Come by and say hi!

Looking for something to do this weekend? Well, look no further!!
Come by Fort Mason and check out the Urban Epicurean Festival and get your holiday shopping started! There will be food and drinks too, FREE admissions. more info: http://urbanepicfest.com/

I'll be at booth #138 selling prints, tote bags, stickers, postcards and books!
Hope to see you there.

Giveaway on Instagram or FB!

It was Black Cat Appreciation Day this Monday! To celebrate, I'm doing an art print giveaway! All you need to do for a chance to win this 9"x12" print is follow me @isabellakungill on Instagram, share any black cat art/posts of mine on Instagram and/or Facebook and tag #catinklings 

Deadline is next Monday 8/24th! Have fun and good luck!!❤️ 

Inklings!

I started to experiment lately with Sumi ink and started a series of Black Cats on watercolor paper and yupo paper. They are SO MUCH FUN! but messy......but fun!

The idea of just using simple contour silhouette of these black cat and letting loose with abstract textures has been rattling around in my head awhile now. Last month a dear friend suggested me to paint a simple watercolor painting of a black cat for her, which made me think about this idea more and more... till one warm sunny Friday afternoon, I decided to procrastinate and ignore all the work on my to-do-list and do a little experiment with some sumi ink I found stashed away in my closet. (that ink has been around 6 years at least) I decided no more thinking about this idea and just do it and see where it takes me.

It was a lot of fun. Creating art with no expectations, no problems to solve and not worrying about the final outcome. The whole process was pure, uncomplicated and enjoyable. Letting go of control and letting the materials do its magic... Learning and observing the qualities of the medium... Needless to say, I will definitely make more ;)

I finally got around to test print and photograph them and now 5 of these ink paintings are available as art prints in my Etsy store!
Link: www.etsy.com/shop/isabellakung
I'm doing a storewide 10% off sale right now till the end of August. Take this opportunity and be my 1st few buyers! Use code: FIRSTSUMMER10

I'll also be doing art print giveaway soon, so follow me on Instagram or Facebook to find out next week!

Good Evening Bubo (Color samples!)

Finally got around to working on my story again! Did another draft and polished up my manuscript some more and did 4 finished paintings as color samples for my dummy! Can't wait to show my critique group my new dummy and see what they think. Then after is the dreaded process of research and submitting it.....><

Father's day!

For father's day this year, I finished an illustration just in time for my Dad. I remember there used to be a fence covered in morning glories near my home in Hong Kong, my dad will always pick me one when we walk by, and I always called it trumpet flowers.

I'll probably put these up for sale as greeting cards on my Esty store next year. Stay tuned!

Mother's day

I did this piece specifically for Mother's Day. Inspired by some of my fondest memories of my childhood with my mother. Living in the US (my parents resides in Hong Kong), I sorely miss her cooking, as I'm sure most of you out there can relate. Nothing beats Mom's cooking!

Used this opportunity to try out a new technique. Basically after my initial lighter layers of watercolor are dry, I used a scoring pen to indent the watercolor paper, leaving patterns to indicate the steam, smoke and aroma of a home cooked meal. Then I added a layer of color pencil on top.

This is a very personal piece to me. This year for the first time in my entire LIFE, I forgot my mother's birthday! I was so filled with guilt and sadness! Not that my mother was mad or made me feel bad, she was actually fine with it. We are a very easy going family. In fact, I recall her forgetting my birthday last year. I was just so sad that I have become so preoccupied with my life that I'm starting to lose track of my family back home. My parents have sacrificed so much for my brother and I. They worked hard their entire life and saved money for our future. Now my brother and I are both living in the US, and I only visit every 2-3 years, the least I can do is to remember their birthday! Plus, I've always been proud of remembering all my family's birthday.(unlike my father and brother cough* cough*)

So right after that, I immediately started working on a card for my mother. Finished it a month before mother's day and mailed her a large size print early. I ordered some postcards too to spread the love! Cheers to Mother's everywhere!

Sketching a lot lately

At Golden Gate Coffee waiting for our brunch:

My little vine plant, loving all the sunlight!

Finally got to go to Asian Art Museum!

Pinic and drinks in Alameda:

Went to Academy of Science too! The Whale Exhibit there was amazing! 

so is the taxidermy room!!

It's so much fun to doodle!

Watercolor Demos

Here's a few demos I've done for my classes this semester.

Did this little sheep as an example of the Facet Shaped Assignment, it's a great exercise for practicing edge control and play with design/patterns:

Here are my animal demos. Beginning later and finish.

I remember timing myself and I finished the rooster in 1.5 hours! The demo only lasted 30 mins, then stayed after class to finish it up. I was pretty happy with that time, teaching definitely helps to train me on my speed

 Then last but not least, portraits. Thinking about adding a listing to my esty store for custom portraits...emm....maybe....

Quick Studies

February - May, I made a point to force myself to go to more quick studies workshop at the University that I teach at. I've always been rather intimated by all these 1 min, 2 min, 3 min poses, especially when some of my friends and colleges who go there regularly are just so amazing at it.

I had only gone a handful of times before this year. BUT NO MORE! The only way to get better at something is practice! I went almost every week, sometimes every other week...

Now looking back at it, I have definitely improved a bit from the start. Can't wait for next semester!