ZekeArtZ

Reflecting on the past week, I have to admit that nothing went as planned. I hardly made any progress nor met any of the goals I had set out to do. I usually plan out my weekends to get most of my goals completed. However, my life does not revolve around goals or my hobbies or career or even all the things I have planned to do. Fact is everything else revolves around the life I’m living. Being married to an incredibly talented and capable woman does not make things easier as other people tend to notice her abilities… her school in particular. She has been assigned… 4… 5 posts?? I’ve lost count as they keep assigning more roles and responsibilities for her to handle. I’ll post more details at a later date in my other blog, The Romantic Blockhead.

I think what I need to do is to have more of a monthly review rather than a weekly one as random things tend to happen inevitably. Although I did not get anything done over the weekend, I have to say it was certainly a fun and warm time spent with my in-laws and their extended family. Helped my parents-in-law look for a new place to rent, went for my cousin in-law’s house warming dinner on Saturday, and finally for a barbeque dinner with the extended in-law family on Sunday.

Okay, back to my weekly review. I’ve almost completed my re-read of Alexander Kjerulf’s Happy Hour is 9 to 5 and will be writing down my thoughts as I read his book again the third time. I’ve managed to watch another 2 chapters of Scott Robertson’s tutorial DVD on basic perspective form drawing. That’s about all I’ve managed to get done the past week. Here’s to a great week ahead. Thanks for dropping by.

I have decided to do a weekly review of my past week to keep track of my progress and goals I am striving to achieve in 2008. Overall, things seem to be on track and I’m happy with my progress so far although I know there is still a whole lot of room for improvement.

January book: Happy Hour is 9 to 5 by Alexander Kjerulf

I have already read it once through and am reading it again. I hope to read each book at least 3 times to understand and grasp as much as possible from the book. Perhaps I will write a review at the end of each month.

January training DVD from The Gnomon Workshop: The techniques of Scott Robertson (Volume 1: Basic Perspective Form Drawing)

So far I have managed to complete half of the training DVD covering 1-point, 2-point and 3-point perspective. While not the most exciting part of learning to draw, a solid foundation in perspective drawing is necessary to create more believable and convincing artwork in the future.

Daily drawing here:

I have been drawing the human skull ( 1 per day ) for the past 4 days to complement the lessons learned from The Structure of Man anatomy training DVDs. Currently I am up to lesson 32, The Invention of The Spine - Part 1. You can check out the preview here. The techniques and lessons taught by Riven Phoenix in the DVDs are straight forward and easy to follow. So far I have found the videos very helpful and informative. Each of the formulas and techniques mentioned are simple and easy to remember (which is a good thing since the human anatomy comprises many many parts). Of course, it helps to have anatomy references to check and study if you desire to learn to draw the human anatomy more accurately.

Weekly article my other blog, The Romantic Blockhead:

My next post will be on “How I learned to love my wife… and still learning”. I am currently working on it and aim to get it up by tonight. Having deadlines helps to keep things moving in the right direction.

2007 was a blur to me with all my wedding preparations and adjusting to a my new workplace. While my wedding was the highlight of the year, it was also my biggest disappointment. Reflecting back on 2007, I realised there was just so much that I could have done to make things better. For one, I did not do enough to prepare for my wedding. My biggest mistake was taking things for granted and allowing my mom to shoulder most of the preparations.

I am a lazy person (that my wife clearly acknowledges), and as such, have a bad habit of leaving things I need to get done myself to the people around me. The only thing that I can say I did well was to surprise my dear wife with a song during our ceremony. I didn’t realise how surprised she was until she started crying as I began. Being naturally introverted, I fumbled on the words and was extremely nervous, but God knows my weaknesses and to quote my in-law Uncle Ari, “You must praise your God for the heavy rain and the microphone malfunction.” Our wedding day will definitely be memorable.

On to 2008. I had decided in December last year to make this year different and to make a commitment to put in the effort to change. So here are a few things that I have committed myself to do for 2008.

• Save 10% of my monthly income
• Read 1 book a month ( currently reading Happy Hour is 9 to 5 by Alexander Kjerulf )
• Create a daily drawing / artwork and upload it to my blog
• Watch 1 training DVD monthly. My dad bought as gift for me 2 years ago… the entire set of training DVDs ( analog bundle ) from The Gnomon Workshop
• Complete The Structure of Man anatomy training course. My wife and her brother gave the entire set of DVDs for my birthday last year
• Write an article weekly for my new blog, The Romantic Blockhead

Also, I have picked 2 themes to focus on as my direction for 2008. They are ‘authenticity’ and ‘taking action’. Authenticity to be true to myself and my loved ones. Taking action to ensure I do what I have set out to accomplish this year… no more procrastinating or being lazy.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. ~ Proverbs 16:3

Since starting my daily discipline of spending some time reading God’s word in the morning, I have begun to reflect more on my life and the way I have been living. The more I read, the more I realise that I have been talking more than walking. This verse in particular struck me as something that goes against human nature. Being human, I want more control over my own life so that becomes more stable and predictable. Safe to say, everyone wants security and they want things to go their way… after all, its human nature. Reflecting on this verse made me think of how I have been making my own plans and wanting my life to go a certain way. (more…)

A continuation on this topic. This time I was asked where does the bible say that Christians should not get involved with non-Christians. So here are a few references. It saddens me to hear of Christians using the excuse of wanting to “evangelise” to their non-Christian partner as a reason for dating them. It is simply selfish and arrogant of them to think that they have the power to convert a person to becoming a Christian. Why do people choose to become Christians? It is because the Holy Spirit of God convicts their hearts to the truth of God… not because of human effort.

As in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”

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I was recently pointed to this blog by my colleague and was asked for my opinion regarding this post. I realise that the issue of Christians dating / marrying non-Christians is a really huge issue that is constantly causing alot of debates. I am in no way an expert on relationships nor a bible scholar but here is what I commented (without edits).

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