Life Hacks 101

     I am a fan of life hacks, easy tricks that help you get through the day. They make things efficient, aid in problem solving and save time, leaving me MORE TIME FOR PAINTING. One of the life hacks I'm proud of is the use of flyers for palette paper. I use these to mix my colours on. They are free, get delivered right to my mail box, are coated with a plastic layering that makes them great for mixing paints on and let me know of great deals. Thank you Canada Post for delivering my free palette paper. I probably go through a couple dozen of these a week and they are double sided. To think I ever wasted my hard earned bux at the art store on buying palette paper. Above is the colour palette I used to colour the eye below.

RIP Abbie : (

DOGGY UNDERWORLD acrylic and ink on canvas 48 x 36 x 1.5 inches 2012 $1500

     We had to let our family dog go recently. She was a good dog and lived a great old life and I can't think of a more peaceful way to go but tears were shed and she will be missed. She never cared much for my painting but was great company and always up for an exhaustive round of fetch. If there such a thing as a doggy underworld I bet she's chasing after that gross green tennis ball bringing vast amounts of joy to the dead. Here's me bugging her on painting break: 

Easter Egg Hunt In The Lisa Ng Paintings (Edited April 2019)

Turns out, I like to paint a lot of Easter Eggs. This was not intentional, I didn't even notice until someone else pointed it out actually. I'm not even sure if they meant Easter Eggs, as in hidden messages in general (because I do a lot of that too) or if they literally meant Easter Eggs. Anyway, I combed through my 200+ painting catalog, available at www.lisangart.com and am updating this most currently, April 2019 (I had to add another 5 eggs since the original blogpost) and counted for a total of 23 Easter Eggs! This is not including the ones replicated in my 100th painting in which the details get sorta hairy because now I can't remember which 100 paintings were in my first 100. I guess only the owner of my 100th will ever know..

I went hunting and as far as I know, only 9 of my 200+ paintings contain Easter eggs (answers below). I went with any unhatched egg since technically they're all painted anyway. The first one was painted in 2009 and the most recent, 2018. I got close in my 2016 painting of birds shitting in a room but opted for the nesting bird instead.  If you happen to find any I missed, please let me know! Everybody wants my eggs.

THE BIG GOOSE acrylic on canvas 48 x 48 x 1.5 inches 2018 $6500

CLOUD 9 acrylic on canvas 30 x 24 x 0.5 inches 2009 $800 My first brush with the robin egg.

FOUR SEASONS IN VERTICAL STRIPES acrylic and ink on canvas 24 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2010 In private collection. 

SANTA IN THE OFF SEASON acrylic and ink on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2009 In private collection.

DAY TIME NIGHT TIME PLAID acrylic and ink on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2010 In private collection. I nearly forgot I painted eggs in here years ago.

  

100th PAINTING acrylic and ink on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2011 In private collection.

The eggs in this one are painted on the sides somewhere.

TREE HOLLOW acrylic and ink on canvas 12 x 24 x 1.5 inches 2009 In private collection.

HOUSING GRADIENT acrylic and ink on canvas 60 x 24 x 1.5 inches Towards the right end of the painting and above the hamster cage.

SELF PORTRAIT AS A HORSE acrylic and ink on canvas 12 x 24 x 1.5 inches 2012 $600 Eggs depicted top right.

Leaky Pipes

Been tied to the studio apartment the last few days. There was a leak under my bathroom sink, my husband and I had to empty this small jar (the only jar that would fit) of water every few hours : ( Thankfully the plumber came by and the leaky ordeal's over but some major renovations need to take place in here. Contractors, electricians and plumbers are hard to come by in the city, all are very busy and I'm lucky to get on anyone's wait list, which makes me think these are all great professions to get into. I very briefly considered being a plumber prior to a nurse to support myself, seems like a good job with a lot of autonomy. 

Anyway, above is my bathroom sink. On the left is the reference photo I used to make my painting on the right:

X SECTION OF MY BATHROOM SINK

acrylic and ink on canvas

18 x 24 x 1.5 inches

2009

In private collection.

I did this painting several years ago, just when I was learning to experiment with paint, colour, symbolism and pattern. This is the first time I tried painting marble pattern (of the bathroom counter). The bathroom decor itself is from the 70s and it's fake marble painted on plastic. This painting still contains the ink line work which I no longer use in my current painting, neat to see how far I've come and developed as a painter. I never met nor received the buyer's contact so I have no idea where this painting ended up but it's an imaginary take on what might be in there. Sometimes I like to wonder about all the interesting items people accidentally drop down their bathroom sink, mine probably just contains hair, goo and maybe some paint chips though.

FAQ What's it like being an artist?

FURRY LISA acrylic on wood panel 30 x 22 x 1.5 inches 2016 $1500

It's fun but hard work!

I'm the type that likes to stay prolific so I'm either working on something or on my way to working on something. I also never run out of ideas so there's a lot of internal pressure to get out as many ideas I can it's ridiculous. Life is exciting but suspenseful. It can make my day-to-day tasks difficult being occupied in a dreamworld most the time. I hate long line ups and find relaxing hard. Friends and family will complain I've gone missing but really I've just been caught up in a picture somewhere. I like being able to make all my own decisions though: expressing whatever I feel like, being the boss of my own schedule, getting to pick the music, choosing all my own colours etc., but not getting consistent payment can be rough as is rejection. That is not to say there isn't that instant high of the odd pile of cash either. The highs are high and the lows are low but above all else the connections are interesting, interesting enough.

Moon Cake Season

Here I am eating mooncake with one of my not-for-sale paintings. The Afterlife feat. my grandmom, "Paw Paw." In it are some pets I lost along the way including a plant or 2 : ( Anyway she was big on mooncake and mooncake traditions and it's been years since I had any.

Sh! Painting in progress..

Early process shot of a large diptych I'm currently working on. They are each 5 by 3 feet. Right now it's shaping up to be 2 unlikely friends, they always have an eye out for each other.

Recently discovered this magic formula for saving frayed paint brushes, see below for some before and after magic.

Eat, Drink and be Merry

I finished a painting a few days back.

Wax Worm At A Restaurant
acrylic on canvas
9 x 12 x 1.5 inches
$400

A wax worm in a restaurant eating plastic garbage. Wax worms digest plastic (naturally off honey combs), could this be the answer to the world's plastic problem? Available in my shop: www.lisangart.com

and on my saatchi site:
https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Wax-Worm-In-A-Restaurant/672002/3782432/view

I'm hoping to start updating this blog more often, I had planned to share some process shots on here (I swear) but as per usual I got too excited and before I knew it I was signing the edge of the painting:

Otherwise I'm hard at paint on a diptych (I'll show pictures later). I also sold a few more Flamingos In The Bathroom rugs, hand towels and prints off my Society6 page this month, what a treat! I only get a few bucks depending on the item but compared to nothing, I can't complain. The art world treats me me OK, it rips me off most days but the people are nice : )

RECENT PAINTINGS

NAPPING DOLPHIN acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2017 $450

NARWHAL acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2017 $450

HORNED LIZARD acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 x 1.5 inches 2017 $500

THANKS

Thanks everybody who came to the art show.

Been painting everyday since, working on a horned lizard covered in sun shapey pattern.

You can see my progress on my instagram: @lisangart
and or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.ng.372019.

It's almost done, but not quite.

I also started adding more close ups of available paintings on my saatchiart.com site:
https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Shark-Whale-In-Fish-Bowl/672002/1861758/view

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

LISA NG ART SHOW THE 9TH Delusional Awakening

Featuring some recent hopes and fears in the world of painting, this will be the artist's 9th undertaking. Kindle the imagination, fire it up with a good shot of espresso and awaken the delusion. Hope you can make it!

June 24 to June 30
Red Line Coffee and Espresso Bar (www.redlinecoffee.ca)
Artist in attendance: June 24, 1 to 4pm!
354 Queen St. E (& Parliament)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 1T2

Regular Hours:
Monday: 730am to 5pm
Tuesday: 730am to 5pm
Wednesday:730am to 5pm
Thursday: 730 am to 5pm
Friday: 730 am to 5pm
Saturday: 8am to 4pm
Sunday: 8am to 4pm

www.lisangart.com

AH SO BUSY!

Lots of good stuff happening, I started 2 smaller paintings and finished up 2 other paintings. Here's a close up of one of them. I updated them onto my website at www.lisangart.com In the meantime I added another art show to this summer's roster, see below.

Rosedale Art Fair 2017
Saturday June 10: 11am to 6pm
Sunday June 11: noon to 5pm
At the Green Space across from the LCBO @ 10 Scrivener Square, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Just outside the Summerhill Subway Station

Lisa Ng Art Show the 9th: Delusional Awakening
June 24 to June 30
Red Line Coffee and Espresso Bar (www.redlinecoffee.ca)
Artist in attendance:  June 24, 1 to 4pm!
354 Queen St. E (& Parliament) Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 1T2
Regular Hours:
Monday: 730am to 5pm
Tuesday: 730am to 5pm
Wednesday:730am to 5pm
Thursday: 730 am to 5pm
Friday: 730 am to 5pm
Saturday: 8am to 4pm
Sunday: 8am to 4pm

Email lisangart@hotmail.com with subject line “MAILING LIST” to join the monthly mailing list for news & events!

Lisa Ng Art & Stuff May

UPCOMING ART SHOWS!
Rosedale Art Fair 2017
Saturday June 10: 11am to 6pm
Sunday June 11: noon to 5pm
At the Green Space across from the LCBO @ 10 Scrivener Square, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Just outside the Summerhill Subway Station

Kensington Market Art Fair 2017
Sunday October 29: noon to 7pm
Kensington Market, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

WORD ON THE STREET
I was recently contacted and informed a drawing I did 15 years ago at the start of my career is up for charity auction (Anti-vivsection Society of BC) for their 90th anniversary! This is 1 of about 30 from my first series depicting hand trees. I ended up giving most of them away to friends and family but this particular one was bought promptly after conception. It also represents my 1st sale, a friend from high school bought it for $30 when we were both 18 and then she spent $100 framing it under glass, that was 14 years ago in 2003. It is probably the most well preserved one as the others were not framed. It is also from the same series of my first ever art show in Hamilton, Ontario at the Staircase Theatre in 2003. You can now see more as I added them to my website (www.lisangart.com) under "PAINTINGS." Scroll all the way down and there they are and you will have also scrolled through the 200 paintings I've painted since then. I was thrilled at the time but now I can't believe how far I've come, more details to follow.

Handtree ink on mango leaf paper 48 x 36 inches 2003

GOSSIP
I was recently contacted by a gallery from Santa Monica, California, I have never been. Nothing exclusive or anything like that but it is a new relationship I am pursuing. There's been talk about a group show but it won't happen for a year so I have plenty of time to prepare. It's very new and I am excited and happy and nervous!

NEW PAINTING

Family Portrait 48 x 36 x 1.5 inches acrylic on canvas 2017

My brother commissioned me to do a family portrait so I did us in Chinese zodiac animals. I'll have to take a better close up later. It's a surprise for my parents so please, keep it a secret!

GLAMOUR SHOT

Been out of the limelight a little bit -I got married!
Here's me pigging out on my wedding day back from September.

5 Pt. Essay On Keeping It Real

SCALEY VASE acrylic on canvas 16 x 20 x 1.5 inches 2016 $600

JK Rowling's Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers with reasons being it was slow to start, the characters at the beginning were hard to identify with and that there's no money in children's books. 

James Cameron (who was living in his car at the time) fired his agent because he hated the idea for The Terminator. He later sold the script for just $1 with the stipulation that he direct (despite having only directed 1 other movie at the time) and Arnold Schwarzenegger referred to it as "some shit movie" at the time of making. 

George Lucas was rejected by 3 production companies (1 which later bought Lucasfilm) while looking for someone to finance Star Wars. Reasons included it being, "a little strange" and that it was not like "what was popular last year."

Johannes Vermeer left his family in debt before the 200 years it took for his work to be recognized. 

Nobody gave a damn about Vincent Van Gogh when he was painting. 

So what I'm trying to say is, the important thing is to keep on offering the world something beautiful nobody else can (and eventually the tide will turn) 

Painting Spotlight: TIGER MOM IN HER THRONE

TIGER MOM IN HER THRONE

acrylic on canvas

36 x 48 x 1.5 inches

2017

$1500

     This is my most recent magnum opus inspired by my own tiger mommy. I added a metronome for time keep for piano (or violin) study and it rests on the cube of sky that is my freedom. Adorned with jewels, she wears lipstick and sits atop her mighty throne, ready to dish out Chinese riddles and math problems at the first sign of protest. It's just me and my brother in the family but I had a cousin who was around a lot also. I'd most likely be the teeny cub in the bottom right there with only my wee tail peeking out. I was a mute kid (unless provoked) and if you went looking you'd probably find me hiding somewhere, folding an origami animal or drawing a daffodil. 

HELLO I AM HERE

Sorry it's been over a year since I last updated. I'm not very good at checking in but to be fair I've been so busy painting and with the odd sale online. I'll have to update in chunks and write in here more often. I'll just give you some of the highlights for now.

I updated my website, all my new paintings can be found here along with a complete catalog of my 200 something paintings: www.lisangart.com

I sold a large painting online called FURRY FERRARI from this website!: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Furry-Ferrari/672002/2109052/view

Every four months someone buys a print of my FLAMINGOS IN THE BATHROOM painting that sold at the Burlington Art Auction: https://society6.com/product/flamingos-in-the-bathroom_print#s6-6033372p4a1v45

I started a youtube channel, right now I'm working on a family portrait of my family in Chinese Zodiac Animals: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYHOudaUh-fOLXrqNvGM0aw

Here is my painting POLAR CHAIR featured in Spirituality & Health Magazine Nov/Dec Issue pg. 30. 75K copies:

I also got married in September, here is a painting I did around that time called FUR FIELD: