Verlocal Diaries: Lydia Syiariel
Each week, “Verlocal Diaries” records the Verlocal team’s adventures to various classes conducted by our hosts. From the narration of our hosts’ stories to the thoughts of our fellow participants, we piece together everything we have experienced to create a long lasting memory in the form of a diary entry — that is both personal and shareable.
Dear Diary,
Art has never been my cup of tea. I do have an avid interest in it but knowing that I do not have a flair for it, I usually avoid going for art classes to improve myself as I find it not to be worth the money. Hence, when I went to Lydia’s humble home for a watercolour and brush pen lettering session, I had not much expectations on what I would be able to achieve.
Right from the moment I entered Lydia’s home, I could tell how passionate she was about her craft. She had her handmade pieces decorating the corners of her home, giving off an aesthetic that is truly hers.
Lydia started off by teaching us the basics of brush pen lettering. While it was definitely tricky at least for me, I found myself wanting to practice over and over again to perfect my technique. But as Lydia said, one needs at least 10 hours of practice before they can truly master the art of brush pen lettering.
Moving on, we started our attempt on watercolour. Like with the brush pen lettering session, Lydia went through the basics of watercolour with us and the techniques we should posses. She demonstrated these by painting leaves. If we put too much force on our brush, the shape of the leaf would become more of an oval. Hence, the best technique to press the brush for a little and then lift it such that only the tip of the brush is touching the paper.
Lydia patiently went through these methods with us and checked each of our works to make sure that we had understood the technique. She was always happy to help whenever I made a mistake and took her time to show me how to do it the right way.
And by the end of the lesson, while I still have a long way to go to master watercolour and brush pen lettering skills, I was thrilled that I managed to create a piece that was truly my own!
I had so much fun during the session and learnt so much from Lydia. She has definitely sparked my interest in watercolour and I’m really motivated to continue what I had learnt. My fellow participants are even looking to purchasing the exact same materials that Lydia owns! For someone as myself who has no artistic background, the watercolour session was certainly therapeutic and intriguing. So if you’re like me, take the first step into your watercolour journey with Lydia!
Sign up for her classes right away: https://sg.verlocal.com/vl/lydiasyiariel
