Painting in Central Park, NYC

Here I am,  sketching in the Turtle Pond, Central Park NYC

I've always enjoyed painting outdoors especially during my travels and
I actually have a portable studio which I can easily carry with me wherever I go.
I found this artist traveling bag which holds a lot of things

 like brushes, watercolor pencils, mini sketch pad, etc:

Below is the artist travel pouch which I can tie around my waist and

inside this artist travel pouch are some tools and materials below:

Another view of the my artist travel pouch with some mini-sketch pad and watercolor papers:

Here is my favorite tool: a brush that you can put water inside
( no need to dip in water anymore)
I found this brush while traveling to Tokyo, Japan, but
some art stores now in th US carries them. 

Here is a really small and cute but handy material I have, the size of a business card:
A mini colored pencil case with its own miniature sharpener:

At the Turtle Pond, Central Park NYC

 Madonna Davidoff with their paintings

created in Turtle Pond, Central Park NYC

and below is my painting entitled" Little Girl in Central Park"

I used watercolor pencils and colored pencils to create this:

© Madonna Davidoff    

Asian Trip 2009 First Destination: Bali

APRIL 9, 2009:

Here I am waiting to board the plane at JFK airport:

I'm now waiting for my flight to Singapore with stop over in Frankfurt, Germany. I'm writing this at the gate, waiting to board my plane. I've been lucky so far. I was able to get a window exit seat from my flight from NYC to Singapore. Although I checked in only one luggage, I'm glad that the lady in the Singapore Air counter was able to let my luggage go directly to Bali so that I didn't have to haul it the whole time I am in Singapore Changi Airport. Hopefully, if my plane is on time, I expect to land in Singapore very early in the morning and my flight for Bali won't be until night at 7:30 pm.

I got a window seat:

A Stop-over in Frankfurt, Germany. It will be an 11 hour flight from Germany to Singapore, where I will take another plane for my first destination -- Bali.
Arrived in Germany watching the screen for my connecting flight to Singapore:

My plane in Frankfurt:

Waiting in the boarding gate: I changed into my capri pants since
I know that when I in land in Singapore, it will be very hot and humid.

How I amuse myself during the long flight,
I did a drawing of a girl I saw traveling with her parents:

Below is my miniature art studio which I used inside the plane: The size of the sketch pad is 2x 3 inches, the colored pencil set is the size of a business card and the mechanical pencil is only 3 inches long. I also have a portable brush pen where I can put water inside: no used dipping it in water.

An aerial view of Europe:

Artist travel pouch for my Portable Studio

I just added another thing for my portable studio collection:

Yesterday in New York City, I found this artist traveling bag
which holds a lot of things like brushes, watercolor pencils, mini skecth pad, etc:

This is perfect for my next trip:

Below is the artist travel pouch which you can tie around your waist:

Inside this artist Pouch you will see the following tools and materials below:

Another view of the Artist Pouch:

Here is my favorite tool: a brush that you can put water inside
( no need to dip in water anymore)

Here is a really small and cute but handy material I have, the size of a business card:A mini colored pencil case with its own miniature sharpener:

Portable studio around the world (Austria)

In Austria, I was invited to participate in an International Art Symposium entitled:"Freistat Burgestein 2005" (International Art Symposium) from July 9-18, 2005 at Laengenfeld, Tirol, Austria. I had to create works which will later be exhibited in Vienna, Telfs, Miemig, :Laegenfeld

Below is where I stayed among other International artists:

And here is my small but efficient studio in Langelfeld, Austria provided by Provita Alpina.

Here I am printing in my studio-
and getting ready for the exhibit in the Tyrolean Alps:

I created my Traveling scroll series here as shown below and also participated in the outdoor exhibit as well as in the Austrian WerkMuseum in the city.

Finally, one of the reviews in an Austrian Newspaper in Tyrol. ( in German)

Portable Studio Around the World (Bali)

As I've mentioned in my previous post, I keep a portable studio that contains mini tools and materials. In Bali, I had a folding easel and stool that has a backpack attached to it . I love this piece of equipment because it is lightweight and foldable plus Ican carry my materials in it as well:




My portable easel and stool/backpack in Bali, Indonesia.
I rented a small bungalow in Ubud, Bali last 2007. I will be going back there again this year. This is me painting in front of my bungalow:

A view from my Bali Bungalow

and my Bali landscape painting:

My Portable Studio around the world

I carry a portable studio with me whenever I can. My portable studio is an assortment of mini art materials and tools that I've collected from different places. I've got mini watercolors, mini brushes that holds its own water container( got this in Tokyo but they now sell it in Pearl Paint NYC)--mini crayon kit, mini markers ( from San Francisco,) ,mini colored pencil from Singapore, small sketch pad and moleskin watercolor book from NYC, and even mini staplers and scissors from Austria. I love to discover other mini tools and materials to include in my portable studio.

The contents are small enough to fit my plastic zippered case that fits my medium size bag .
Well, this weekend, my portable studio came in handy again. I went to the Barnes and Noble in New York City near Lincoln Center and hang out at the cafe. I did some of my color studies there while drinking my iced chai, flavored with passion fruit and bought a sweet treat --my favorite brownies. Yummy!
When I draw or paint in public, I sometimes get comments from other people. One lady beside me remarked that she liked my colors . I like the interaction and I don't mind a few interruptions since being an artist can be a solitary job sometimes. Other places I like to sketch are the parks, forests, the mountains, the beach or anywhere near the water , libraries, museums, even the theatre. Yes, during intermission is a good time to sketch.

Below is my color study:

Actually, I was in another fantastic bookstore called The Bank Street Bookstore uptown. I went there to see a book reading/performance of authorDebi Derryberry. She wrote the book Baby Banana and the Licorice Tree. I loved Debi Derryberry's music especially the ones with the Caribbean beat. Debi is also the voice of Jimmy Neutron on Nickelodeon.
It was very interesting to observe how the children responded --so spontaneously dancing and jumping up and down. I could not sketch because it was jampacked and there was no room, but I was able to get a seat by the window and I took some photos:

As an illustrator, I always to go to bookstores and do my research on what's being published lately, which publishers I think will like my style based on what they are publishing, what book got awards, etc. I always take down notes when I visit. That's me on the right corner: