I’ve been noticing some murals springing up in the city in recent months, even our humble HDB flats have been catching my eyes more. There are plenty of unique, compelling HDB blocks in Singapore which are painted in vibrant colours or feature giant murals on their walls, boasting all sorts of creative designs from abstract art to pop art. Their bright splashes of colour brightening up the once-grey walls, they never fail to perk me up! Singapore may be a concrete jungle, but as the murals on the streets and charming heritage buildings show us, you can find beautiful art almost everywhere in the city. Since many of the oldest and prettiest buildings have been demolished these past few years, it is time to start paying more attention and appreciate wall murals as a community. I don't wish to wait till it's too late to treasure the colourful murals around us. 

The HDB void decks in Serangoon Central were given a fresh, colourful coat of paint. That’s the dose of nostalgia these murals offer. Many of those murals harken back to Singapore’s simple kampong days as a fishing village, while you’ll can also find a lively mix of everything from Sir Stamford Raffles to our modern buildings in the area. They are great examples of meaningful and impactful ground-up initiatives and the final product is a new appealing space that many residents, both young and old, treasure and are proud of.

Still think public housing blocks in Singapore are boring? I hope you'll change your mind after you get to the end of this article. 

​Art has traditionally been used as a medium of expression but conversations have often been restricted within the four walls of a gallery, catering only to a niche audience. However, arts and culture are not confined to just galleries and museums in Singapore anymore – they come alive on the void deck walls of many an HDB estate. Public art took on a life of its own, breaking down walls of confined spaces and spilling out to the heartlands, making the art experience accessible to all.
 
More murals – or rather, art pieces – were done up at another void deck in the West side of Singapore. Non-profit group Social Creatives transformed a portion of the void decks of Blocks 749 and 750 Jurong West St 73 into a ‘Picasso’ community art gallery. The gallery pays homage to spanish artist Pablo Picasso and his famous Cubism style by creating a more intimate relationship between the artists and the community through collaboration. This is also to encourage local residents to know more about the art history and embrace the arts culture of their city.

There is another thing I would say is perhaps not unique but certainly as a whole Picasso brand it is unique. There are so many stories, myths and legends surround Picasso brand that it’s hard to know which are true and which are partly true. This is what made him memorable and his name shareable to wider audience outside art connoisseurs and art collectors.

Today, Pop Art is one of the most instantly recognisable forms of art. The influence and mark of pop art artists can be seen in almost every aspect of our modern society. At first glance, Pop Art might seem to glorify popular culture by elevating soup cans, comic strips and hamburgers to the status of fine art on the walls of museums. Pop Art focused on mass production, celebrity and the expanding industries of advertising, TV, radio and print media. Ultimately, it shaped a completely new cultural identity in the field of art and design. The art movement aims to elevate popular culture to the level of fine art, thus blurring the lines between high and low arts.

Campbell’s Soup, Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and words like ‘whaam’ are some examples of Pop Art. If they aren’t enough of an indication, you can spot a Pop artwork pretty easily as they are bright and bold in colour. But while easily recognisable, artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein exhibited their own, unique style.

There is a pop art gallery in Singapore created by Social Creatives, which you do not need to pay any entry fee to visit, and that is located at Block 8 Holland Avenue, a HDB property in Queenstown estate. I was pretty excited about the exploration because I love bold pop art and just about any image inspired by it. The conclusion of the visit was that I found it so fascinating. Basically the paintings are spoofs of renowned pop art artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring added in with certain Singapore elements. The artists gave the artwork there a uniquely singaporean twist, so don’t be surprised to see words like “aiyoo” and “sedap” too. ​There are a few reasons why i personally like Pop Art which are elaborated as you browse the collection of photos below. See if you agree.

​There are places in Singapore not many are aware of which has a good showcase of artworks – and I am not talking about galleries or museums, but your very own housing estates. For people who live in HDB would think that their public housing block look rather dull and lifeless. Standard practice on some buildings is to leave the first floor open, except for the structural elements. This area is called the "void deck".
 
In a void deck in MacPherson, you’ll find that the walls are painted in Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh’s signature yellow and blue, with reproductions of his famous artworks such as Sunflowers and Starry Night. Arts charity group Social Creatives calls it a “void deck art gallery”, said to be the first of its kind here. 

You do not need to buy an air ticket to fly to Amsterdam to visit the Van Gogh Musuem to find artistic inspiration. Instead, take a stroll through one of Singapore’s heartlands at Macpherson HDB estates, to enjoy the colourful art gallery without visiting to any museum. ​It's so nice to see art and colour on what would otherwise have been ordinary plain walls. It's also a nice way to educate the public about art and show them some of the masterpieces of the great painters like Van Gogh.

Confession: I am quite obsessed with finding street art. I have a love for public art. Murals and street art are always a fun thing to photograph. It’s something I do in every city that has street art. Any travel day that I end up photographing multiple murals marks a truly successful day of travel photography, in my opinion.
 
In the past decade, there has been a surge in popularity of one particular type of art in Singapore, the mural. Murals improve the urban landscape around them and create a sense of community through shared visual experience. Much like the flowers, trees, and plants maintained throughout the city, murals provide a splash of color in parts of town dominated by brick, concrete, or limestone. It is no wonder that murals have become popular and they will continue to provide color downtown and throughout the city.
 
In between the sleek skyscrapers of our Housing Development Blocks (“HDB”), creativity blossoms on the walls of housing estates, in quiet alleyways, and within bustling neighborhoods, bringing with it a flutter of radiant energy and charm. I explored the whole of Hougang HDB town to hunt down as many artworks as humanly possible so that I could break down the works of art by neighborhood. I realised that they are a great addition to our sense of place and offer ‘belonging’ for the residents staying in Hougang, as well as for the arts community.
 
Here are some of the cool and creative designs I saw along the way, from edgy graffiti to retro scenes. I think the photos in this collection have done a pretty good job of photographing murals with some good results. I hope it helps you chart out your own course to see these sights up close.

10 years ago, I hit PUBLISH and my life changed. Today I am celebrating my 10th year blog anniversary, i.e. blogiversary and I am feeling a bit emotional. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world, I am not able to celebrate this special milestone with an overseas trip. Instead, I decided to virtually connect and reflect on what it means to have dreams and values which they continue to shape my path.  
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I cannot believe how much I have learned in the last 10 years (and I know everyone says that but it is soooo true). I started this journey with such limited knowledge and only a dream. I set goals for myself that I thought were lofting and have met a few. If I told you all the late nights and hard work that goes into writing this blog, then I think you would agree that it is time to pop the cork on the chilling champagne in the fridge. It has been a W I L D 10 years.

I started painting for relaxation a few years ago and in the recent months I found that I most liked painting hats. I love colors, and I love seeing what's going to come out on the canvas. These paintings were done with acrylic paint on 16” x 18” canvases. Each brings a different level of emotion to the painting. None of them look the same except for one pair of paintings (you'll know what I mean when you browse the collection). It's like they take on their own personality, and I begin to outline and sketch. It seems like the colors come to me and it's like dancing on the canvas.

As a kid, i was always fascinated over hats. Ladies in England and Wales wear hats of all kinds, colours, and styles. And it seemed always one of the ladies would try to outdo the others by wearing the biggest hat at a fashion event or in an congregation. I was always enthralled by the sight of women wearing over-the-top, colorful and sometimes sequined hats. Hats have always been a complementary part of a woman's attire. It's just a very beautiful, colorful expression of one's self. Real-life people and movie scences would inspire the majority of my featured works as well.

If you’ve seen the movie "Titanic", you’ve seen the beautiful hats of the time. They had the wide brim and were large and covered the face. One of the hats I loved in the movie had a touch of lace stitched lightly over the crown as though the lace was blown by the wind onto the hat. Kate Winslet was stunning in her navy straw as she reluctantly embarked on her bittersweet fateful journey. 

​新冠肺炎疫情当前，大家都尽量减少出门，而随着时间的推移，最近在家办公、学习也成了人们生活的常态。但是宅在家里时间长了可能会产生新的问题，比如会觉得生活缺乏味、很无聊等等。其实，宅在家里也能把生活过得精彩。因为只能宅在家里，我们有大把的时光做自己喜欢做，却一直没时间做的事情；因为只能宅在家里，我们能舒下心来，听听音乐、望望美景，好好享受慢节奏的生活。这段时间，朋友问我什么时候心里最慌，怎样有效地缓解焦虑，并提升和丰富疫情时期的精神生活，我就建议不如我们可以学画画，但并不是所有人都接受过画画技巧的训练。我发现这并不是问题，恰恰相反，如果方法得当，人人都可以是艺术家。为此，我想出了一个最简单的办法，那就是裁一块包装盒的瓦楞板作底板。准备一些旧杂志、废报纸、废包装盒，可以从这里找图像。随便找些笔可以涂涂画画。好了，接下来我就可以创作了。
 
看似简单的创作办法，背后并不简单。因为这只是一种方法。但艺术创作一定不可缺少这三步：首先，艺术是表达思想的，美术创作也一定要有一个中心思想，这跟写作文一样；其次，收集素材，要想办法把与你的思想有关的图像和素材画出来或者找出来；最后是组合，把这些图像素材按照一定的艺术规律拼起来，主题图像突出点，其他图像做辅助。我的作品就完成了。​为了激励其他的初学者，我在个人IG社交媒体@jenniferteopaints 也贴出了用自己所说方法创作的几幅戴着礼帽的女性的油画，自已的家也因此成了一个小型“画廊”。 这大概是我出于对欧洲国家的仰慕和对印象画的喜爱，也感觉是个学习帽子的机会。

Everything has a shape, right? But what exactly is a shape? Shape is a flat area surrounded by edges or an outline. Artists use all kinds of shapes. Geometric shapes are precise and regular, like squares, rectangles, and triangles. They are often found in human-made things, like building and machines.

Have you ever wondered how artists actually create art? Once they've chosen a subject matter, gathered their supplies, and picked up a paintbrush for the first time - what happens next? Sometimes starting with a simple circle or square  or other geometric shape - is the answer.

The shape of things is something we tend to take for granted. Reproducing exactly what is in front of us is fine if all we are after is a likeness, but to extract more from our subject and to make the painting say more, we can modify and rearrange shapes to amplify what we see.

Ever since discovering this inspirational style, I knew I wanted to adapt it a bit. It is fun and kind of high-energy, but the contrast for each geometric painting is a little too much for me. So my foray into painting reminded me why I love painting so much (as much i love travel photography and journaling). I love the imperfect lines and painterly brush strokes and the varied shades of the same few tones. I am a human being after all, not a machine. I allow some humanity to enter into my straight lines and geometric shapes and l discovered that geometry is actually a human value. Precisionism is a philosophy, not an equation.

Do you enjoy geometric coloring pages, rather than having to color in something concrete and formal? If you said yes, I am right there with you. 

When many people think of adult coloring books, they think of pictures of flowers, or whales, or mandalas, or inspirational quotes in fancy fonts. But as it turns out, geometric coloring books are actually one of the my most favoruite kinds of coloring books out there. Geometric Coloring Books are coloring books that have geometric patterns of all shapes and sizes. They are the ultimate in meditative coloring.

The thing I love about this Geometric colouring book is that it has 25 unique designs with different degrees of difficulty. This book is perfect for experimenting with colors & explore different color techniques and so create different shades. With these coloring pages, I was able to color however I liked, & made into a truly unique coloring design. I had total creative freedom. 

Ever since I was a little girl, Geometric Coloring Sheets have held a special place for me in my coloring time.  Even to this day, as an adult, I love to sit down and just color sometimes. On top of the enjoyment simple coloring brings it also develops a vital skill for geometry studies. This is the skill of visualizing a problem.  The Celtic art is extra special for this reason, as all of the art at some point 'weaves'.  The strands of different colors start to go over and under each other.  If a child can learn what is happening, and follow it, they are fine-tuning their spatial sense.

Scroll down to see what I have done for a wonderland of geometric shapes and designs. Color with Fuzzy! Enjoy.

I have been painting circles because I love circles. Love the serendipity of them. I shared a story on my circle painting journey previously, but if you have missed it and now have a moment, go check it out HERE.
 
Well, I do love polka dots, spheres, and most any roundish pattern I find (or make), as you might know. And painted circles can be done in a couple of thousand different ways. There is no end to a circle, and I don’t imagine there is any end to the many ways you can vary them. Think about this simple pattern, how it could be varied ad infinitum (forevermore). You can vary this particular pattern in size and color combinations, right? Or you could make it neater, or even messier. You could fill a wall with circles, or a little post-it-note. Thinking about it makes me want to paint all day, every day. Painted circles ad infinitum.

This is a new series I'm currently working on, exploring new techniques and styles in circle art. I have been experimenting a lot with abstract painting. I love painting abstracts in so many ways, and each time I dive in I learn new stuff. New stuff about myself, new stuff about color combinations I enjoy, new stuff about art. I want to share it here, and will try to take more photos of these paintings soon. I have been painting, but not photographing the paintings much. My camera has been resting a lot this year. Too much really due to the current pandemic situation, I can’t travel overseas for the time being. It's actually a rare opportunity to be able to work from home and spend more time at home nowadays to do more things that i enjoy doing, be it painting, journalling, reading, blogging etc.

​As such, I've named all of the paintings in this new series that correlate to the term "VITALITY", which has a few definitions such as: the state of being strong and active, the power of enduring and the capability to live and develop. I hope all of you are keeping well at home during this pandemic period, be safe and continue to be connected in the virtual world.

​The shape of the hot air balloon is something I am drawn to. I can’t help wanting to draw and paint it. There is so much to love about their generous curves. Like an upside down pear. I love the way they let the air fill them up so completely, no reserved hidden corners

I always like to see hot air balloons. It is just the sort of extraordinary sight in an ordinary day that makes me happy to be alive. Even in the most routine tasks there is the odd touch of whimsy to be found. It makes you breathe a little deeper and a smile a little more. Up in the quiet expanse of blue under a glorious colourful bulb. Staring at those bright generous shapes in the sky you can feel the sense of freedom. Freedom is a state of mind.
 
Even though I am not a huge fan of heights, there is something a little magical about a hot air balloon. They seem to have an energy of anticipation about them that is so inspiring. For it does take some energy to fill that balloon and get it air bound. All the heat and drama required to lift that balloon is a fascinating contrast to all the peaceful, silent floating.
 
So true to life. There will be moments of heat and fire. Passion and drama. But there will also be moments of ease and serenity. Perhaps one is not possible without the other. I’m not sure what the collective noun is for hot air balloons, or if indeed there is one. But for me there is only one word that describes them en masse. To see a sky filled with hot air balloons, what else could you call them but a celebration?

If you follow my blog, then you already might know that one of my favourite things to do is to explore a new place as walking aimlessly and getting lost in it. I love when one discovers new and unexpected travel gems and The Hague (a.k.a. Den Haag) in The Netherlands was a great surprise. You can easily travel from Amsterdam and trains from Amsterdam to The Hague Centraal take roughly 50 minutes. It’s very easy to get around in the Hague and explore on foot (and public transportation is quite expensive). I love the Hague because it has such an international spirit, but still a vibe of a small town. The Hague doesn’t have the same scale as Amsterdam, ie, Miles of canals and multiple historic districts. The Hague’s Center City charms are impressive but concentrated in a very walkable area.  Also, the architecture in Den Haag is very beautiful. I have a thing for big windows, bicycles and beautiful and big doors. The typical Netherlands picture.

The Hague is such an important city in the Netherlands. The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, a center of justice associated with the United Nations, which is located in the Peace Palace. The International Criminal Court, which is responsible for prosecuting international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, is also located in The Hague. In addition to these international courts, the King and Queen of the Netherlands live in the center of The Hague. It’s quite an important city, not only for the Netherlands but the rest of the world.

荷兰一直是个神奇的国度，它总是不断刷新人们的认知，就像大家都知道阿姆斯特丹是荷兰的首都，但却不一定知道荷兰政府其实不在阿姆斯特丹，而是在另一座城市：海牙 (The Hague)。海牙曾是皇室贵族的猎苑，直到16世纪成为了荷兰的政治中心。这里是荷兰中央政府和议会的所在地，荷兰的皇室也在这里，因此海牙是荷兰名副其实的皇城。
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虽然这座城市充满了皇家贵气和政治的肃穆感，可偏偏最令我铭记海牙的，是那一抹令人心颤的纯净翠蓝。从小到大，一直很喜欢蓝色，总希望能找到一个只有蓝色的地方，静静地徜徉其中，就像在天空中漫步一样。对蓝色迷恋至极，我的旅拍画面里时常记录纯净湛蓝的天空和深邃宽广的蓝色海洋，每次旅行，我的镜头不由自主地追寻着蓝色的影踪。这一趟荷兰旅程让我邂逅一个千年古老的蓝色海牙，一路探寻它昔日的辉煌，旅途中真正的蓝色艳遇。

Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go. I fell in love in Amsterdam. Not with a person, but with the city itself. It was instantaneous and mutual. Amsterdam was made for me and I was made for Amsterdam. Amsterdam is for everyone – the extroverts, introverts and everyone in between.
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Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love its brick buildings, open skyline, rich history, and relaxed, easy going attitude towards life. I love the beauty of the canals and historic homes (as I keep saying over and over again), the friendly nature of the Dutch, the museums, the parks, and the quality of life. I love the international feel of the city, the cafe culture, the art, the exploding entrepreneur scene, and the rise of good beer bars! In short, I love it all.

一到阿姆斯特丹，心情就好像能随时随地飞起。阿姆斯特丹实在是精彩绝伦，我喜爱它的文化多样性和美丽的建筑物。它是古代航海时代的商业传奇，现代人性化基建和城市规划，超乎想象的别样体验，数不尽的惊喜和温柔，走过上百座城，阿姆斯特丹尽乎完美。穿行在这座城市，常常让我觉得恍惚，是那种掉进了名信片里的感觉。在这座城市里散步闲逛，是络绎不接的游人们在这座城市最迷恋做的事，在运河边漫步也是一种独特的体验。