MTangDesigns

"Running away from an emotion is a sure way to carry it with you." -- Jay Shetty I guess I was so excited to post my video clips that I forget to post my finished June monthly Layout! If you're interested to check out my video clips.  Please check out my Instagram account MTangDesigns. #mtangdesigns #journal #手帳 #マステ #日記 #絵日記

"Desire is not love. Love is something much more responsible. It has care in it." -- Thich Nhat Hanh I'm really glad that I am almost done with my June monthly layout. I just need to fill in 3 more boxes! :) #mtangdesigns  #hobonichi   #ほぼ日手帳   #手帳   #マステ   #日記   #絵日記

"Love is the flower You've got to let grow." -- John Lennon My August expense layout!  I painted some blue and light grey flowers for fun!  Loving the result! Happy Friday!  Have a wonderful weekend! #mtangdesigns #水彩 #花 #watercolor #bullletjournal #bujo

"Lettering creates readable art that comes to life, displaying a quirky whimsical nature." -- Peggy Dean Using every opportunities to practice my lettering!  I used a Crayola marker to address the envelop.  The first letter is alway scary for me to write.  I am afraid to mess up the letter.  Throughout the years, I learn to write slowly and carefully.  Most importantly, just do the best I can! Happy Monday!  Hope everyone has a good start of the week! #mtangdesigns #mtangdesigns #babyshower #crayola #crayolacalligraphy #crayolamarkers #calligraphy

My May monthly layout work-in-progress!  This month I put in more details about my personal life.  I found it quite fun drawing my life out like a comic. What do you like almost about journal? #mtangdesigns   #artjournal   #journal #bulletjournal   #bujo     #ほぼ日手帳   #ほぼ日   #hobonichitecho   #マスキングテープ #手帳   #マステ   #日記   #絵日記

One of my goals is to catch up on my monthly spread while I’m on vacation. I worked in my May monthly spread a bit! Although it looks like a small portion was done, it took me 2 hours last night.  I’m taking a break from the hot sun and going back to the drawing board again #mtangdesigns   #artjournal   #bulletjournal     #ほぼ日手帳   #ほぼ日   #hobonichitecho   #マスキングテープ #手帳   #マステ   #日記   #絵日記

My first journal page for my Spain trip!  💖 More to come! #mtangdesigns #artjournal #bulletjournal #bujo #watercolor

My July layout page. Currently, I’m on vacation. One of my goals is to catch up on my journal! 😊 #mtangdesign   #leuchtturm1917  

"Sometimes the things we can't change, end up changing us.  Make sure it's for the better."  -- Jay Shetty     Work has been crazy lately, which has impacted my drawing schedule.  I finally finished my April monthly layout.   Now, I need to work on my May layout.  Hopefully, I can get up to speed.  I have always admired people that post their drawing all the time.      I just started keeping a time lot to improve my efficiency.  Hopefully, I am able to draw more often as a result. #mtangdesigns #hobonichi #monthlyspread #monthlylayout

"Detachment is not that you own nothing.  Detachment is that nothing owns you." -- Bhagavata     I love challenging myself doing different layout each month.  For June layout, I drew flowers, flower petals, strawberries and wild flowers.  I love the nice variety of pink colors.  It has a dreamy spring look.     #mtangdesigns #watercolor #bulletjournal      

"Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible." -- Thich Nhat Hanh I was in the mood of abstract.  I did an abstract border using blue ink. Happy Monday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #monthlylayout #monthlyspread #hobonichi

"Sometimes the things we can't change, end up changing us.  Make sure it's for the better." -- Jay Shetty It took me an hour to finish this calligraphy.  It's hard to tell from the picture but the size is quite big.  Since I don't usually do big calligraphy, I decide to do it slowly. My calligraphy My teacher's calligraphy #mtangdesigns   #中国书法   #calligraphy #handlettering   #lettering

"Every failed hop is one hop closer to success." -- Bunny Buddhism I have a lot of fun drawing the cherry blossom.  I love the cherry blossoms.  They're just so beautiful! #mtangdesigns   #watercolor   #watercolour  # 兔子 # 兔

"Pandas prove that you can eat just bamboo and still be fat." -- unknown This is the first time I am drawing a panda.  Who can resist pandas!  They're just too cute. My drawing My teacher's drawing #mtangdesigns   # 熊猫   # 熊貓 #chinesebrushpainting   #国画   #画笔   #绘画  #panda #pandas

"Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all the good things towards you." -- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi The rough translation of this quote is "Flower blossoms bring prosperity, bamboos brings a stable year." Below is my calligraphy: My teacher's calligraphy: #mtangdesigns  #中国书法  #calligraphy #chinesecalligraphy

"Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul." -- William Hazlitt     I forgot to post the finished drawing of the Swan.  It's always nice to finish a painting.  I am looking forward to a new painting.     Happy Monday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting #watercolor  #国画 #swan #天鵝 #天鹅

"Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark." -- Rabindranath Tagore For Chinese brush painting, the traditional rice papers are used.  Rice papers are very different from the watercolor paper used in the western world.  The rice paper is a lot thinner and very absorbent.  If you make a mistake, it's very difficult to fix.  Unlike the western water color, one can uses a sponge to paper towel to pick up the paint before the color is set. However, this has taught me to be patient and mindful with every stroke! Happy Friday! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting #国画 #swan #天鵝 #天鹅

"We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves." -- Tom Robbins A simply calligraphy!  The word "Dragon" in Chinese is simply beautiful on its own.     The following is my teacher's calligraphy.  I always love to show his work because his works has inspired me to keep on learning! #mtangdesigns #中国书法 #calligraphy #dragon #龙 #龍

"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." -- Helen Keller I started a new drawing!  :)  My teacher taught me to use blue color to sketch out the drawing first since the background is basically all blue.  If I make a mistake, I can just paint over it.  What a brilliant idea! Have a wonderful weekend! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting #国画 #画笔 ##swan #天鵝 #天鹅

"March, when days are getting long, Let thy grow hours be strong to set right some wintry wrong." -- Caroline May    I did a simple doodles on a page.  Since St. Patrick's day and cherry blossoms are both in March, I would just fixed both symbols together.    Happy Wednesday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #watercolor #stpatricksday #cherryblossom

"The man who works with his hands is a laborer.  The man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman.  The man who works with his hands, his brain and his heart is an artist." -- Louis Nizer    Below is my Chinese calligraphy:     Below is my teacher's (Mr. Jerry Fu) beautiful Chinese calligraphy! #mtangdesigns  #中国书法  #calligraphy #chinesecalligraphy

"Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. " -- Albert Einstein Time passes so fast!  I just realized I did not post my February monthly layout. Happy Thursday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #hobinichi #monthlyspread #monthlylayout

"For those who cannot sleep, the night is going to be long." -- Buddha #mtangdesigns #watercolor #buddhaeyes

"In order to carry a positive action, we must develop a positive action." -- Dalai Lama I am still working on creating artwork from Khenpo Pema Wangdak's teaching.  This is my buddha eyes work-in-progress! #mtangdesigns #buddhaeyes  # 佛教 # 佛 法

"Mindless kindness; Mindful Evil" -- Khenpo Pema Wangdak I went to a Tibetan Buddhism teaching by Khenpo Pema Wangdak last month.  I enjoyed his teaching very much!  I am very intrigued by his word of wisdom.  I have been experimenting and learning to take notes in sketchnote format.   I am very touched my Lama Pema's phrase "Mindless kindness: Mindful Evil".  In his teaching, he mentions the important of establishing good habits of cultivating kindness so that it becomes our second nature.  In addition, we also need to be mindful or careful not to hurt others. #mtangdesigns #buddhism # 佛教 # 佛 法

"Practice is the best of all instructors." -- Publilus Syrus I would like to thank all the encouraging comments from my previous Chinese calligraphy posts.  Your encouraging words has made practicing a lot more fun and enjoyable!  Thank you! Happy Monday! My calligraphy My teacher's calligraphy #mtangdesigns #chinesecalligraphy # 中国书法  

"Real girl are never perfect and perfect girls are never real." -- unknown This is my first time drawing a girl in ancient China.  I had fun drawing her.  I always wondered how the girls could get their hair in loops and stay in shape since they didn't have hair spray or gel in ancient China.  Anyone has any idea? #mtangdesigns  #mtangdesigns   #chinesebrushpainting   #国画   #画笔   #绘画

"The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -- Edith Lovejoy Pierce I did a simple calligraphy from my teacher's master piece.  The writing is in seal script.  The phrase means "Welcome spring and great fortunate". May the year of dog brings you lots of fortunate!  Happy Chinese New Year! #mtangdesigns #chinesenewyear #yearofdog #新年 #狗年 #戌年 #cny2018 #中国书法

"All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." -- Charles M. Schulz I did a drawing for my colleague's cat, Peanut! He is such a handsome cat!  I enjoyed drawing him a lot! Happy Valentine's Day! #mtangdesigns #cats #猫

"And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been." --Rainer Maria Rilke Good bye, January; Welcome, February!  Don't forget to fill your day with love and joy! #mtangdesigns #hobinichi #monthlyspread #monthlylayout

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself." -- Josh Billings     Chinese New Year is around the corner.  It is part of chines culture to draw or write calligraphy to bring good luck in the new year.  I drew this chubby toddler with a cute dog.  In Chinese astrology, 2018 is the year of dog!  The bottom of the shoes is the word "longevity".  The toddler wears a red sweater.  Red is an auspicious color!  This picture symbolizes a very lucky year!     May everyone has a healthy, happy and auspicious year! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting # 新年    

"I want to sing like the bird sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think." -- Rumi I love going to the class not knowing what I would get to draw next!  Ta da.. Seagulls!  I have never drawn seagulls before.  Part of learning is to stretch myself to draw something different! Don't forget to try something new this weekend to stretch yourself a bit!  You never know... you might like it!  Feel free to share at the comment what you have tried lately. Happy Friday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting #国画 #seagulls #海鸥 #海鷗

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is practice." -- Vladimir Horowitz I am very proud of myself that I have been keeping my promise to my teacher.  Since my passion is drawing, not calligraphy.  For the longest time, I tried to avoid doing any calligraphy.  Since I have been busy at work, I don't have much time practicing at home.  I guess some practice is better than no practice.     The following is my teacher's beautiful calligraphy!  I loves his calligraphy! #mtangdesigns #calligraphy  #中国书法

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance." -- Confucius     This is a drawing of a man who is a ghost hunter or fighter in Chinese myth.  His name is Zhong Kui.  He is doing a sword dance!  I saw this painting from an artist, Yi Yong, online.  When I attended my Chinese Brush painting class last week, I didn't see any painting I want to draw.  I usually like my teacher's paintings.  However, I did not click with any of his painting that day.  I decided to pick a picture online instead.  If you're interested, you can find the original painting online.   #mtangdesigns # 鍾馗

"What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" -- Robert H. Schuller The temperature of this month has been up and down.  Personally, I love the warmer weather! Happy Wednesday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #monthlylayout #monthlyspread

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." -- Eckhart Tolle I would like to thank Estee for her beautiful postcard!  She drew this beautiful bunny which looks like my bunny, Niffy!  My daughter loves it too!  I put this post card on my desk so that I can look at it everyday. Happy Monday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns #bunny #rabbit #兔子

"No mud, no lotus." -- Thich Nhat Hanh One thing I learned about watercolor is you have to be patient.  For this painting, I had to paint part of it and then waited for it to dry before I could add on more colors.  Nevertheless, I am really happy with the end result! Happy Thursday, lovelies! #mtangdesigns  #chinesebrushpainting   #国画

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep." -- Scott Adams My teacher brought in some calligraphy print outs.  I saw one that I think it has a lot of personality.  Since I have not learned or practiced all the calligraphy styles, I know this one is going to be hard for me to imitate.  Anyway, I gave it a shot!  Part of the learning process is allowing oneself to fail!     The following is the beautiful master piece! #mtangdesigns  #中国书法   #calligraphy

"There is the mud, and there is the lotus flower that grows out of the mud.  We need the mud in order to make the lotus." -- Thich Nhat Hanh   I always have problem drawing the chinese rock.  I asked my teacher for help!  He patiently explained to me how to draw the rock step by step.  Although I am not as good as my teacher, I am glad that I did a decent job!   Whenever there is difficulty, don't be afraid to ask for help!  When someone else is struggling, don't forget to offer help!  Compassion is contagious! #mtangdesigns #chinesebrushpainting #zen #lotusflower #莲花 #蓮花