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Let the Cat out of the Box and Be Free – A Doodle

Recently, I have come across an article from Scientific American. Falling in love does make people more creative. Because it makes us think differently. That triggers global processing, hence promotes creative thinking and interferes with analytic thinking. Sex though does the opposite. It triggers local processing, promotes analytic thinking, and interferes with creative thinking.

From now on, I shall not look at love and sex the same way.

Titled Let the Cat out of the Box and Be Free

This latest drawing of mine doesn’t have tons of hidden meaning. It is what it is – let the cat out of the box and be free.

In relationships, people often say something like, if you love someone, let him or her go. I think that is a bit not too pragmatic. The way I see it is that when you love (the roses) someone, let him or her have the freedom (a cat in an open box) within the boundaries (the frame) of what that relationship is or to be. And he or she will be happy looking for the things he or she likes (plenty of fish for the happy cat).

At the top left is a view of the port or the sea (I thought of the fish and hence, the ocean). The bottom right is a door. Why filament light bulb? I just happen to like its vintage feel.

Wounded Heart and the Incommunicado – A Doodle

I often joked with my younger friends and said, “Had I born into this era, my dating life would have been so different.” As in, with dating apps, I don’t think I would get married so early.

It’s a joke. As in, I am not born into this era.

But what if?

That would be a topic for another day. Meanwhile, I cannot help but think, heartbreaks in this era must suck way more than my era.

Titled as Wounded Heart and the Incommunicado

With instant messaging and all, I have no idea how people these days cope with heartbreaks. Say, you are trying to reach him or her. But you just can’t. Every message you receive throughout the day – which is a lot thanks to how connected we now are – would basically be a disappointment. Why isn’t the message come from him or her? And you can’t stop this thought whereby, the next message could be from him or her.

Back to this drawing, and I must say it once again. Drawing to me is therapeutic. It calms my mind. I like this particular one a lot. It took me close to four hours to conceptualize and complete the drawing, which is way longer than the previous ones. To complete this drawing on the same day (inspiration comes and goes), I had to rush to Art Friend and buy a set of replacement pens because mine went dry. I have also derived a special technical – unfortunately, you can’t see here – to ‘hang’ the objects onto a set of pre-determined frames. It was an experiment and I like how it turns out.

In the center, is a heart. Punctured by a spear and through it, the telephone coil is cut. Incommunicado at its most straightforward interpretation is one is unable to reach another on the phone. In this drawing, there is another meaning whereby the two could be separated (think life and death) and they just can’t talk to each other.

Layered on top of the heart are roses and thorns. So yes, there is a theme of love here (again, love in many forms). There is blood gushing out from the heart but what’s up there? Raindrops? Or tears? That’s for you to decide.

MAGO and the Wild, Wild Ukulele – A Doodle

Today is a really happy day for me, to be rekindled with my passion … and music. Y wanted to get a Ukulele so that during her quarantine in Malaysia, she has something to do. I did not know anything about Ukulele. But it is a form of guitar, with chords albeit totally different from the guitar chords, these are chords that are meant to be strummed, or plucked.

I love music. I love musical instruments. And I always challenge myself to play an instrument different from what I am accustomed to.

Ukulele is different from classical guitar. First, Ukulele has 4 strings instead of 5. Second, the open chords are GCEA instead of EADGBE (Every Angry Dog Got a Bone to Eat) and hence, tuning is different. The chords are entirely different too. Third, the size. But regardless, Ukulele is still a string instrument. You play the chords and you strum.

Titled as MAGO and the Wild, Wild Ukulele

I did not know how to play the Ukulele. So I have done some research on the Internet and have decided to test a Ukulele with Jason Mraz’s I am Yours. The chords are pretty straightforward. Just C-G-Am-F. And the Ibanez Ukulele that has finally got my recommendation at Swee Lee has this warm tone (due to dark nylon strings and Mahogany wood) and full-body sound (due to its shape) that I have fallen in love with. It is an entry-level Ukulele for Y is a beginner. If I were to get one – since I am an experienced guitar player – I may give Martin C1K Concert Ukulele a try. I may even be tempted by the 2K Concert edition.

On a totally separate topic and is related to this doodle, my favorite K-pop girl group GFRIEND has recently released a new song called MAGO. This retro-style disco-dancing song could well be my favorite of all theirs thus far. The dance is not overwhelming, yet delivered with class.

If you have watched the MAGO video, add that to the Ukulele and the four chords, that is the doodle of the day folks.

When Happiness & Sadness Collide (Alt. Title Bitter-sweet) – A Doodle

I want to articulate a person torn between happiness and sadness, in a cycle of one side feeding onto another. I thought of fish out of water. One time, I read about this on the Internet, or it could have been from a scientific magazine. Fish feel the pain too. When they are pulled out of the sea. Even for that brief moment. That gasp for water but it is air instead. It is like submerging a human’s head into the water, that gasp for air but it is water instead.

Titled as When Happiness & Sadness collide

So fish denotes the pain while the cats feed onto the fish and stay merry. A face with two sides. On the left, the sadness; on the right, the opposite (note: try covering each side and observe, it is rather fun). The stormy weather and the flood on the left versus the sunshine and life on the right. That contrast I want to bring, the polar opposite that co-exists. The ironic symbiosis between the two different emotions. The struggle and the torn so intense.

When I shared this drawing with N who is an artist in her own right, whose birthday is tomorrow, before I even explained the concept, her immediate response was, “Bitter-sweet”.

I think she got it.

Karmic Love Affairs – A Doodle

Today, I have this sudden urge to draw. The initial concept was to display the tension between a pair of lovers not in balance. That is, one in control of the entire relationship while the other one is not. But it has become something more elaborate.

In control, to that I mean, have you been in a situation whereby you are at the mercy of that someone to contact you, set up the next occasion to meet, and etc. It is as though, you keep on staring at your phone – and in my era, your pager – for that one message. And when that comes, there could be thousands and one way to interpret it. The beauty and the torment of being in love.

For some relationships of yours, the other party could be the one in control. And for others, you could be the one in control.

While this is not a universal truth, I reckon those who are not in control in a relationship would likely end up getting dumped (note: the reverse doesn’t always hold true).

Hence, back to the composition of this doodle, there are three persons inside.

Three?! You may ask.

Let’s start with the rectangular frame in the middle. The hourglass inside denotes a time that is later than the two hourglasses outside (sand on top versus sand at the bottom). One way to interpret this is to think of the subjects outside the frame in the past while the subjects inside, the present. Another way is that outside is present while the inside is the past.

If you notice, while the man looks the same inside and outside the frame – i.e. the same person, we can’t say the same for the female character. The one inside has a sharper chin and short hair. Contrast to the one outside, rounder chin with long hair. Therefore, there are three persons.

Raised fist depicts control. Broken hearts are simply, broken hearts.

Going back to the three persons in the composition, the man who was in control of a relationship in the past broke a girl’s heart and at present, thanks to karma (all the loops are karma as what goes around comes around), his heart is broken by another girl at present.

Hope you enjoy reading the explanation!