Skye Soon : October 2020

Hellooo!

Introducing my weekend project! Other than the Mini Kitchen, I also bought a Paint by Numbers set from Shopee. Paint By Numbers basically means you paint according to the numbers printed on the canvas. I used to think it was lame because it's not 'real painting' 🙊

It's still not 'real painting' in the traditional sense, but it's definitely a fun an easy way to approach painting as a beginner.

And I have my friend Maria to thank! :)

Check out her her PBN artwork:

Hello, cool or what? Love it! Thanks Maria for sharing this new hobby (and video process) with me!

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So I bought my own set and got cracking this weekend!

The package comes with

A rolled up canvas
24 colours
3 brushes
wall clips to hang up your artwork.

Here's a close up of what the canvas looks like! It does seem intimidating at first because everything is TINY.

Here's me starting off with the whites and blues. Painting was very alien to me at first. The tips are soft and everything is so formless, as compared to using a marker (my favourite medium).

Slowly I got into the groove, favouring the broad tip brush. The fine tip ones were too small and soft for me.

Painting is fun for me especially when I get to listen to music as I work. Went through my favourite Paramore, Kimbra and Foster the People albums, as well as ONE OK ROCK, which I recently started to listen to.

Some shading and outlines, working into the night. Yeah it looked so dreary at the start and I won't deny that I was worried hahaha.

Halfway through I finally understood why people use easels...you don't get a huge crick in your neck.

After a total of about 7 hours of working from evening to midnight, and finishing up in the morning, I was done! You just have to have faith that it would turn out ok, especially when at the start it looks like a complete disaster.

The end product! Not so shabby huh?! After a while I said, 'to hell with accuracy' and trying to paint within the lines. Dabbing was so much more fun and looks more natural.

I love how it turned out! Amazing how following number instructions can translate into this. Consider me awed. It's also nice to pretend to be an 'artist' for a night.

I gained a new level of respect for artists overnight. To get their masterpieces they really put in a lot of effort and thought behind each stroke. My art work will not stand the scrutiny of closer observation but theirs definitely will! 100% props.

A gif of the process:

I hung it by my desk. I quite enjoy looking at it! Killed two birds with one stone with this activity because I've been looking for a painting to hang on my wall.

My takeaway from this art experience is : Don't knock it till you try it!

I recommend this to friends who don't mind tiny details and a long process. I'm a person who likes to do things in entire sittings but you don't have to - you can spread it out over days or weekends as you prefer :) There are also easier 'pop-art' version if you don't like landscapes like these.

I guess we might be trying embroidery next? We'll see!

Love,

Skye

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Hello there! How are you? I took this photograph outside Two Men Bagels because I found the image really cute.

Last week I scored some cheap Jin Ramen! 6 cups for $4. It expires in 2021 January, which is more than enough time for me to finish them (as of today, there are only 3 cups left.)

There was another promotion going on for Shin Ramen, and it was a one-for-one deal at only $4.60! But the ramen expires on 26 October. Maybe it's alright to stretch the expiry of dried goods but I'll avoid it if I can.

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Did some swimming and yoga this week! Did a very simple 20min beginner yoga video to just get back in touch. I am prepping myself because my friends and I are going to be using Classpass next month! The stretch felt good and set me up for a productive morning.

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Been watching a whole slew of CNA documentaries! They are very interesting and provide much insight. I really recommend them! Here's a list:

Look Ma! I'm a Kid Influencer

This one covers three kid influencers in Singapore. They model clothing, and promote products from toothbrushes, groceries, face masks, and of course, toys. Apparently the 'peak' of young IG influencers can be at 7 years old when they're not so small and "cute" anymore. Reality hits hard and fast.
The parents manage the social media account, but people still send disgusting things like 'I like your armpit'. Yucks ok.

Being a kid influencer also opens up a huge can of worms and is a very divisive issue. As seen in the comment section, there's a huge angry army of people thinking about how kid influencers are exploited, while the other camp thinks that it's fine as long as they enjoy it. What do you think? Really thought provoking video.
Young and Boss: 16YO Entrepreneurs

I enjoyed this! This video features a hardworking slime maker and a teen who flips sneakers for a whole lot of $$$. Running your own business is not easy and it's really heartwarming to see people who put in their all. The girl can make 6k a month selling slime! Wow. There's a lot of sacrifice involved, but you can sense her satisfaction and pride in her business. I dig that.

She also mentioned that it felt great using her own money to treat her parents, and also to bring them out on a short trip. Love that, so sweet!
The Hidden World of Non-Consensual Videos

This one is particularly horrifying.

CNA got a spycam seller to install spycams around the room. No one could find all 6 cameras, and when they replayed the footage of themselves searching, the footage was extremely HD. Very disturbing and not for the fainthearted. This is the world we live in now, having to worry about mini cameras everywhere. I don't think hotels check their rooms so thoroughly every day? It's very scary!!! Someone could just set up multiple cameras and stream undetected for weeks. It makes me feel SICK and unsafe. (PSA: turn off all the lights in the room and look out for a faint red light. Using a flashlight may help you detect these too. Obvious places to check: TV, remote controls, pens, anything with a clear view of the bed/toilet. That includes the SOAP DISPENSER in the shower omgah)

Victims of leaked footage and doctored photographs were also interviewed, but the one that takes the cake is the interview with a dude that took a shower cam. "I was shocked when I was caught, because I thought, so many people post but why me?" (Paraphrasing here, but he's not even sorry!!! He's just sorry he got caught!!) Grr. His reason for doing it also STANK.

I felt quite nauseous after this video. It was a heavy one indeed. Honestly seeing the light go out of bellywellyjelly's eyes is also very heartbreaking. In every interview I see her in now, you can tell how affected she is, as if she can break down anytime. She was really such a chirpy and bubbly girl and I'm sorry she had to go through this. Grrrr.
When Children Need Protection from Parents
This video is also hard to stomach. Starving children, children who are hit and abused, children who grow up watching their mothers crush and pack drugs. This video gives you a look into how Child Protection Officers work, and how the court can sometimes disagree with their cases. You can see the fear and worry in their eyes when the case is rejected. You also see how aggressive parents can be towards the officers...sigh. Heart was super heavy just watching part one of this series.

Watching this boy stuff fries into his mouth broke my heart. He and his brother often go hungry and sometimes have to go to their neighbour for food.

His brother balls himself up and makes himself as small as he can. This pose is really heartwrenching too, because maybe he does this too when he is getting hit etc.

Officers talk to children and draw with them, getting some information from them. Sometimes kids get slapped and kicked, and some miss school. Others have large cane scars on their face.
Inside The Hospital Mortuary
For the curious. It's interesting to hear the account of how the uncle who worked there talk about how he used to be afraid when he just started the job. Turns out there's more heartbreak than scares involved.