ampulets

writings and drawings when I am not daydreaming

Search This Blog

Home
OTHER DREAMS
SHOP BOOKS BY AMPS

Posts

life lessons from art class (Oil painting edition!)

on June 29, 2026

+

Some time in 2024, I decided on the spur of a moment to sign up for a "Certificate in Oil Painting (Basic)". As always, learning about art is an always a process of learning about life. Largely because failure is inevitable. It reminded me of lessons from similar blog posts from years ago - they are summed up and with links in the <2024 post here>. After taking a break from oil painting in 2025, this year I signed up for the "Certificate in Oil Painting (Intermediate)". It essentially means I've moved from painting still life objects, to painting landscapes, albeit from photographs. Below are a series of posts from IG that I have put together here about my lessons in oil painting.... Hopefully you get to see some progress in my actual oil painting skills too! 8 October, 2024 "Keep the background in the background... and then move towards the light." A friend last night asked why I have not given any updates lately on my oil painting course. Eve...

0

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

into the bamboo forests

on April 03, 2026

china travel

+

0

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Seventy Times Seven

on November 02, 2025

art-design books things we make

+

0

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Labels

MissingJ
art-design
books
domestic tourism
film
nature
personal
taiwan
things we make
travel

ARCHIVE (2005-25)

Jun 20261
Apr 20261
Nov 20251
Sept 20251
Jun 20252
Dec 20242
Jul 20241
Apr 20241
Mar 20241
Dec 20233

Nov 20232
Apr 20231
Dec 20221
Nov 20221
Jul 20221
Apr 20223
Mar 20221
Feb 20224
Dec 20214
Oct 20211
Jul 20211
Jun 202113
May 202114
Mar 20214
Feb 20211
Jan 20211
Dec 20202
Nov 20201
Sept 20204
Aug 20204
Jul 20201
Jun 20202
May 20203
Feb 20203
Dec 20191
Nov 20194
Oct 20192
Sept 20191
Aug 20191
May 20191
Apr 20193
Mar 20193
Dec 20171
Sept 20171
Aug 20171
Jul 20171
Jun 20171
Jan 20172
Dec 20161
Nov 20161
Sept 20162
Jul 20162
Mar 20161
Feb 20162
Dec 20152
Nov 20152
Sept 20152
Jul 20154
Jan 20152
Dec 20141
Nov 20142
Mar 20141
Feb 20141
Jan 20141
Dec 20131
Nov 20131
Oct 20132
Aug 20131
May 20131
Apr 20131
Feb 20131
Dec 20122
Nov 20122
Oct 20121
Sept 20121
Jul 20121
Jun 20121
May 20121
Apr 20124
Mar 20121
Feb 20121
Dec 20111
Oct 20111
Jun 20111
Apr 20112
Feb 20112
Jan 20111
Dec 20103
May 20102
Apr 20103
Mar 20104
Feb 20103
Jan 20102
Dec 20095
Nov 20094
Oct 20096
Sept 20094
Aug 20096
Jul 20094
Jun 20094
May 20094
Apr 20093
Mar 20094
Feb 20094
Jan 20095
Dec 20084
Nov 20084
Oct 20083
Sept 20085
Aug 20086
Jul 20083
Jun 20083
May 20084
Apr 20084
Mar 20085
Feb 20083
Jan 20083
Dec 20075
Nov 20074
Oct 20077
Sept 20075
Aug 20076
Jul 20077
Jun 20076
May 20076
Apr 20077
Mar 20077
Feb 20074
Jan 20077
Dec 200610
Nov 20068
Oct 200610
Sept 200612
Aug 20068
Jul 20068
Jun 200613
May 200613
Apr 200613
Mar 200613
Feb 200611
Jan 200611
Dec 200514
Nov 200515
Oct 200517
Sept 200515
Aug 200517
Jul 200520
Jun 200515
May 200511

Show more Show less

On Moths and Meaning

Moths have been appearing in the house these past few weeks. They are small, maybe 2-3cm in wing span, and of the grey, furry variety.

miracle man

I can never quite tell if Ma J is asleep or just pretending The old lady in the bed next to Ma J's is in hospital because of a second stroke. When we were visiting Ma J this afternoon, the old lady's middle-aged son was also there. He was in his usual round-neck tee tucked into a pair of blue jeans with a belt made of buffalo hide. His limbs are slim, but his belly is round. His bald head, too, is round and abnormally large for his small frame. Let's call him Ah Biao , or if you prefer an English name, you can think of him as Bill (after his buffalo hide belt). When J and I walked out of the ward, Ah Biao or Bill followed us. Three of us stood around the counter by the nurses' work area. J and I were quiet, enjoying the break. Then Ah Biao wanted to show us something special. "Eh, I show you something." Ah Biao unzipped his black waist pouch and took out a small yellow cloth pouch. He untied the colourful string that secured the opening of the pouch. He weigh...

on a Hou Hsiao Hsien movie set

By the tracks of the Jiji Station, the oldest train station in Taiwan OK, not quite. We did not even manage to go all the way south to Hou Hsiao Hsien's KaoShiung or even Tainan, but we did venture out from Taipei for 3 days to Taichung. But the real takeaway was actually this supposed feature of Hou Hsiao Hsien's films - trains! Trains are about the best thing about traveling. Unlike cars and taxis, trains are a social mode of transport. Train stations allow for reunions and departures, points to assess and affirm relationships. I admit that all this fades away when you are tired or in a great hurry (or both). But seriously, cars (oh, 4-wheelers!) have only brought about pollution and wasteful consumption, traffic jams, asphalt, mindless obsession with speed and countless quarrels in the stressful, enclosed interiors of cars. Friends, take it slow. Take the train. Read a book. Hold your partner's hand. Be there with the people around you. With Taiwan's highspeed rail ...

time

[Trigger warning: this post mentions death and suicide.]

On Failure

first Amps photo together - taken on Polaroid 2001 It is inevitable that we all experience failure.

Saying goodbye

Sleeping J, portrait circa 2006. When archiving images of J recently, I discovered many photographs and drawings I made of him asleep. This is probably quite typical. Your partner, when asleep, will look extra adorable. If not for work, I can spend my mornings just looking at his sleeping face. Of course these sleeping portraits are like death masks. Friends you always ask how am I doing. The concern is sometimes embarrassing. I am definitely doing okay. God has been good. The feeling of gratitude is real. I am blessed with friends, family and both purpose and provision in my work. Many people dealing with the death of a spouse are supported by much less and deal with a whole lot more - young children, ailing parents, a loss of income or subsistence. This is also how I try to keep self-pity at bay.

Here's looking at you, kid.

When you look at the lifeless body of someone, they never quite look like themselves.

Taiwan Number 8

At J's fave cafe in Taipei Perhaps it has nothing to do with any intrinsic qualities of the city, the land, the people or the culture that we keep returning to this place. Maybe it has to do instead with the time we lavish walking through its streets and alleys, the quiet we give to ourselves in its hills and valleys, the curiosity we award to its conversations, and our willingness to receive. And so our 8th trip together to Taiwan (a 9th trip was with me/Y with my mom in 2010) yields little in terms of new discoveries. Our typical itinerary is to spend a week in wider Taipei, day trips and all, and another 2-3 days in another part of the island.

Powered by Blogger