Portrait of Yekaterina Khrushcheva and Pricess Yekaterina Khovanskaya

Portrait of Yekaterina Khrushcheva and Yekaterina Khovanskaya

1773

This oil painting is keep in the Russian Museum, St Petersburg

Dmitry Levitsky (1735 - 1822), the painter.

According to what I had read in Wikipedia, Levitsky died in poverty in 1822, even he had many commissions, but all was poorly paid.  

年年有餘 Nian Nian You Yu

 (A postcard sent from Connie of Hong Kong)

年年有餘 (pronounced as Nian Nian You Yu) means 'May every year ends with ample surplus' or ‘Plenty to spare year after year’ or ‘May you have more than you need, every year’.

Chinese is a fun language, a language of word-play, very creative indeed 

年(nian) 年(nian) 有 (you) 餘 (yu) 

and yu 餘 (meaning surplus) sounds like yu 鱼 (meaning fish).

So, don't surprise why FISH is a common symbol in both Chinese culture and Feng Shui 

as it symbolized the surplus wealth, health, luck, fortune and long life.   

illustration postcard of Penang

Japan New Year Greeting Card

I was so delighted when I received the cute-ever postcard from my colleague, Lianne during her recent visit to Japan. 

Wishing all of us have a fresh new year. 

Ten Tips to Think Positively & Positive Things will Happen

I definitely like the quote of this postcard send by Jana of Deutschland (Germany). 

“See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.” ~Dalai Lama

Here are the ten things that I've learned here to shift my focus to positive thoughts :

1. Meditate or do yoga

2. Smile

3. Surround yourself with Positive People

4. Change the tone of your thought from negative to positive

5. You create your own life. It is always a way out.

6. Help someone

7. No one is perfect, so do I. 

8. Sing (but I prefer doodling) 

9. Check back your gratitude list. Do not have it ? Create one now.

10. Read positive quotes. There will come to you, just ask. 

Cracker Monster

Tiffany send me this awesome Cracker Monster. 

This postcard reminded me of him ...

1933 Chen Shi Shu Yuan

Reprinted piece of a watercolour artwork from Kathleen Russell.
The artwork captured the scene of daily life of the locals in front of a Chinese Temple, Kuala Lumpur in 1933. I guess the temple is 陳氏書院 Chan Clanmen Study Hall / Chan Shi Shu Yuan , also known as Green Temple due to its green ceramic wall tiles. The Temple is the clan association for Chinese people surnames start with 陳 (Chan, Chen, Chin and Tan) from the bloodline of emperor of Shun.

Address : 172, Jalan Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

Loka Made of Malaysia

I discovered a new series of postcard available in Kinokuniya bookstore. 

A beautiful illustration artwork of a Malaysian artist ~ FeiGiap from Loka Made.  

At first, I was thought that was another kind of Shōjo Manga (少女漫画) . As shōjo literally means "girl" in Japanese, which mostly aimed at the teenagers.

Loka Made also offers DIY pop-up postcards  

Facebook : Loka Made

Anuardan Art Postcard

The series of art postcards (2004) that I bought from Pasar Seni Art Market few years back. I will send out this series of postcards to lucky postcrossers.


Anuardan (Malaysia) painting are well articulate, the houses strongly vertical and depicted in surrealistic and semi abstract ways. Figure in his works, exquisitely nuanced, are pale shadows. He has relayed an impeding sense of foreboding, of everything being ultimately mutable. Even the intricate and detailed works on these domiciles seem ephemeral. This very ambiguity is profoundly disturbing. His image are imposing but never tactile and the colour utilised, of 'ditch' hues of earth-based tone succeed in lending his creation a sense of antiquity.

masterpiece of Alphonse Mucha

A postcard sends from Lenka of Czech Republic.

Bières de la Meuse (1897) ~ by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist. 

The poster portrays a woman with a wreath of poppies, wheat and hops in her hair holding a pint of beer. She has Slav features and recalls the figure of Summer from Mucha's Seasons series of the previous year. There are two images at the bottom of the poster that are by another artist, an image of the goddess of the river Meuse and a bird’s eye view of the brewery.

And not to forget the beautiful stamp (Zodiac, Design 2, Ziegler 2010) that Lenka pasted on postcard. Another beautiful artwork piece called "Savonnerie De Bagnolet" , also by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).

  The Zodiac image of Mucha was one of his most successful designs, undergoing no fewer than a dozen different uses over the years. In this variant, the zodiac and all the decorations around the perimeter are gone, having been replaced by an 1898 calendarium. 

Replacing the astrological symbols is the text for the soap company. 

Gustav Klimt's art work

So glad to receive this beautiful artwork postcard from Jessica of Germany. 
Jessica send me the 'Lady with Fan' , a gorgeous paintwork of Gustav Klimt (1862 – 1918) who was an Austrian symbolism painter. 

Frau mit Fächer 1917As in Wally and Girlfriends II this half portrait of a young lady shows an awesome background with Asiatic ornaments. The lady wears a dress in the style of a kimono imprinted with motives of a Chinese dragon dress.  

  

A place to go in my plan to visit Vienna, one day :) 

Illustration Postcard as Promotional Tools

Halo, my dear friend. 

I love to collect illustration postcards, and it's normally wrapped / given as an exclusive gift upon a purchase of magazine or book. I'm not too sure about you, but for me, I will purchase the magazine / stuff that I may not need / want, but just to own the byproduct, i.e. illustration postcard. 

The 4 piece of postcards posted here are coming as a free gift from a Taiwan magazine , one of the topic in that series talked about postcards.  

 Jeff Szuc's posted some tips to use Illustration Postcard as an effective promotional tools to an outlay of effort-to-work-to-ratio-of-return-on-investment. 

Taiwan in one glance

A beautiful artwork from Tina's friend. 

The postcard display the characteristic of Taiwan in one glance

Taipei 101 Mall

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Taiwan Traditional Opera (known as 'Da Xi' in Mandarin)

Travel around Taiwan by Train 

The message that the artist want to deliver is to urge the young generation 

to cultivate the wisdom / knowledge gained from ancestor and preserve the culture in future time. 

Confucius saying "Cultivate the root, the leaves and branches will take care of themselves."

Something to enlighten your days

Bunny Angel

Illustration Card from Japan

Enlighten Your Days

Rumcajs

Look at this gorgeous stamp and stamp mark on the postcard !!

Illustration card from Lithuania

According to Ugue, the 3 colours (yellow, green and red) represent Lithuania's flag. The two soldier show how they play the basketball and the others show how they celebrate when they win the match.

Autoris.