Who doesn’t love a notebook / sketchbook! So you can imagine how happy I am with my very own cover from @mosseryco !
Yes it’s the lovely kaki lima!
Part of the collaborative initiative for the coming @klillustrationfair and are available on the Mossery Website from March 31st - April 13th.
If you haven’t seen Dunk & Egg, well what are you waiting for! An earnest bumbling giant of a knight and his much more astute squire.
Hard not to get inspired by these two wonderfully fleshed out characters from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!
Yes it’s the Chinese New Year - or Lunar New Year 🧧! Just the initial beat of the drums is enough to signal the coming of a lion; and I was lucky enough to catch one just before the new year.
#chinesenewyear #lunarnewyear #barongsai #liondance #liondancer
Be my Valentine! 💘
Yes it’s the day of chocolates and roses - but nothing gets to Basil faster than coffee in the morning. And that’s just what he gets from his own special Valentine.
Send some love to everyone near and dear to you today.
#valentine #valentinesday
Apparently many people don’t know Malacca is famous for pork satay!
It’s the new year - and our schools are about to begin tomorrow. Yes it’s back to school time! Despite my hours of boredom during lessons, Sage is all too ready to head back to school to be with her friends.
And wonders if her friend wants to come along.
#malaysianschool
A Happy Christmas to all.
Early morning over here but it’s time to unwrap the presents under the tree 🌲! And then snuggle in with some hot coffee to watch holiday movies.
#loveactually #loveactuallymovie #merrychristmas #christmasmovie #christmasillustration
It’s the end of the year, a time for Christmas parties. Not to the delight of Basil as he’s tagged for an entire slew of holiday parties and soirées.
Getting very much into the holiday spirit myself as I’m busy setting out the Christmas gifts under the tree.
Always one of the loveliest times of the year and Basil clearly thinks so too! Despite being overloaded with gifts for the season.
Of course some of the gifts are beautifully wrapped from their own emporium the Straits Colonial Spice Co.
started your Christmas shopping yet?
Was at the @georgetownlitfest last weekend and had a blast! Usually do a quick roundup of each market I head over to - a simple gauge of what’s happening!
#zineshop #artisanmarket #zines #malaysiaartist #malaysianart #penangisland #georgetown #penang #zine #illustratedbooks
The lights are up! We should be open tomorrow for @georgetownlitfest in the UAB Building on the 28-30th of November. The George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) a literary festival, held annually in Penang.
#penangisland #georgetown #penang #georgetownlitfest #georgetownliteraryfestival #gtlf2025
Whether you know them as wooden clogs, terompah or kah kiak, these shoemakers used to be the go-to for reasonably hardy, yet personalised footwear.
#woodenclogs #shoes #terompah #木屐 #clogmaker #shoemaker #clogstyle #clogs #shoeslover #malaysianshoes
Inktober D31 Award
Wanted to end with something sweet - and there’s no sweeter than the tale of Kasa Jizō (笠地蔵) - a Japanese folk tale about an old couple whose generosity is rewarded by the gods.
Or their representatives in the form of Jizo statues.
#Inktober2025
Inktober D30 Vacant
One of my favourite little stories is that of the Snail Bride - gender bent here as a groom of course. A folktale about a poor man who breaks taboo and marries a caretaker who comes out of a snail shell!🐚
#inktober
Inktober D29 Lesson
Even the music itself would already bring to mind these infamous Chinese lovers - Liang Shanbo (梁山伯) and Zhu Yingtai (祝英臺).
#Inktober2025
Inktober D28 Skeletal
Can’t possibly get more skeletal than the infamous White Bone Demon or 白骨精! One of the main antagonists from the Chinese fable Journey to the West, she’s a powerful shape shifting demon whose true form is a skeleton.
#inktober2025 #inktoberskeletal
Inktober D27 Onion
Time to peel the onions 🧅!
Or membawang time as we know it here. The west might call it will the tea but over here the time to gossip has to be over onions and garlic. 🧄
#inktober #inktober2025onion #drawtober #artchallenges #artchallenge #inktober2025
Inktober D26 Puzzling
Rose is finding it almost impossible to guess who’s Bibik Bawang, the purveyor of salacious news in the dailies. Basil is just wondering if she’s going to play detective at every society soirée they attend.
#inktober2025 #inktober
Inktober D25 Inferno
With the movies out, it’s nigh impossible not to know who’s Nezha these days. Nezha is a deity in Chinese mythology , revered as a god of protection, courage, and loyalty, and as a patron saint of children and youth.
#inktober #Inktober2025
Inktober D24 Rowdy
Jebat is in the house!
Doubt I could think of anyone more rowdy in our legends than Hang Jebat. Who according to legend took a palace hostage to avenge his friend who was wrongfully punished by the Sultan.
#hangjebat #southeastasia #Inktober2025
Inktober D23 Firefly
Back in school I read the tale of how the firefly came about from an old Filipino legend. Alitaptap. A heartless princess with a bright shining star on the forehead who later finds herself as broken as the hearts she had left behind.
Inktober D22 Button
Which blouse doesn’t have buttons!
Did you all know the kebaya tops we know don’t actually come with buttons? They actually come with fasteners or brooches that are known as kerosangs / kerongsangs here.
#Inktober2025 #Inktober
Thank you so much! Hope you like em.
Inktober D20 Rivals
From Snow White and Rose Red to Betty and Veronica, we have always had friends and rivals. Over here we have Bawang Merah Bawang Putih, sisters who are in opposition to each other.
#bawangmerahbawangputih #Inktober2025
Inktober D19 Arctic
In our tropical nation with the endless summer days, chilled delights were a lovely respite.
And yes we had ice even way back in the days before refrigeration. Before that blocks of natural ice was cut out from frozen lakes and rivers and shipped in.
Inktober D18 Deal
We talk about superhero origin stories and here’s one from this region as Badang makes a deal with the djinn who has been stealing from his fishing nets. A deal that grants him superpowers far more than a common man.
#Inktober2025 #inktober
Inktober D17 Ornate
Couldn’t get more ornate than this spectacularly dressed Minangkabau lady with her textured songket attire along with her golden headdress! Not forgetting the armbands beautifully hammered and decorated called galang gadang.
#inktober #inktober2025ornate #inktober2025
Inktober D15 Blunder
Is it a blunder? Ill fortune perhaps or something else.
This comes from an old Chinese story about an old man who loses his horse. Though it all turned out for the best in the end. Coming from the idiom 塞翁失馬，焉知非福.
#Inktober2025 #Inktober
Inktober D15 Ragged
If i could have a favourite Chinese deity, this raggedy looking fellow would rank right up there. Zhong Kui #鍾馗 is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings.
#inktober2025 #inktober2025ragged
Inktober D14 Trunk
Writing out the migration story of the kopitiam fellow as he makes his way down south to Nanyang. Trunk and all. As he lands at the ports of South East Asia. Obviously trunk is the prompt for today!
#inktober2025 #inktobertrunk
#inktoberday14 #inktober2025trunk