Henna streak and Samsung Galaxy S3

More henna artwork to be add to the collection! Been doodling quite a bit done I have a stash of henna paste stored up.

After a long break, I wanted some practise to get myself back into shape. The best form of practise is the bridal mehndi.  Requires ample attention to the details.

Oh,  did I said I got a new phone? A Samsung galaxy S3! An awesome phone. I can now edit my pictures and post them up to my blog send Picasa album even when I'm on the go! In contrast to my old blackberry curve whereby I had to transfer my pictures to my laptop and proceed from there. I think from now on,  maintaining my web presence will be a lot easier.

Here you go. Enjoy the pictures.

Suhaila's henna night

Finally I managed to sneak some time off the busy schedule to work on one of my favorite activity. Henna! Lots of it.

My ex colleague was married last week and I was honoured to be able to decorate the bridesmaid with designs of their own choice on her malam berinai, also known as mehndi night or henna night.

Indian Mehndi Designs

Another practise session to sharpen the skills technique and consistancy.

But I did not have enough henna paste to complete the design. Will be making a fresh batch of paste later on tonight.

Indian Bridal Mehndi - Part 2

Another bridal mehndi I tried yesterday night; started at 11.30am and finished at 12.30am - with droopy eyes but the henna itch just kept me awake. 

Tried experimenting the combination of different patterns and motifs to achieve a smooth flow throughout the design. Can't wait to try out another design I have in mind!

Simple henna designs

Arabic floral.

A random tinkling.

Some simple EID henna

A fast track design for my colleague.

Another wrist design at the very last moment before the end of a long day.

Traditional Indian Bridal - Simple designs

Been working on some bridal designs to quench my henna thirst.

A simple design in the center as the highlight with detailed fillings on the fingers. A little consistency yet different - especially at the edges of the designs where each of the 4 sides have different finnishing. The main focal design was inspired by one of the pictures from the book Traditional Mehndi Designs - A Treasury of Henna Body Art.

A few different fillings on each fingers - inverse coloured boxes, pasley leaves, flowers and repeatitive curls. 

Another traditional indian design I worked on to get myself into gear. I am trying to do more of these indian bridal designs to practise my speed and consistency of the artwork.

A glimpse of the artwork up close.

Review: Nooraini Red Henna

Tried Nooraini red henna bought from the wholesale store, Mydin. The henna was imported from India. It cost about RM2.50 per 100g (if my memory doesn't fail). It's very reasonable.

The concoction used includes various types of spices, lemon juice and henna powder.

This is right after I remove the paste which  I left on the finger overnight - without wrapping.

 Same paste but wrapped with the plastic film.

The colour is evident but not as dark as expected. Even when left overnight. 
My verdict: Its so-so, good for practise but perhaps for special occasion, other types of powder may be a better choice. Expected it to be dark brownish red but the colour did not turn out to be so. Nevertheless, the colour is quite long lasting.

Palm & wristbands

I particularly like this design. Reminds me of a wide arm cuff.

A Simple strand on the palm.

Tribal Palm

Simple palm design. Infused tribal lines and dots

Nails love

Had my nails done last week by my colleague. Gosh I love it. Thanks Jeannie.

Initially I was quite sceptical about the pastel green but the combination turns out to be striking. The contrasting black and white lines reminds me of African designs and wooly jumpers. 

Ohhh, by the way, I signed up for a nail art class. I can't wait to attend! I'm so excited.

Floral henna designs with traditional motifs

Had quite a bit of paste remaining - trying out and to get in shape. Tried to use various motifs in one design, inverse coloured boxes, pasley leaves, little teardrops and dots. Parts of the initiatives to get my traditional indian designs up. This is still more arabic like anyway...

Simple pasley leaves and shaded flowers. Did you spot the peacock somewhere?

 

Dragon on the cloud

One of the few times there is no floral motif involved *big grin*. In case some of you don't get what is on - its a dragon on a stone. The swirly lines at the bottom are the clouds. Oh well, it can also be described as waves in the sea. Always wanted a dragon - armed with henna paste and some memory of dragons at the back of my head. I wanted a strong poise so the image depict the dragon on top of the rocks above the clouds.

Rose Garters

Been looking forward to draw something like this.

Rose garters. A single rose as the core with leaves as the 'garter' belt.

One of more to come. 

Tribal designs?

When I visited my parent's hometown, I met up with an uncle and a cousin of mine and of course, I told them of my current venture. My uncle is a tattoo fan so he asked me to get something tribal like with an arabic influence yet not feminine. 

Behold. The outcome. I don't know what was running through my mind then. Now it seems a little odd. Haha. Total randomness. Nevertheless, something out of the ordinary to share with all of you.

This is a special request from my cousin. I'm trying to work out different designs and patterns everytime there is a request. At least I do my best to cook out something different from my earlier works.

More scribbles and doodles - those that I missed out

One of my all time favourites. A fusion of a little Indian and Arabic influence maybe?

Some of the common designs I always come up with. A little Arabic flair - my personal preference.

 

Here, I was trying out some traditional Indian design. I totally love them but I still need lots of practise to grasp the concept. It's not that hard, but the fact is, using repetitive motifs actually needs a lot of mind work and attention to details. Gosh, I really admire those artists out there - I seen some really amazing works! Never mind, keep up the good work, I'll get there one day *consoling myself* 

Here is another piece. Halfway done and I was distracted. Had other chores coming in. I quite like this piece, if only I completed the whole piece then... hmmmph. Should come up with more peacocks designs. Maybe another phoenix...

A simple one to 'remind' myself how to draw after a six month break?

Some doodles and scribbles - simple designs

After months of procrastination, finally here are some of the photos of my previous works. I will be posting them up on batches. Too many. It's time to suffer to consequences of my laziness. Here are some of the simple designs. I hope I did not accidentally repost some old works. I got them mixed up in the same folder. *silly me*

Here's different design for each finger.

I love my bangle. Practising cross over lines. It gets quite addictive. At least it is to me...