My First Paintings

All I have to say is that it's been a very interesting journey painting. Although I sometimes get frustrated with it and can't do some of the detailed work I'm used to doing with henna and pen, I certainly enjoy the  mental/spiritual health benefits it offers. It's when I focus and meditate on just painting that I find much peace and relaxation.  I enjoy my teas or wines or the company of my girlfriends painting with me. I don't care if I never sell a painting. That's not the mission. The mission is to try something I've never done before and have fun doing it. Whether it's good or not, is irrelevant. In any case, art is in the eye of the beholder.  I've heard the answer to the question, "what is art?" and it's "if it moves you, it's art." The simplicity of the lines, shapes, and colors of my style may appeal to some and not to others.  That's cool. But I'm sure my style will evolve and change as I keep painting, learning and experimenting. At the moment, I like simplicity and always have. It's easy on the eyes, mind, and heart.

These are posted in the order that I painted them, from my first painting to the last.  I am painting these for the Reggae Festival, April 16-18, 2010, but if you'd like to make an offer on one, please be my guest and make me a happy gal!  I've coordinated these in sets of 2, so I prefer that they go together. If you don't see one you like yet, I've got 3 more just about done and working on a few more in the next couple weeks.

A special tribute to Bob Ross, the best PBS painting guy and show I've ever seen and loved watching when I was growing up as a kid.

To Happy Clouds and Happy Painting! :)

Love, Peace, and Namaste,

LPN

Portrait of me in the black Ao Dai.  Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20". Not for sale.

Vietnamese school girl in white Ao Dai. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20".

Vietnamese school girl with bicycle. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 16"x20"

Vietnamese girl in bamboo trees. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 11"x14" (her sister is born and will be posted soon.)

Vietnamese girl in rice field. Acrylic on canvas and ribbon. 11"x14" 

Portrait of Greta and Grayton @ 4 mos. Acrylic on canvas. 11" x 14". Not for sale.

The Black Ao Dai (The Long Black Shirt)

Presenting....my first painting of a Vietnamese woman in a traditional Vietnamese dress, called the Ao Dai (literally Long Shirt) and pronounced: \ow zai\ with an upward intonation on the 'ow' and a downward intonation on the 'zai'. The Ao Dai is a two-piece dress, consisting of a long shirt and pants.  To me, this is the ideal dress because it comes with pants. Truth be told, I've always detested wearing dresses and avoid them at all costs but I actually enjoy wearing the Ao Dai. So, how convenient that it makes both me and my mom happy!

Since this was my first time painting, I wanted to choose something simple and easy to paint.  After contemplating what to paint for a couple weeks, a vision of one of my own modeling photos came to me.  The photo was taken by Miriam Daugherty on my very first photoshoot in Austin, Texas in May 2009. I had designed the dress when I was in Hanoi, Vietnam. I had chosen the color black, which is an unusual color choice for an Ao Dai dress because only older women, say over 70 years, might wear black and other dark shades.  Traditionally, young women wear Ao Dai of brighter colors and patterns to portray their youthfulness.  However, I wanted to design something a little bit more edgy and chic. The material is of thin flowy chiffon so that the sleeves and the waist piece are see-through.  This adds to the sexiness of the dress. I also want to point out that the secret to the Ao Dai is that it 'covers everything, but hides nothing.' In other words, it is extremely form-fitting, flattering, and shows nothing but a small triangular area of skin through the side slit at the waist. And that, my male friends, although is a big tease, is the all-time sexiest part of the Ao Dai.

Painting is another artistic mission I've been nudged to pursue for a while by an artist friend of mine, JLaw and then I met Ruba, the beautiful neuro-linguist masseuse Syrian painter.  She invited me over for an intimate painting party with 3 ladies, including myself.  I brought the wine (ladies love sweet so I chose a nice crisp Moscato). She provided the veggies and dip, art supplies and the rest is strictly confidential (except for our paintings, of course).

Over the last month, we had painting night once or twice a week either at my house or her house with a couple other ladies. Wine, tea, veggies and dip, fireplace, and painting - it was romantic, inspiring and quite simply, lots of fun!  One night, we were enjoying each other's company so much that we didn't even paint! There were four of us - dos Mexicanos, a Syrian, and a Vietnamese.  We are all in our early thirties, single, smart, strong, and attractive women.  And it got me thinking...mainly about how many independent, smart, talented, and beautiful women I know, how much I admire them and how much they inspire me.  So, really, this painting is a tribute to all the lovely ladies I know and all the ones I don't know yet, who make the world a better place.

The Black Ao Dai (the Long Black Shirt) by La Pham Nikita. Acrylic and ribbon.16" x 20". Not for sale. The red sash on the conical hat is a real red ribbon. I hope you enjoy the painting!  And if you like it, check back here for more because I am starting a series of Vietnamese Ao Dai paintings, and those will have a price, if you want one.

Note to self: Austin, Art, Attraction, and I

[note: this is kinda just a personal journal entry for myself - just my uninhibited unedited freeflow thoughts tonite.]

So I guess I took a mini sabbatical from blogging.  Over a month.  I finally found some down time to reflect on the whole past month or so of my life.  It's been a total crazy whirlwind of everything. I took a little break from drawing, henna, peacock bags, work, and overdosed during the holidays with family, travel, eating, knitting, skiing, dancing.  I've been deep in my self-conscience, mindful and alert of all the signs in the world around me and listening intently to the Universe speaking to me. Family has come back in my life so strong. Art speaks for itself. Love, and the endless search. Friends, cherished and more beautiful.  Passion.  Energy. The Secret. The Law of Attraction.

I've been wanting to write about this "law of attraction" I've been experiencing intensely for the last few months. My life has been kind of tossy turny to say the least. My heart was wounded. My job is boring but I can't complain. I was lost, still lost. I've turned to art for healing, expression, focus, meditation, relaxation, motivation, energy, passion, collaboration, fun, friendship and love. I can feel the energy all around me.  It gives me energy  and gets me all excited whenever I get myself into a project. Just ask my friends. There's proof in every person I'm meeting, family, friends and in all my travels, encounters, conversations.  I'm going to cram more than a month's worth of blogging into 1 long run-on sentence.  Here goes... from my brother, my dad, the sudden flood of emotions all directly related to the hours...days....weeks I've spent with my family this past year (it was good but intense, not including the funniest thing - they want me to go to dental school and they said they would pay for it), my encounters with Austinites (this is one of the reasons why I love Austin - all the cool people I've been meeting!).... the mysterious awe-amazing energy of a woman that bought my first piece of art, the henna peacock drum, the musician at the (my uncle's) Mi Bar on New Year's eve, Ella Reese's Pieces' birth, my hotshot famous artist friend, the beautiful and so talented painter, neuro-linguist Syrian masseuse that I instantly connected with at the Austin Asian Film Festival, my friendships with the pilllow designer, models, photographers, the fashion designers, the dreadlocked San Franciscan musician hitchhiker I picked up on my way to Houston the week before Christmas and the conversation I had with him, my cousin Lee's sweet friend that I met in Germany 3 years ago and took me skiing at Mt. Snow, Vermont, cooking with my mom, tennis with my niece and nephew, ice-skating with my cousins in Hartford, CT, karaoking with my cousins in Houston, my brother's mouthwatering and romantic foodblog, his awesome xray flower photography, his fiance Kim Dao's Jalapeno Poppers in a blanket (Vote for her too!), job searching, internet dating on eHarmony and Okcupid.com, the german-speaker, the salsa dancer, the journalist, the filmmaker, and so many more unidentified experiences and people yet to be known. I think that's a whole lot of attraction and creative energy going on in just a month or so, don't you think?  I had no time to pause and blog.  I was focused on living in the moment. I feel very lucky.

My current artistic venture is painting.  This is the first time in my life, seriously. Believe it or not. And I admit I'm scared.  I was scared of drawing. I'm also scared of painting. I vaguely recall helping an older schoolmate paint a mural on the wall for young kids after school.  That was maybe between the 7th and 8th grade. I'm starting with acrylic on canvas. It's a photograph that Miriam Daugherty took of me in my black Vietnamese Ao Dai and conical hat with a bold red sash. This was my first photoshoot.  The thing that really started the ball rolling in my world of creative experimentation and exploration.  My friend kept saying I should try painting and that I would like it.  He's right.  Now I'm painting with my lovely Syrian friend and she said I'm talented. I hope she's right too.  :)  I will post photos of it when I'm done.

My upcoming events:

I'm excited to say that I'll be doing henna tats and selling whatever art type stuff I can create at the Austin Reggae Festival, April 16-18, 2010.  I'll be sharing a booth with several other Austin artists, http://www.dracouni.com/. 

I'm also super honored to do my friends Ekta Shah and Anirban Chatterjee's wedding henna, the date is June 19, 2010.  I told her to submit their photo to the Austin360 Cutest Couple in Austin.  so please vote for them! Yes, they're the cute Indian couple. In fact, they're a smart techy couple and both not vegetarian.  This is my first wedding henna, yikes!! Super nervous.  Wedding henna tats are a big deal, majorly auspicious! And just think that all her Indian family and friends will see it and examine it?  OMG, I'm scaring myself. When I'm not nervous about it, I like to tease her and tell her I will sneak in 2 fishies into the henna design (fish is a symbol of fertility) and that I'll be extra careful to make them identical.  :) She says, "NOoooo!!! You better not! I will take 2 days off work and travel to Dallas...and experience a full-on traditional Indian wedding. Wow, that part is going to be freaking exciting!  I gotta get myself a Sari! In fact, my bollywood SRK crazy Indian girlfriend is working on getting it for me from India, right this moment...

It's half past midnight and the storm is rolling in.  It's thundering and lightning.  I want to be awake to hear it. It's pounding on the roof now.  I love it.  It makes me miss Hanoi.  I love Vietnam.

Ella Reese Michaud, Born December 27, 2009 in Hartford, CT.  6.1 lbs and a precious little 17 inches.  I knit her those snuggly soft booties and mittens in record time so she wasn't cold.  I think she's the Secret. I call her my little Reese's Pieces.

It's going to be an awesome year of art and attraction in Austin...Go Tiger!

Transformation...

The theme is "Transformation." How fitting as I feel like I've been morphing and transforming this whole year - from cooking to modeling, from aspiring entrepreneur to artist. I just submitted 2 experimental pieces of 12 x 12 x 2 wood panels for the Maranda Pleasant Holiday Art Box Show. Neither of my pieces turned out as I had envisioned, of course. Nevertheless, this is a tres cool art event that I'm happy and excited to be part of for the first time.   Art, food, wine, music. Perfect! I got a sneak peak and it's amazing to see how a 12x12 frame can be transformed into so many one-of-a-kind pieces of art!

I had spent a few weeks doing research and contemplating what kind of mediums to use: paper, pen, paint, natural dyes, henna, goatskin, and thick leather scraps. I asked lots of art questions and bounced my ideas with artists and friends. (Thank you!) I've been spending after hours at Jerry's Artarama, Tandy Leather Factory, and Hobby Lobby. In the last 4 weeks, I discovered Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens (instead of black Sharpie markers), rapidiograph pen sets, how to use and color gesso, how to stain and stretch goatskin with henna, coffee, tea, wine, and how to silkscreen. All of this is completely new to me and the projects were entirely experimental. I love the challenge of trying to do something I've never done before. Creating art is a risky business but the excitement of the unknown is thrilling. I think I am mastering the art of improvisation but I have a lot to learn in finding my creative voice.  What is art what is not?  ...if it moves you, it's art.

Reflections on my 2 experiments...

"Meditation in Space"

As I was drawing the mandalas, I was meditating on the theme of "Transformation" and the meaning(s) of mandalas. I love the symbolism and the depth of the meanings of a mandala: the circle of life, a microcosm and macrocosm of the universe, a tool for meditation... It's fascinating how all things in nature are mandalas from the very nucleus of our body cells, to flowers, to our solar system. (also check out the Mandala Project) For this piece, I was attempting to transform my henna skills into a piece of art and drawing the mandalas was helping me find my center. It is of mandalas in space of different sizes and drawn freehand with sepia ink pen. I painted and sanded 4 layers of gesso and colored the gesso with coffee and tea. That was fun! Originally, I had sketched a large mandala  in the center and one in each of the 4 corners. However, it turned out to be the opposite, a lot of white space and a few small random mandalas. This was a very mentally challenging project for me, especially because I had stayed up all night working on the henna pea-drum project and was already mentally and physically drained. I did not sketch a detailed drawing beforehand. I make it up as the tip of my pen touches the board. I had to be extremely focused with a perfect steady hand. It's being in a meditative space and a calm state of mind. It's finding patience and balance. The most difficult part of it all was knowing when to stop and let go. I could have spent hours adding layer after layer of details but I decided to stop when one of the mandalas got a little smeared. I was gutted but I had to accept it. I do like the simplicity and the contrast between the details of the mandalas and the openness of the white space. As Carl Jung might say, "it is a representation of my unconscious self." Forever transforming...

"Henna Pea-Drum"

I spent most of my time researching, planning, and testing this piece and had high hopes for it but I ran into a lot of obstacles along the way. It was a very long process involving heating whole cloves, a blowdryer, ammonia, henna paste, lemon juice/sugar sealant, and other miscellaneous stuff. I wanted it to be a warm henna peacock on a goatskin canvas illuminated like a lamp. But it didn't quite make it. While I was shopping for the light for my henna peacock lamp, the man at Home Depot said to me, "the project took on a life of its own, huh? That happens!" Art (and life) certainly has it's surprises! Even though you try to plan things out, things don't always happen as you hope and that's ok too! I guess I can say it's at least a drum with a henna peacock on it. Practical art. A Henna Pea-Drum. Why not? In fact, one of my favorite nights of all my travels was spent deep in the Sahara Desert camping, drumming, singing, and speaking English, Arabic, and French with Moroccans and Berbers.  Totally exotic and in the rough...!  I will not give up on the henna lamp and drum idea.

...and through all of this "art" world, what I appreciate the most...

the inspiration
the visual connections
the energy felt
the ideas exchanged
the vibes
the chemistry
the excitement
the chaos
the craziness
the dedication
the perfection
the support
the friendships
the passion and love of creative expression...

Mission Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

"Shit! I have less than 2 weeks to become an artist," I said to my friends before E.A.S.T. (my first East Austin Studio Tour).  The henna peacock bag idea was conceived one cool night in Austin. I was chillin' in the backyard, drinkin' a Lonestar with my inspiring artist friend and talkin' shop. He started a women's clothing line Darkeyes Clothing where his drawings are silkscreened on shirts and dresses. We put 2 and 2 together and decided I could draw a henna design to silkscreen on canvas bags. Actually, I had the bag idea sitting on my entrepreneurial bookshelf 3 years ago when I was living in a fully-equipped 32-footer 1982 Southwind Winnebago in Arlington, Texas, and working as a Program Coordinator for the Student Conservation Association. I was feeling really green and environmentally friendly at the time and that was when I started using the reusable bags for grocery shopping. I was also still under the influence of the German way because I had just come directly from living in a small German town outside the Ramstein Airforce Base. If you've travelled to Germany, you would immediately notice that the Germans are very environmentally conscious and progressive. At all central shopping areas, you will find several large bins for recycling paper, plastic, and different colored glass bottles. At grocery stores, you don't get plastic bags and they don't pack your groceries for you either. They all use reusable bags. It's totally part of their culture and it's called the Green Dot (Der Gruene Punkt). I remember the first time I was living in Germany in 2000 and went to the market in Hamburg. I panicked when I realized I didn't have a reusable bag to put my groceries in. "How the hell am I going to carry my groceries," I thought. No one warned me and no travel guide even mentioned it. I was ashamed of myself for not having my own reusable bag. Lucky for me, I was able to purchase a plastic bag at the checkout for 10 euro cents but I'm sure the cashier lady was frowning at me.

Now, a decade later, you can see reusable bags sold at most major shopping markets and stores in the U.S. However, we have only recently started advocating the concept of replacing plastic bags with reusable bags. It is great to see the U.S. doing this but we can still do more and be more green.  So please reduce the use of plastic bags, reuse the ones you have, and don't forget to bring your reusable bags with you to the store. Here's why:

The facts: We use well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute and they stay on our planet for up to 1,000 years.

The impact: Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food. Plastic bags don't biodegrade. It takes 10 years to break down into toxic waste that contaminates soil and waterways and enters the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. And there's more of course.  (source: http://www.reusablebags.com/)  Other links to learn more about plastic bags: No Impact Man Blog, Natural Environment,http://www.earthday.net/plasticbags

(please scroll down to the bottom to purchase a bag.)

It will be an amazing cultural transformation when we are all using reusable bags for our groceries and only using plastic bags when in desperation or if we've suddenly come down with amnesia. We need to keep advocating environmentally friendly practices and hopefully in another decade, we won't see plastic bags in our grocery stores anymore or be using other harmful plastics for that matter. So, my henna peacock bag project is killing 2 birds with 1 stone (no pun intended). Not only did I start drawing after having taken only 1 drawing class in high school but I transformed my drawing into a side entrepreneurial project with an environmental cause. It would make sense that the more we like a bag, the more we will use it. Plus, these are special bags that are not made of ordinary cotton, it's 100% recycled cotton! Be aware of using cheap quality bags that won't last long and will end up in the trash after a short time. It's nice when you can have a bag that is eco-friendly, durable, practical, locally made, meaningful, attractive, artsy and affordable - all in one! I so enjoyed coming out as an artist and the process of making these bags and I hope you enjoy using it (frequently) too.  Thanks again to JLaw, Big Medium and all my family, friends and fans who have shown your excitement and support for my henna peacock drawings and bags.  I am inspired by you. Thank you! Love, Peace, and Namaste, LPN

Escaped artist "American Dreaming..."

What IS the "American Dream?"  Traditionally, it is the dream of fame, success, and wealth.  In history, it is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." [first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, 1931]  I like this.  For my parents, I think the "American Dream" is having the freedom and opportunity to lead a happy successful life and anyone can achieve it with hard work. This is what makes America so great. It truly is a land of freedom and opportunity where anything is possible, if you work for it. I share the same "American Dream" as my parents, but with my own little twist.  The twist being the definition of happiness and success.  Naturally, this is different for everyone.

This week, the Austin Asian American Film Festival is premiering All About Dad, a comedy about a Vietnamese-American family with generational and cultural gaps.  The main character, Ty Do (I also have the same household nickname), tells his dad he doesn't want to be a doctor, but rather a filmmaker.  I, myself, am in a similar boat. Growing up in a very traditional Vietnamese and Catholic family, my Dad constantly reminded me that if I don't work hard for my education and career, my future would not be so bright.  And he was absolutely right.  Thank God I listened to him!  I studied biology and women's studies, got a Fulbright scholarship and a Master's degree.  I thought I was doing it all right, but there's something that still doesn't feel quite right for me. I've come to realize that my parents' idea of happiness and success is not the same as mine.

Finally, after years of working hard for a good education and a stable career while trying to figure out who I am and what I really want to do, I've decided to take a turn to the wild side.  I am exploring my creative side.  It's ironic that the same parent that I get my creative side from is the same parent that would love for me to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or teacher. I don't want to quit my public health career that I've invested so much in, I just want to transform my creative side into something more tangible for my future.  So, here I am, living in Austin, Texas (the perfect city for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs) and at a fork in my journey, where the options are endless and I have the freedom to choose my destination. For me, the "American Dream" is not about success, fame or wealth.  It's about what makes you happy. I'm a boat girl, so whatever floats my boat, right? Seriously, it means having the freedom and opportunity to do whatever makes you happy and only you can determine your idea of success. This is often taken for granted because not everyone can do this (if you've been to a Third World country, you know what I mean).  But fortunately, I can. I am an aspiring artist who has been dreaming and has escaped....with my first henna design to be screenprinted on 100% recycled cotton canvas bags. Keep on dreaming America!