Studying the structure of landscapes...

I've been studying the landscape of Carmarthen in my first week and by first observation it's simply breathtaking.  Even on a dreary, rainy morning you can see for miles, most of which is made up of farm land consisting of sheep.  But amongst the landscape are houses, fences, several kinds of trees-whose names escape me-and of course grass!

Each sketch usually takes about 10 minutes to do.  They aren't super detailed by any means but are instead meant to capture the structure of the landscape.

Back at my school in America, I studied how the light seems to dance across a still life as if it was carving a path for the viewer to follow-I hope to do the same with landscape painting and/or sketching.  And what better place then here in Wales and what better time than the end of winter and the beginning of Spring coming very soon.

The little things...

The semester has officially begun and class started without a hitch.  Morning coffee at where else but Starbucks (they are officially everywhere), Cinemas of the World class was informative and we screened "The Devil's Backbone" and were informed a bit about our project, and I managed to join the gym and did some heavy lifting and a bit of cardio.
Tonight begins a new adventure-Rugby.  I've never played before and tonight will be the first time I've ever practiced....ever. But being a bit of a "try everything once sports nut", I can't wait.  It's these little things in life that add up to being even more enjoyable as a whole.
So enjoy the little things in life and experience new things-no matter the outcome, positive or negative, you're that much better off for trying.

Sketching the landscape of Carmarthen...

Sketching the landscape of Carmarthen, Wales has become one of my favorite things to do anytime of day especially in preparation to paint for class at  later time.  Every where you look there's beautiful landscape and interesting architecture that leaves you stunned even if it's something you've seen everyday.

I was walking to the reception building yesterday morning to grab a soda early in the morning when something in the distance caught my eye.  As I set my soda on the ground and grabbed my pen and pad I began to sketch the hills and trees and houses being gently kissed by the suns light as quickly as possible.  Ten minutes or so later the sun had escaped behind the always reliable clouds and the moment was gone in reality but in memory and on paper, I would always have it with me.  It just goes to show if you walk around with your eyes open a little wider, you'll see such incredibly simple yet complexly beautiful things.

Arrived in Wales in one piece...

I finally arrived in Wales in one piece! First of all, the flight was amazing, a bit turbulent at times but overall a success.  I arrived to London about 11:30am and by the time I got through border patrol and hopped a bus at 4pm to Trinity Saint David in Carmarthen, Wales, It was 9pm.  It was then I found out Wednesday is the night of the week.

The students, the faculty, and so far everyone in Wales has been so kind and friendly, I couldn't have asked for anything more.  I've already met some wonderful friends and people around town-I just can't say enough good things.

Orientation wraps up this weekend, class begins Monday, and the journey continues for the next four months.  More to come very very soon!

*pictured above is the remnants of a castle toward the center of town overlooking a river.

One day to go and half way done packing...

One more day to go and I'll be off to Carmarthen, Wales.  And wow, I have a ton of packing to do!  One bag for clothes and the other for art supplies, books, and sports gear, and a back pack full of electronics is all this man needs.

I'm going to miss my family and friends here very much and I hope to make new friends in the near future. To everyone that has supported me in this adventure, I can't thank you enough!

6 More Days...and a lot of packing...

Six more days to go and a lot of packing to do.  Clothes...check.  Something to put clothes in...check.  Art supplies...check.  Everything is ready to go including myself.  I'm going to miss my family and friends but thanks to technology and things like Skype, we'll always be connected.  I can't express how excited and grateful I am for this experience.  It began with my 3D Foundations instructor asking a simple question: What is your background?  I replied "I'm Thai and Florida" as I usually do with a slight smile.  One question led to another and that day I found the office at my university, UNC-Greensboro, and the ball began rolling quickly down the proverbial hill.  A lot of applications later, a passport here and there too, I was accepted to study at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David to study painting.

Six more days and my whole world is going to change.  But I leave with this piece of advice: change your world everyday and everyday will be that much more worth living.  

A Gallery of works...

Ladies and gentlemen, if you look above you you will notice a little tab that says "gallery".  Inside that gallery is a link to oil paintings that I've made over the last year.

I'm not a hard-core coder by any stretch of the imagination but I am working on taking new photos of my work and putting together a much more polished gallery.  In the mean time, enjoy some of the photos of oil paintings I do have.

Two more weeks...

The official countdown clock has begun!  Well, there isn't really a clock, but one can imagine.  There isn't much to prepare paperwork-wise for my time in Wales, and the only thing left is to figure out what to pack. Two bags, one man, and a load of electronics.  It's times like these being an avid Tetris player comes in handy...

In the mean time, I'm looking forward to developing a few cartoons and working on some new concepts.

How I'm going to document my experience...

The Olympus Pen EPL-1 is the perfect blend of point and shoot and SLR using the Micro 4:3 format.  I've been using it for a couple weeks now and absolutely love it! Perfect for the traveler or someone who doesn't want the weight of a giant DSLR yet still wants to have the option of multiple lenses.

Getting ready to study abroad...

So what's a guy to do in his early 30's...as in 30 years old....when he's close to finishing a degree in painting and has never been outside of the United States? Travel outside of the United States of course! For the last couple months I've been preparing to study abroad in the field of Painting in Carmarthen, Wales at Trinity Saint David.  It's going to be one hell of an experience! So without any frills, here we go!