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Writer's pictureHappy Lee

HELLO 2021: A REFLECTION ON MY ARTWORKS


As far as I remember I started taking drawing seriously when I was 16. Way back sophomore years in University. Art was not my major, I studied Bachelor of Science in International Relations (it's like political science but on an international scale, it's a lot of law stuff, why I took it? Well, I'll write it down in a different blog entry, because my creative journey is a huge roller coaster ride).


This was way back in 2010, the first time I organised a University-Wide Art Competition called ART WAR. This painting is by Jann Ray, Charmaine and Noreen, the champions for the Painting Category.

When I was 17, I joined an art club, it's called OKIR (It's a cultural Maranao Art, dedicated to all self-taught artist in the University). Becoming a member of the club is another journey which is a pretty interesting story. But in this blog, I would like to talk more about my reflections about my artworks throughout the years, or even since I began my creative journey.


MY OKIR FAMILY! I must say they are one of the reasons why my creative life was a colourful start!
My first ever watercolour attempt way back in 2012. Way back then I was so disappointed with this artwork. But it took a photo of it because I knew that time, I'll look back on this and remember how I improved if I just keep practising..

At this point, I start questioning my creative journey, its very easy to get disappointed and discouraged about yourself whenever challenges arrive, but today I want to encourage myself by looking back to my journey and see how far I reached after all those years of practice and hard work, even without a penny back to me when I started to choose the creative path.


(FYI I did a lot of non-creative jobs after I graduated from Uni, and my career path was a mess, I went through a self crisis, I was broke, I faced depression because for so many years I tried to detach myself from creating artworks, and I did jobs I wasn't happy. Eventually, after many attempts, I found my way to design industry and then lead me to illustration.)


So i never stopped practicing and this is my work for watercolour in 2013

Random artworks I posted on my wall way beck 2012



I created this calligraphy, and it makes sense to incorporate it here since I want to focus on my progress and not perfection because let’s admit it, it will never be perfect! As your knowledge grows, you will start to realise its a huge world out there! And there's a lot of things to learn, it can be completely scary.



It's scary and tiring to start, to post on social media, it's scary to accept criticism, and it's a constant battle within you if this is the right thing for you. But most of all its frightening to realise that your knowledge is a too tiny bit, and how can you stand out and get noticed out of the many, right?


This fear is not just limited to the creative field, but it’s for everyone! The world keeps turning, and everything is evolving, and so should we!


Now I must say I’m pretty proud of what I've achieved, it's not the very top, I'm not popular! But one lesson I learned, we have to merit ourselves with every progress we achieve in our journey.


It's not just about the medals or competitions we won, but simple things like finishing an artwork, being satisfied with our work, and whenever someone appreciates our work. That’s something right?

Always keep in mind that progress is more important than perfection. Whenever you feel bad with your work, look at the work you did before and appreciate yourself for the progress you made.


Satisfaction is not an overnight thing, it's a constant choice you have to make to achieve it!


I love MUJI Planners, ready for this new chapter! and i printed this artworks on canon matte photo paper using my canon pixma pro.

With this, as we are about to unfold 2021, I must say I am not the same person, both positive and some negative I guess haha! And I want to thank all the beautiful people I came across this year and for the inspiration. With this, I want to share some of the artworks with you!


I created some calligraphy and calendar, may this spark some inspiration to you as it did to me, please feel free to download and print, this is for A4 size, but can also be adjusted for A5 printing.


Please please do not reproduce for commercial use or resell.


If you print it, please feel free to tag me if you share it on social media or just send me a photo, I will be very very happy to see it!


Let's continue spreading the creative spirit! and into more beautiful works and more beautiful people to meet this 2021! Happy new year my friends!






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