Art Design Studio Fine Art Tips / Creating Art in Small Studios. Yes it is a design studio located down town of our small mountain town

New version-Dec, 2010

The old version-Jan, 2008

Original Photo

I am pretty excited about finishing this new work!!! It took me nearly a whole week-many late hours into the night to get all the details in this piece. The one on top is the remake of my old one (middle image) which has been in my etsy shop for a couple of years. And looking back, the previous version, compare with the new is almost embarrassing. You can click on the old image to get a better look-just compare the details. Both work is based on the photograph of the same BSA motorcycle (third image) but the old one is done by just scanning the photograph and using Adobe Illustrator's "live trace" tool to create a graphic look. In the new work, I actually created all the lines and shapes using the Photoshop's "Pen Tool".  The BSA logo turned out much better in the new as well.
This is just one example of many other works I was able to make improvements on from an older work as I am learning and incorporating new technics and new skills. I am pretty happy to look back and see that I did make some progress and feel pretty good about providing better artwork for my shop and for those who support my work.  The old BSA print is no longer available but the print of my new work is now available in my Etsy shop.

Original photo

I've been wanting to do an artwork based on a this model of Polaroid camera for some time and after deciding on this model, I searched for the right picture to use as a reference. I have been working on it for a few days and I am pretty excited about how it turned out and to be able to finish this project just before Christmas. You can purchase this print at my shop.

This is another artwork I did recently using the 1st generation ipod as the subject matter. I am really fond of certain electronic products that have impacted our culture in a significant way and ipod has certainly started a kind of revolution within the music industry. Plus, I just think Apple products are beautifully designed and in someways I am giving homage to the designers behind the product.  You can buy this print at my shop.

This print is available in my Etsy shop.

This print is available in my shop.

This new portrait of JKF was drawn on Wacom tablet then colored in Photoshop.  The free coffee-paint brush provided by kanonliv from Deviant Art added nice accent to the piece.  The print is now available in my shop.

Beautifully designed tape dispenser by Artemy Lebedev.  Do not know if you can buy it anywhere.

I really loved all the unique, innovative props used in this clip to present this very interesting topic.

Great article on Trader Joe's, written by Beth Kowitt, for Fortune. She includes some interesting findings regarding this privately held company which I love to go to for my everyday grocery shopping.

Here is a short excerpt from the article:
"A closer look at its selection of items underscores the brilliance of Coulombe's limited-selection, high-turnover model. Take peanut butter. Trader Joe's sells 10 varieties. That might sound like a lot, but most supermarkets sell about 40 SKUs. For simplicity's sake, say both a typical supermarket and a Trader Joe's sell 40 jars a week. Trader Joe's would sell an average of four of each type, while the supermarket might sell only one. With the greater turnover on a smaller number of items, Trader Joe's can buy large quantities and secure deep discounts. And it makes the whole business -- from stocking shelves to checking out customers -- much simpler."  You can read the full article here.

It's almost 1:30 am and I've been on my tablet drawing. Just couldn't sleep until I had to try the tablet again. I am beginning to get a better feel and control of this tablet and the drawing turned out much better this time.

I have an external hard drive and other portable devices with lengthy USB cords and I usually un-plug them from the device and leave it in the drawer until I decide to use it. I am always bothered by having deal with the long cords. Griffin makes these short USB Mini Cables and they are exactly what I've been looking for.

These three universally useful USB cable adapters are perfect for your computer in one handy kit: USB to mini-USB (used in cameras, MP3 players and many portable USB devices), USB to micro-USB (used in smartphones and compact USB players), and USB to Apple's 30-pin Universal Dock connector (used in iPod, iPhone, and iPad). Compact and pocketable, this kit is great for laptops, mini-notebooks, and more. Tuck handily into your backpack, handbag, or carry-on.

These drawings are my first attempt at using the Wacom Tablet.  I am barely getting used to the idea of using this tool and as you can see, the drawings look quite clumsy but I think I am beginning to like it already. I don't have a whole lot of time to use it today but hopefully I can get the hang of this soon.

Someone from Craigslist is selling me this Wacom tablet for $85 dollars and I am suppose to pick it up today at 5:30pm. I can't wait to plug this thing and draw something right away. I have been wanting this for a while and for whatever reason, mainly because of the cost, I didn't get it and now I am pretty excited to use it with my mac. In the past, I would have to resort to drawing using pen-tool in Adobe Photoshop or in Illustrator or with mouse or draw on a separate sheet of paper and scanned the image onto the computer. But having this tool and to be able to draw on screen will be pretty cool. I would like to see how this will affect my work flow. I know that this is the older, smaller version and I've been reading different reviews to see if the size or the older model will cause much limitations compare to the new, bigger versions available. But so far, the reviews seem to suggest that for how I am planning on using, I shouldn't have any. Let's just hope that this thing will work!

I created this artwork based on one of the photos of the 57-250 Testa Rossa from my previous post. It is available for purchase in my shop

1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa fetches world record $12.1 million at auction by an anonymous phone bidder. Beautiful, rare (only 22 similar models were made) and with rich race history is arguably one of the most beautifully designed cars in the world.

Now that I am all set up with the new CS5, I am selling my older version, Adobe CS3 Design Premium for windows. I listed in Craigslist and also Amazon.com. I have never sold items through Amazon before so this is all new to me but I was able to set up my seller's account pretty easily this afternoon and posted the item for $530.00 under the seller name, "Pchung". You can take a look at it here.

A friend thought that a classic, Brooks England bicycle seat would make a great subject for my next artwork and so happens this work is my very first work with the new imac using Adobe cs5. I was very pleased with how everything was so fast. I remember with my old PC how everything took so long to perform and whenever I used either Photoshop or Illustrator, it slowed everything else down. The print is available in my shop!

Just to follow up on my last post, I did finally buy an Adobe CS5 after all my search. But in order to save some money, I settled for a Design Standard rather than a Design Premium. My Adobe CS3 for windows is a Design Premium which included Dreamweaver, Flash and other additional design tools which the Design Standard don't have. When I originally bought my Design Premium, I thought I would learn these tools but to this day I haven't had the chance. In any case, the Standard comes with all the tools I primarily use such as Photoshop, Illustrator, In Desgin, and also Acrobat 9 Pro. I am still very happy with my purchase considering the full retail versions of the same software costs $1,200.00 plus at the Adobe on-line store, and I got it for $219.00, $240.00 and change including the tax; I was able to find this great deal through a friend of mine and it's not even an illegal copy. I installed it yesterday and I was thrilled to finally open my files in a new imac for the very first time and have worked on my artwork.

I've been all over the internet including craiglist.org searching for Adobe CS3 Design Premium or any newer version for mac. I recently upgraded my computer from a pc to an imac and unfortunately, my existing program wouldn't work for mac. First I called the Adobe to find out how much it would cost to upgrade to mac version from my older version; I heard from somewhere that they allow you to switch platforms with just a minimum cost. It turns out that I would have to pay close to $800.00 dollars. Then I called everyone and anyone I know to see if they know of anyone or anywhere where they can get a good deal, not to mention searching the web myself for the best deal. So far I found that there are a few options with potentially a huge discount:

1st option-Pirated Software-Cheapest but not always the best or the safest. Obviously you can't register and can't update. May also run into viruses or other annoying things like pop-up windows and other reminders. And finally, you do to have to deal with your conscience.

2nd option-Education Discount-If you are a student or a faculty, you are elligible for many great discounts. Right now, Apple is offering a great discount on Adobe softwares along with free ipod-touch with a purchase of a new mac. Also if you are a eligible, you can buy through the school book store or an on-line store such as academicsuperstore.com, but since I am not a student or a faculty and do not have a proof of a valid id I would have to find someone who does. Some schools such as Stanford University has Software License Program where you can even get further discounts from an already discounted prices for students, faculty and other school staff members. The student/teacher versions do require you to log-on to the Adobe license website after the purchase of the product to get serial number to activate the software along with personal information including your affiliations with a particular school or an institution.

3rd option-Download-Only "OEM" Softwares-They are sold by different on-line retailers such as original-software.net and others. But you are taking the risk of having to install via the internet and that can always pose some problems.

4th option: Craigslist-As you may well know, www.craigslist.org is full of pirated softwares costing next to nothing but every once in a while, you can find an original versions in great deals.

5th option: A friend who has a friend who works for Adobe-I have a friend who is a professional photographer who has a friend who is an employee of Adobe. He has told me in the past that he was able to get any type of Adobe software for next to nothing, like $50.00 dollars. I asked him if he can help me out and he told me he'll look into it. After several phone calls and him trying to get hold of his "friend" at Adobe, it doesn't seem like it will materialize into anything.

About two days ago, after checking almost everyday on craigslist, I finally found a listing by a seller in NobHill, CA, for a original factory version of cs3 Design Premium for $200.00 obo. This was a great deal since any original versions are sold by other sellers for around $700.00. And not to mention, he accepted my offer to buy it for $160.00. I was all set to pick it up the next day but at the last minute, the seller changed his mind. He e-mailed me later and said that he was having problem installing his newer version and wanted to hang on to his older one until that situation worked out. Today I was searching the craiglist again and saw the same ad from a same seller listing the same item for $650.00. He must've figured out how much others were selling the same item. Anyway, the search continues . . .

These amazing/incredible wall art belong to artist Baptiste Debombourg. Inspired from mythology and Renaissance art, it took no less than 35000 staples and about 75 hours of meticulous work.

Supplier Diversity Review is a company that promotes and supports supplier and business diversity through a case study methodology highlighting the success stories of both corporation and small businesses, as well as issues relevant to the minority and woman business community. They just published their inaugural on-line magazine-spring/summer 2010 issue and I was excited to have them use one of my artwork, portrait of "Susan B. Anthony" as its cover. There is also a nice credit for the artwork on page 8. You can check out the magazine here.
You can also buy the "Susan B. Anthony" print at my shop.

This was a set built in 2005 by Catherina Scholten for an outdoor theater, in Amsterdam, for Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov.

Click on the box on the screen to feed the fish and check out the application here

This home is located on the Sweden's Stockholm Archipelago, designed by WRB