“Will I ever see you again?” / “I hope so. I will be back to visit you someday.” / Hope and sadness resurface to my jet-lagged brain as we …
“Will I ever see you again?” / “I hope so. I will be back to visit you someday.” / Hope and sadness resurface to my jet-lagged brain as we head back towards the installation – past the local yakitori stores, past the famous “Suicide Lane”, a nickname given to one of the countless nameless streets where locals forget the danger of standing on a narrow two-lane highway, all for the sake of catching a glimpse of the latest delectable fruits. I turn around and spread my arms out towards nine-year old Ophelia to bid her farewell, as her bright blue eyes reflect the last few bright neon signs blazing from “Las Vegas” , one of the largest pachinko parlors in town . Two hours of delectable culinary sampling from one of the countless local sushi conveyor belts with Anthony and Paula, two Americans on duty at Camp Zama, a few more words added to my limited knowledge of Japanese by shining Ophelia, and another world opening before my eyes. / A catholic Nigerian, a Jewish Mexican, and two American soldiers transitioning to Japan for the first time- sitting there, discussing wasabi, tea and eel on a Monday night. And of course, beautiful 9-year old Ophelia, with eyes that rival Botticelli’s Venus, and with a knowledge that surpasses Mt. Fuji itself. Another journey, another time, another frozen drop of life. / It is just another day in the land of the rising sun. It is just another day for everyone, except for me. A few days ago, I had just crossed the international date line during a fourteen hour flight while sipping cold coffee and eating bad airline food. Ever since arrival, my mind has been in constant work, trying to somehow ingest the unrecognizable patterns that delineate everyday life here, from the way the driving is handled to the unrecognizable phonetic sounds of tollbooth employees covered behind white surgical masks. It is the land of samurais, of pachinko parlors, of love hotels, of imperial palaces, incense and shinto prayers. Japan is very much like her highways, flanked by overpowering skyscrapers on either side. A land framed in between her present and her future.
Hihi! Udonchow has expanded! I have started another gallery here in RB, it’ called smile4me...
Hihi! Udonchow has expanded! I have started another gallery here in RB, it’ called smile4me :D I decided to journal about this again(in greater details :D) because I’ve been pretty low profile about it and have not made much publicity about it. smile4me is a gallery showcasing my toys photography, yes Ophelia appears on photos too! View all my other toys and dolls in natural green settings and read the mini short stories that I have written about them too :D In addition, I have also started another Zazzle store called Heartworks that sells my toy photography stuff. Below are the shoes that I have designed from my Heartworks store, I am in the midst of designing more :D In moments like this, I wish I can have extra pairs of hands and more hours! I’m now managing 2 RBs and 2 Zazzles….and at the same time, I still painting and drawing…which is something which I do not want to stop :D The reason of the expansion (or some call it segregation) between the fine arts and photography is mainly because the concepts and appearance of the works are very different. Thank you so much for your love and support towards me and my work thus far, I am deeply appreciative!! :D :D :D Feel most welcome to visit smile4me gallery here in RB and my Heartworks ! Thanks for viewing! :D “Frangipani” “Hoot Hoot!” “Goldie Belle” “BB aka Black Bunny”
Many thanks to Caren and “That’s Funny” group for featuring my “Nosy Ophelia” Thanks Caren...
Many thanks to Caren and “That’s Funny” group for featuring my “Nosy Ophelia” Thanks Caren for giving me the nudge to submit this shot! :D Just in case you are wondering what Ophelia is being nosy about…I’ve attached the story below :D Now Ophelia is being a little nosy here, she’s trying to see what goes on inside the house, a couple seems to be quarrelling. She doesn’t have to eavesdrop over what is being transpired because she has such an acute sense of hearing. “Oh! Not about money again, the root of all domestic woes! Ophelia hooted.
Hi! Yes, that’s me with a framed up painting of “Love Meditations” and my little owl finger puppet toy named Ophelia too! I was at a j…
Hi! Yes, that’s me with a framed up painting of “Love Meditations” and my little owl finger puppet toy named Ophelia too! I was at a joint exhibition’s opening ceremony here in Bangkok,Thailand yesterday evening, I’m currently having 7 of my paintings exhibited there, one of which is “Love Meditations”. There are slightly more than 100 budding artists involved…so there are many many paintings to view and enjoy :D If anyone of you is in Bangkok right now(I know the chances are super slim), do drop by for the show if you can :DThat little happy boy whom I am posing with….his mum is a great supporter of my works and had bought a few from me previously:D I dont normally look this orange, it’s the lighting in the hall and my cam :D
It was really delightful to be informed by Karen Cook that my “Love Is Lighting Up Somebody…
It was really delightful to be informed by Karen Cook that my Love Is Lighting Up Somebody Else’s Darkest Moments is being featured side by side with Karen’s at the RB’sFeatured Wall Art And Greeting Cards :D It’s my first feature there, so exciting!! :D Many thanks to the Singapore Group for featuring both Heartstrings and Wish Upon A Star too!! :D My sales in zazzle have also started to pick up, I have 4 sales this week… Sales at Zazzle was really slow for me initially…no sales for first 2 months, it got really discouraging…but thought I would just press on and see how,glad I did because I made close to 20 sales in the last 1 month plus or so,really counting my blessings everyday for that. I am about 3 plus months into Zazzle :D I want to mention special thanks to Ujean for being that constant beacon of light for me at zazzle…for those who are in Zazzle, maybe like me,you may feel like a small fish in the ocean,so tiny and lost there at times. Ujean visited my gallery many times and often gave me encouraging comments and suggestions,enough fuel from her to help me last another 3 months,haha! Thanks so much Ujean! :D Here are the cute small items I sold this week :D Many thanks to Susan who bought the Love Mediations products, our dear Midori who bought Mountain Whispers Button and a lady named Holly who bought the Love Is Lighting Up Somebody Else’s Darkest Moments Button :D
I hope you will love this cute pic as much I do! :D D…
I hope you will love this cute pic as much I do! :D Do allow me to share my enthusiasm here :D This is Macabrecat’s cat,Bonnie,lying on the floor with the Dream Odyssey card which she purchased recently :D Thank you once again,Macabrecat! 2 of Ophelia’s portraits were also featured recently,thank you Bits and Pieces and Fine Arts :D Celebration Of life at Bits And Pieces Group. I am also a featured member of the group for this week.Thank you moderators!! ^ _ ^ I am also happy that Celebration Of Life” mousepad received a TBA today at Zazzle ,my heart also had a mini celebration! :D Vision Of Green at Fine Arts Group: Thank you so much for all who had commented and faved these pieces, I really appreciate that! :D I will be on a short break for 4 days and I may not have ready access to the internet. Will miss viewing and commenting your works the next 4 days!!:D
Check out the Buyer’s Booth section on the home page, there you will see the two beauties, Bonnie and Ophelia! ;D !http://images-2.red…
Check out the Buyer’s Booth section on the home page, there you will see the two beauties, Bonnie and Ophelia! ;D I’ve also been working on some new zazzle products in my cat gallery, and noticed that my newest Bonnie & Clyde photo, is being featured in Today’s Best !! / / NEW TODAY: / Thanks for viewing everyone!! : )
The day after I returned from my holidays last week, I received a delightful email from Zazzle that my “Celebration Of Life” keds had bee…
The day after I returned from my holidays last week, I received a delightful email from Zazzle that my “Celebration Of Life” keds had been sold! This was and still is exciting because I finally sold my first pair :D Just when I thought nobody loves my keds, a fellow bubbler,Cazzie came along and bought a pair (Thanks Cazzie!! This is a great encouragement to me!). I dont have any recent sales from RB but I am thankful that during the last one week, I had 8 sales which is a record for me…..and I am counting my blessings,no matter how small these sales are….because each sale came by not easy and I’m sure we can all identify with this sentiment :D I can now say a big thanks to the “drought” I experienced in zazzle during the first 2 months which has taught me to appreciate every sale made, in zazzle and also in RB :D And I also just found out from Fa that I have been featured as a fresh gallery over at Zazzle too, Thanks Fa for the info!! You can click on any of the items below to enter my Zazzle gallery. / Thank you Cazzie ! Now you get to walk with Ophelia everyday! ^ _ ^ Thank you Paul, Catherine,Patricia and Lindsay for purchasing 5 of the 2 magnet designs here. Thank you Susan for purchasing ‘Lofty Ideals” Stickers. I am thankful for her constant support!! ^ _ ^ I think she’ll be using these stickers to keep track of her workout progress :D Thank you Steven for purchasing “Peek-A-Boo” mousepad from another of my zazzle gallery, Heartworks You can see more of these photos at my RB photo gallery, Smile4me Thank you so much for all your support and love towards me and Ophelia, cant thank you enough…you give me the fuel to continue this journey and for that, I’m most grateful!! :D
Something unbelievable happened to me yesterday, I sold 8 cards to 2 persons ^ _ ^ Many thanks to Louise Kuskovski...
Something unbelievable happened to me yesterday, I sold 8 cards to 2 persons ^ _ ^ Many thanks to Louise Kuskovski who bought 7 of my cards, this has never happened before and I almost fell off from my seat when I saw the notification :D I think she must be a fervent owl lover :D These are the cards she bought: Metamorphosis Love Is Lighting Up Somebody Else’s Darkest Moments Love Makes You Feel Larger Than Life The Dreamer Love Makes You Feel Larger Than Life Love Is Like The Sun Vision Of Green Also many thanks to a mystery buyer who bought Love,The Greatest Healer :D I also found out that I am one of the featured members of this fun group, Prize Challenges!!, thanks to Melissa and the rest of the group hosts :D It was also very nice of them to feature Chill Out too! I had some sales from Zazzle this week too, I’m glad sales from my photography Zazzle gallery,Heartworks is steadily making some headway :D Am also glad to share that my 2 spacecraft related works were featured over at Zazzle too ^ _ ^ And lastly this “Celebration Of Life” magnet was awarded one of the most viewed magnets at Zazzle :D THANK YOU so much to all of you who are reading this,all who have been faithfully following my work….Your love,encouragement and support made it possible to carry on this not so easy creative journey and for this, here’s a BIG HUG from me!! ^ _ ^
OMG! This is getting better and better! I AM SO SO HAPPY! / Thanks so much to Sylvia Tax! You are a special friend! !http://images-3.re…
OMG! This is getting better and better! I AM SO SO HAPPY! / Thanks so much to Sylvia Tax! You are a special friend! / Thank you from my heart! HUGS HUGS HUGS! / Please Check out her gallery! Its filled with beautiful and magical flowers and more! / SYLVIA TAX / / /
I just returned from visiting my parents in Singapore less than 48 hours ago….and so happy I made 3 sales during that period :D Befo…
I just returned from visiting my parents in Singapore less than 48 hours ago….and so happy I made 3 sales during that period :D Before I boarded the plane, I thought of just checking my emails….and to my surprise, I found I sold a card of Paint The World A Better Place to JakkiO . Thank you once again, Jak!! Very happy to know it spoke to you and I hope this piece will give you some fresh inspiration in your life! Paint The World A Better Place I also found out I sold a Chill Out mug over at zazzle! Chill Out Mug Some of my other Chill Out merchandise at Zazzle Gallery: Zazzle is having a $3 off the price of all their tees from now til 4th November! Use code 3OFFZAZZLETS when checking out your carts :D And just this morning, I was thrilled to find out I sold my first mounted print to Hilary Walker ! She bought Phoebe’s Playtime :D Thank you so much Hilary, may this print bring more fun and cuteness into the room!! Phoebe’s Playtime Indeed I am very thankful for all your support! To people who bought my works and for those who have commented and faved these ones, I and my animal friends want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you guys ^ _ ^ Have a great and fruitful weekend, my friends!
I had an exciting 3 days, made 5 sales, 3 from RB and 2 from Zazzle :D I am thrilled to find out 3 of my works from RB were purchased fro…
I had an exciting 3 days, made 5 sales, 3 from RB and 2 from Zazzle :D I am thrilled to find out 3 of my works from RB were purchased from artists whom works I adore, cant thank them enough for their purchases and support! Do visit their galleries to view their unique offerings :D I want to thank Anita for purchasing a Chill Out laminated print! Anita’s going to give it as a gift to her niece :D Here are some of Anita’s fabulous pen and ink artworks! Time For Tea- Victorianna Mad Hatters Tea Party Three Blind Mice I want to thank Amy-Lee Foley for purchasing a card of Life’s a Boomerang Here are some of Amy’s sweet and whimsical works! :D Love Is In The Air Toys I Love You I want to thank Karin for purchasing a card of Phoebe In Klimt :D Here are some of Karin’s amazing artworks, sure to put smiles on your faces and hearts! :D Love Is A Big Hug Nature Girl a la naturale Heart Of Gold Also 2 sales from my Zazzle Gallery :D First Owl In Space Poster Print Chill Out Postcard Thank you to all who have commented and faved these works, my big appreciation for you guys too! ^ _ ^
Yes! It was a day of triple thrills when I discovered I sold 3 of my zazzle calendars to a fellow zazzler :D Days like these are rare, so…
Yes! It was a day of triple thrills when I discovered I sold 3 of my zazzle calendars to a fellow zazzler :D Days like these are rare, so I was super thrilled. They are my first calendar sales, happy to have made some sales before 2008 comes to a close:D This is a collection of Ophelia portraits using pastels-acrylic on paper and wood :D This consists my acrylic paintings of Ophelia, Phoebe and Mel, a calendar that celebrates life and friendship :D This is also Ophelia :D She’s a finger puppet toy, less than 4 inches tall. In it consists my photography of her and her flral buddies :D If you have not had the chance to view my calendars here on RB, here they are: Loving Friends, Loving Life Ophelia’s Thought Realm Ophelia’s Friends I will take in customisation requests too :D Perhaps there are some paintings/photos which you may want to include in the calendars, preferring them over the existing ones….do bmail me and I will get it up for you :D Thanks a bunch for those who have viewed, commented and faved these calendars before, your support is very valuable and precious to me!! ^ _ ^
I found this old photo and I thought it will be fun to share with everyone here ;D This was taken 5 years ago…when I was only 27…and …
I found this old photo and I thought it will be fun to share with everyone here ;D This was taken 5 years ago…when I was only 27…and living in Bangkok because of work assignments. I never thought of taking up painting, that was the last thing on my mind because I was so busy working and the corporate pace of life in Singapore is really crazy! Things took for a change the 2 years when I was in Bangkok…due to the much slower pace of life…I felt my mind could have more space for other things other than work. Partly due to my ex-boyfriend’s (who’s now my husband) influence, I took up painting as a hobby :D That was how I entered the world of painting so to speak…just a little sharing of my history here. I’ve been painting owls since day 1 and it feels funny looking back at these older owl paintings, hope you enjoy these Ophelia pioneers (sorry, not sure why I cant get the pic to be bigger) :D Good news! I sold my first calendar Ophelia’s Thought Realm here on RB! Many thanks to someone named Nuk3!! ^ _ ^ I made some sales over at zazzle too…I also want to thank the following bubblers, Stephaniek for purchasing this tee, And Macabrecat for purchasing this magnet, Do stop by at these 2 fabulous bubblers’ galleries to catch a glimpse of their wonderful photography!! Here’re some others which are being purchased :D The Dreamer tie, this is my first Tie sale! The Sower postage The Love Ambassador magnet Hope Lifts Me Higher Postcard Hope Lifts Me Higher is also being featured in Painted Birds! group, thank you hosts for the feature!! ^ _ ^ Thanks so much for reading! And for being such a supportive and enthusiastic bunch of people whether it be here on RB or over at Zazzle! Many many thanks from the bottom of my heart!! :D
It has been quite a crazy week here in Bangkok. I’m sure some of you may have heard or read about the crisis that we are facing here. The…
It has been quite a crazy week here in Bangkok. I’m sure some of you may have heard or read about the crisis that we are facing here. The international airport here in Bangkok was sieged by the anti-government protesters(more than 50,000 of them I think)...about 5 days ago. The airport had to be shut down and many tourists are unable to fly back, there’s no news as to when the airport will be reopened. The anti-government protesters issued an ultimatum,theywould not leave the airport unless the current Prime MInister resigns. It seems that the Prime Minister has no plans to do so. As such, one of the trapped tourist is my Singaporean friend. Poor guy, he has to travel all the way to another province to catch the flight back to Singapore. We also have a fellow bubbler, Kim who is now holidaying in Bangkok and I doubt she would be able to fly back from Bangkok tomorrow. I met her for lunch yesterday and we had a great time together! Kim is such an upbeat lady, full of ideas and enthusiasm for art and life! I find her enthusiasm very contagious indeed! She gave me some of her art pieces that are made into very cute luggage tags, I will take some photos and show you the next time :D In the midst of these craziness, I’m pleased to be able to share some good news :D Many thanks to DanceswithCats for purchasing a card of Wild Thoughts Do view her cute and delightful portfolio of her furry friends, you will love it!! :D This was my very first upload here on RB, it has the least viewings and comments so far. I’m really glad Phoebe has found another home that will love and cherish her :D Many thanks to Anita for purchasing this card of The Old Has Gone, The New Has Come! :D May Ophelia always make you smile ^ _ ^ Make sure you stop by her gallery and be awe-ed by her portfolio of pen and ink art!! I also want to thank the hosts of Painted Birds for featuring Love Meditations I had a very exciting week over at zazzle, I made a record of 110 sales this week :D Thanks to my ex-company who ordered 100 mugs for their associates(my ex-colleagues)! I have left the company for 17 months already, it’s really very sweet of them to consider purchasing those gifts from me, my heart just overflowed with so much thanksgiving! :D They ordered various designs, here’s some: Here’s thanking Anita again for her support and purchase of these magnets ^ _ ^ Am also very thankful that I sold the following items :D Thanks to Zazzle’s 40% calendar promotion, that helped :D This promo will be on till 15th December. Thank you everyone who have just read this and have supported and encouraged me in my creative journey here on RB and in Zazzle, you guys have added much into my emotional bank account, I feel so rich just having you guys around :D Have a great weekend! :D
Hey everyone! I am trying to run out the door to another shoot, but I just wanted to thank Aglaia...
Hey everyone! I am trying to run out the door to another shoot, but I just wanted to thank Aglaia for the amazing homepage feature of Ophelia It was such a surprise and an honour, especially as I’d had a terrible week! lol. Hello and thanks to all my new watchers too. I hope I can keep you interested in new shoots! I have a new studio shoot (lingerie) today, and am working very hard building up my commercial portfolio. Shoots coming up include beauty, fashion, accessories (bags, jewels etc) and a few character series! so I better be off. No point sitting around!
Hey everyone, I’m having a sale! 20% off all my art prints. Yay! But for one week only… so be quick! SALE ENDS: 19.10.2009 I k…
Hey everyone, I’m having a sale! 20% off all my art prints. Yay! But for one week only… so be quick! SALE ENDS: 19.10.2009 I know that some of are you are just dying to get a Sarah Bentvelzen on your wall… here’s your chance to get one on sale! Love, / Sarah
Hey everyone, My sale – 20% off all my art prints – ends today :( SALE ENDS: 19.10.2009 11.59pm AEST I know that some of are you…
Hey everyone, My sale – 20% off all my art prints – ends today :( SALE ENDS: 19.10.2009 11.59pm AEST I know that some of are you are just dying to get a Sarah Bentvelzen on your wall… here’s your chance to get one on sale! Love, / Sarah
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