Since my baby is now 11 months old, I figured it is about time to start on the sippy cup. I was not looking for anything fancy and just wanted the basic sippy cup that my baby boy could learn and row with. I went to a local Dollar …

I visited a place that tells the story of the progression of art through the ages. Its surroundings are purely attractive, hold an abundant of interest, and the works of art on display are absolutely astonishing. The place has unique ways to express the exquisiteness of art. It is …

2008 is the fifth season of Independent Shakespeare Co.’s “Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park”
The company, headed by Melissa Chalsma and David Melville is presenting 3 different productions this season:
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night — or What You Will
Shakespeare’s Henry IV, parts one and two (in one night)
Christopher …

If you visit London one of the attractions you mustn’t miss is The National Gallery. With its permanent collection of Western European paintings, which spans the period from about 1250 to 1900, there is so much to see.
Housed in a neoclassical building overlooking Trafalgar Square, the Gallery has over …

“The Birth of Venus” painted by Sandro Botticelli is one of my favorite mythological paintings. I was not into Greek mythology until the television show “Hercules” starring Kevin Sorbo aired in the mid to late nineties; however, it has become one of my favorite subjects in history. It also …

“Cigar Bar” by Brent Lynch is a painting of a man smoking a cigar while sitting at a bar with a ready drink. “Cigar Bar” is actually the companion painting to “Evening Lounge”.
First, because “Cigar Bar” is the companion piece to “Evening Lounge” the colors are exactly the same. …

When I was younger, I would think that there were tiny worlds that floated on top of snowflakes each winter. It was a magical feeling because I would imagine what would be going on in those world’s, and what would they look like. Josephine Wall’s painting entitled “Bubble World” …

“Village On The Water” by Sung Kim is a painting of a village centered on a river that opens up into the ocean.
First, I love the powder blue of the sky and how it makes the painting feel open. I like the faint white surrounding the mountain in the …

I recently took my two children ages 4 and 14 to the San Antonio Children’s Museum and to my surprise both children had a blast. Who would have guessed I could find a place that a toddler and a teen would enjoy equally. There is something there …

“Chameleon” painted by Sheila Wolk is a painting of a girl with butterfly wings (could possibly be a fairy) camouflaged in a field of daisies.
First, I love how vibrant and vivid the colors are in this painting. When I first saw “Chameleon”, I had to continue staring at it …

“The Bedroom At Arles” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is a painting of his room in the place he was staying in Arles. I think the painting captures how modest his living arrangements were.
The thing I like about “The Bedroom At Arles” is how “normal” Van Gogh appeared. Even …

“Floral Patio I” by Sung Kim is a painting of a patio engulfed in various flowers of all colors, and the patio is overlooking the ocean.
First, I love how vibrant the colors are in this painting. I like the light blue of the sky and how it reminds me …

One of the most reliable brands when it comes to ballpoint pens is Parker. I have been using this ballpen eversince we were allowed to use ballpoint pens back in high school. My first Parker pen was a Jotter Ballpoint Pen with a maroon-colored barrel which was given to …

The first time I ever purchased these pens I was required to buy them for my 2D design art class I was taking in college. I bought the eight pack black Pigma ink that comes in sizes 01 through 08, one being the smallest point size and eight being …

I thought the message of this story is quite disturbing and rather sad. There are so many tales of people experiencing all sorts of physical and emotional pains throughout their life yet they manage to break away from it. Everything in the real world is temporary and can be …

The painting “Just Peachy” by June Dudley, is a wonderful painting that is a perfect depiction of a child on a sunny afternoon picking her way through a peach tree to find the best peaches. Life has slowed down in this moment, and by looking at the picture I …

I recently visited New York City and decided to visit the “Anyspacewhatever” exhibit at the Guggenheim. As someone who’s last museum was in elementary school during mandatory field trips, I was reluctant to go. However, after seeing a few introductory video clips online and on their website, …

If you have an artist in the family like I do then buy them the new Museo Maestro Canvas to print their digital images on, the quality will amaze you. This brand new product introduced by Crane & company is specifically designed to give Art Gallery like quality …

Asian Art Museum is such an exquisite museum! I try making a trip to this museum at least once a year. My first visit to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco was during a mandatory school trip back in high school when I was taking a …

I bought this cleaner primarily because I’ve started taking a painting class at my college, so I use oil paints quite frequently. Oil, like charcoal, is a very difficult material to wash off of anything - especially brushes. Normal soap just doesn’t work at all, and other brands (like …

Painstiks are the inventive combination of acrylic paints and oil pastels, and quite possibly the best excuse to revert back to finger painting. Paintstiks are extremely fun to use; they have a self-sealing outer layer that you peel off each time you want to use them, so they’re always …

Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Although a still life, this oil has a life of its own and I feel it possesses the uncanny ability to come alive and observe the observer. It forced me to open my heart and feel. At first glance this appeared as simple sunflowers in various …

I highly recommend the Scoring Board by Martha Stewart Crafts to any crafters out there. This product is amazing. I love to do all sorts of crafts. Card-making and scrap booking are my absolute favorites. I love to work with cute papers and embellishments. I recently found a blog …

I have lots of spare time. Until recently I mostly used my spare time on the computer or in the bed (to excuse myself when I said lots of spare time this does not mean the whole day - a few hours a day). Although it did take me …

“Olive Trees” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is another emotional piece that is really unsettling to me. The fact that “Olive Trees” is unsettling to me is weird because when you think of a vineyard, you’re supposed to have happy thoughts when you’re taking in the scenic view …

“Arch Courtyard II” by Sung Kim is a beautiful painting what looks like a patio to someone’s home which opens up to their mouth-dropping courtyard.
First, I like how the colors of this painting gives off an autumn feel. I like the deep green on the leaves on the larger …

Gouache paints are basically opaque watercolours. That have a binding agent and a higher ratio of pigments to water; white pigment is added to them to make them opaque. Designers and illustrators initially used gouache however many artists are switching to a digital format now a days.
Artist’s Loft brand …

I like to think that I am somewhat of a crafty person. To help me with my craft projects, I love to use my Cricut personal cutter. Although, I recommend that people who plan to use the Cricut to a wide variety of projects, purchase the larger Cricut Create …

The Aguinaldo museum is located in a place called Jungletown by the locals. The huge statue of Gen. Aguinaldo atop a horse as well as the museum is a landmark in Baguio City, and many tourists used to flock to this place. Through the years though the visitors have …

“The Red Vineyard At Arles” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is an emotional painting because the subject at hand. From the looks of it, it appears to be about slavery; however, I don’t know much about France’s history but that’s my take on it.
I think “The Red Vineyard At …

Josephine Wall is sure to get your inner imagination indulged in a world of pure fantasy in this painting entitled “Lady Unicorn”. Not only is this painting full of playfully combined colors, but generates a world that can only be found in your dreams, and brings about that sense …

“Gazebo” by Sung Kim is a painting of a Gazebo on some sort of pond which wraps around into a lake or river.
First, I like how vivid the colors are especially in a setting which looks like early morning. I like the faint white color further back in the …

“Vase With Oleanders and Books” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is one of his purest paintings of flowers in my opinion. The colors are not bright and loud, and the toned down colors allows the beauty of the Oleanders to shine through.
First, I like how simplistic the colors of …

“Bluhender Garten Mit Pfad” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is a landscape painting as well as every flower enthusiasts dream.
“Bluhender Garten Mit Pfad” is one of those paintings that you have to be extremely knowledgeable as far as the subject is concerned; in this case, it’s flowers. The more …

“The Olive Grove” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is another painting he did of Olive trees which could easily be mistaken for his other painting “Olive Trees”. “The Olive Grove” and “Olive Trees” have a lot of similarities and differences.
I like “The Olive Grove” because it captures my favorite …

The painting entitled “Clown” by Leonid Afremov stirs up something inside of me that brings me back to child like dreams of fantasy and wonder, as well an un-doubtable sadness. The colors are brilliant and swirl to truly create something straight from the imagination.
It is not secret that …

“Irises, Saint-Remy” painted by Vincent Van Gogh is a botanical painting he did while suffering from a breakdown. I think the Irises definitely depicts the mood Van Gogh was in at the time.
I love “Irises, Saint-Remy” because to me, it symbolizes how one can be surrounded by so much …

I am not a big art museum person, so visiting this museum was not at all my idea. My daughter was writing a college paper on twentieth century art. She always talked me into this kind of thing by saying it is for school. So here I go, off …

Aris Prabowo’s “Playroom” presents the issue of how children nowadays are constantly buying military toys, and how it turns into a militaristic nightmare of chaos and anarchy. It was drawn in 1997, in response to the beginning of the Indonesian Revolution of 1998, where President Suharto resigned. This Revolution …

My grandson recently had a birthday party, and I purchased Snazaroo Face Painting Kit to paint all of the children’s faces in attendance. I did some running around and found Snazaroo at Michael’s Craft Store for less than fourteen dollars including tax. This product is …

Recently I had re-visited the gallery one of the most famous Lithuanian artists- Kazys Simonis. Kazys Simonis’s paintings and drawings are a distinctive phenomenon in Lithuanian art of the 20th century. Throughout his long life (1887-1978) being a witness of great historical changes, Kazys Simonis aimed in his …

I am someone that does a lot of drawing. I really love using this sketch diary. It allows me to easily draw without a lot of hassle. It has the design of a tablet so I’m able to easily flip through it and find …

“Poppies” Painted by Vincent Van Gogh is a botanical painting of Poppy flowers in a vase. I think of all the botanical paintings with vases painted by Van Gogh, this one is on my list of favorites because of the colors used.
I like the “Poppies” painting because it has …

“Café At The Canal” by Sung Kim is a painting of a café overlooking a scenic canal.
First, I love the vibrancy of colors in this painting: they remind of early to mid summer. Again, I love the faint white in the far off distance on the trees and a …

“The Potato Eaters” by Vincent Van Gogh is one of his darker paintings with a great back story. While I was researching the painting, I found out that Van Gogh wanted to capture the essence of what peasant life was like. Apparently the painting took place in the Netherlands, …

Lorenzo Costa’s The Concert is another oil painting but this one is done on poplar. It is not one of my favorite paintings from the Renaissance time period. It has its good parts but there are some things I think the artist failed to capture. Maybe he did this …

My father collects fountain pens so even at an early age, I was already exposed to the different brands available. When I was in college, we were required to use only black signpens for taking exams. Since I have always wanted to start my own fountain pen collection, I …

Rebecca Latham’s painting entitled, “Changing Season-Black Chapped Chickadee” is the perfect visual representation of the changing of the season. Just as the title of the painting suggest, this little bird is a sure sign that the season are changing, and winter is approaching. The marvelous part of this painting, …

“Country Blue” is a beautifully painted work of art by June Dudley that really does resemble life in the country in a field of blue flowers. I have seen many paintings of June Dudley’s that really bring to life the moment in time when life seems simple and the …