new country. But I do thank God everyday for the amazing adventure it has been so far, how we’ve been able to make a new home for ourselves, and that the girls have settled in so well and have made wonderful friends. I’m definitely looking forward to what the next 12 months have in store for us here!