name anh van luu sex female birthday 8/23/92 email luuk11s@yahoo.com ANOUNCEMENTS (none) 
Why 'The Baseball Mitt'? This idea was inspired by one of my all-time favorite books, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Those of you who have read it might remember Holden Caulfield's deceased younger brother named Allie. Allie was only 11 when he passed away from leukemia, and the only tangible piece of memory that Holden had left of him was the old, beat-up baseball mitt covered in poems written by Allie. This particular chapter somehow stood out to me the most. The baseball mitt symbolized the inspiration, innocence, and genuineness that Holden cherished about his brother Allie. It also motivated me to create art that captured the same genuineness, innocence, and the distinct overflow of inspiration that I have received from reading about the mitt that was clustered with poems. 
Over the past few years, I've discovered my love of painting. My paintings focuses on simplifying the details of people and everyday life into plain black and white. I believe that as we grow up, our perspective of the world can no longer be thoroughly described as "this or that," but rather, life vaguely flows by in shades of gray and nothing feels as promising as it was when we were little. In my artworks, I aim to bring back that simple beauty and elegance we all have seen at one point of our lives--when society's pressures had no voice in our actions and when life was beautifully, and simply, black and white. 
The art of drawing in realism is to draw what you actually see, not what you THINK you see. For example, we are conditioned to think that the average rose is red with green leaves. However, there are so many other different elements and shades of colors that can actually make the rose appear 3D and realistic. Think about how unreal it would be if every drawing of a rose excluded all of its original flaws and lifelike qualities. You will find that the practice of drawing in realism will contribute to how much more aware you will be of the slightest details of everything around you..whether it is the brand new set of wrinkles on your forehead or the gleam of purple from an average day's sunset that you never really noticed. Either way, all of life's flaws will suddenly appear to be more beautiful than you've ever given it credit for. :) |
Aug 27, 2010
 (Click to view larger image)A pen & pencil drawing of DJ Deadmau5.
Happy super duper late birthday to my friend Alan Ly! Hope you had a good one Pen, Mechanical pencil, Smooth Bristol - anh [
3:05 AM ]
Aug 24, 2010
 One day, I want to look back on this blog post and say, "Damn, these measly business cards were the start of my entire career." It will be a wonderful moment :) Thank you VirusPrint (www.VirusPrint.net) for these awesome quality, eco-friendly cards. Green never goes out of style! - anh [
12:19 AM ]
Jul 18, 2010
 Yup, another artwork. I'm just gonna keep`em comin!
This is a drawing of my beautiful best friend Lizeth Fernandez. I made this for her 18th birthday, and it took me a total of 9 hours to complete. It is drawn entirely out of pencil. This is actually my first time drawing a girl's hair! I was a bit worried at first but it turned out to be pretty satisfactory. She loved it! :) Mechanical Pencil; 7b Graphic Pencil; Blending tools; Smooth Bristol - anh [
12:13 AM ]
Jul 15, 2010
 I haven't touched this blog in the longest time.. so I thought I'd start again by showing you guys this fresh oil painting of my talented friend Brittney Au and her boyfriend. She actually ordered this painting for their 2371637th anniversary. Definitely one of the cutest pairs I've seen by far! 18 x 24 Canvas, Oil
- anh [
9:11 PM ]
Jun 9, 2010
 With high school coming to an end, I have massive amounts of drawings and paintings that I feel obliged to finish before I'm out of here and will quite possibly never see any of these people again. I'm only kidding, of course. There will always be facebook to compensate for the time that we will no longer have together. This may sound depressing, but I'm actually feeling pretty darn happy typing all this down.
Anyways, the semi-quick sketch on the left is of one of my favorite underclassmen Austin Chang. Most people thought that I had messed up on his eyes, but it's only because they have not seen the following picture. Bristol Vellum; Mechanical pencil; Blending stumps  - anh [
11:28 PM ]
Jun 3, 2010
 “For we walk by faith, not by sight." II Corinthians 5:7
This vector style image is completely drawn by pencil. It took about 2 and a half hours to finish. The paper I used was Bristol Vellum. WIP 1 WIP 2 - anh [
3:03 AM ]
Jun 1, 2010
 Beaded Tribal Flats $9.00 What a beautiful work of art--for such a steal! Without the help of my great friend Lizeth Fernandez, I would have never discovered this thrift store in a million years (even if it is right in front of my eyes). In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Old Pasadena lies a shy little store by the name of Crossroads Trading Co. Unlike other thrift stores that I have been to, this one is very nice and clean. Cleanliness is a rare thing to find in second-hand stores like Crossroads. You can also bring your clothes there to trade or sell. How great is that?! 104 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91105 (626) 793-2000 - anh [
11:09 PM ]
May 30, 2010
 Homemade manicure :) I just saved myself about 20 bucks. These are some color samples from the new Nicole by OPI nail lacquer. OPI is one of the best known brands of nail polish because of their staying-power and great pay-off (one layer is all you need!). After painting them on my nails for mere demonstration, I realized they don't look that bad together at all; great colors for the summer. Keeper!A regular bottle of OPI nail polish is usually around $10...but why waste your money when there's a coupon :) Enjoy. - anh [
7:58 PM ]
May 26, 2010
How many of you knew that Jesus had a little brother named JAMES?
This is news to me. Enjoy the following video! Michael Jr. is a great comedian whose sole purpose in life is to bring smiles and laughter to those who are least likely to experience happiness. He travels to places where "laughter is sorely needed, but in short supply" and help spread the the importance of happiness and welfare to juveniles and the unfortunate. He utilizes his talent to the fullest, and chooses to take the road less traveled. He is recognized by thousands of Christians and nonbelievers alike because of his choice to simply inspire. I hope all of you can be touched by this man's moralistic deeds and be inspired to serve the unfortunate people around you--whether it is your best friend, a family member, or just a stranger who is in need of help. Visit the website for further information or for more hilarious clips @ http://comedytheroad lesstraveled.com After engaging in further investigations, I realized that Jesus had other half-siblings too. I should probably read the Bible more often. - anh [
2:39 PM ]
May 23, 2010
  Working on my next project! This is a sneak peak of a much larger image. I'm so excited to show you guys the final product. It'll be up in a week or two, so keep watch! Sigh, the things I go through for art. The end result better be satisfactory! :) - anh [
1:25 AM ]
May 20, 2010
 I paid a visit to Michael's Arts & Crafts store earlier to stock up on a few things. I dug around the store and found this pack of 20 brushes for only $4.99! One brush usually costs around $2.99. What a deal.  Also, for those of you who are interested in drawing or sketching, I highly recommend the Smooth Bristol paper. It is extremely sturdy and gives you great results. The smooth texture allows for a superb finish. Here's a 40% OFF PRINTABLE COUPON for you guys. Enjoy! - anh [
8:04 PM ]
May 17, 2010
 Just a quick sketch of my beautiful friend Lizeth Fernandez. It took about 2 hours--only! This wasn't a detailed picture so it did not take long at all. I also neglected the hair a bit, as you can probably tell. Liz is probably one of the best people I've ever met. 7b Graphic Pencil; Smooth Bristol; Blending tools  Yup, there were supposed to be two girls...but I crashed after 'half-assing' the drawing of Liz. (Please excuse my language. It is 3 in the morning.) I ended up trashing the picture of Lizeth because my crappy eraser created a stain on her two front teeth that would not come off. What a waste, I know! Its alright, though. This was supposed to be her early birthday gift and it should not be crammed into one night. - anh [
3:25 AM ]
Feb 24, 2010
 This piece was the first drawing of realism I've ever done... and it's going to be the start of an entire new series of pencil art. I am so excited to show you guys! Needless to say, this was Michael Jackson before the alterations (if you catch my drift). Contradicting to popular belief, I did not decide to draw him because of his recent death. I was actually inspired to search up an image of the younger Michael because I heard the song I'll Be There by Jackson 5--and this all happened about two months before he passed away. It just so happened that I prolonged the process of the sketch until now. :( The original photograph can be found anywhere on Google. I do not own the picture because I was obviously not alive when he was this young, but props goes out to whoever captured this Kodak moment. PS - I ripped the nose on accident Mechanical pencil; Blending tools; Smooth Bristol - anh [
4:35 PM ] |
