"The modernity of yesterday is the tradition of today, and the modernity of today will be tradition tomorrow." -- Jose Andres Puerta

"I imagine the glorious past,

when our tradition was the modernity of the time,

when our antiquity was the novelty of the mind,

and when our nonchalance was the appreciation of the people." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: brush
Art Technique: watercolor
Topic: Hanbok (Korean traditional clothing)
Date Created: October 2015

Human generation is a chain of individuals and heritage. We learn from our ancestors, we exist because of our ancestors, and we find meanings in their life and death.

"Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child's eye - it is very beautiful." -- Kailash Satyarthi

"I originally decided not to include a quote for this post,

as I thought I wouldn't need one to elaborate my childhood memory.

I think it was just beautiful by itself." -- Jared Lim

"... but I ended up including one. I read the quote with the child's mind."

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Topic: scenery
Date Created: May 2010

How old was I when I drew this? It is a civic center right in front of the park near my house when I was in Korea. I don't know how accurate this is, but this is how I viewed the world five years ago.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." -- King David (Psalm, 18:2)

"If I don't believe in the one who created me and the one who saved me,

whom should I reply on?

Veritas is right in front of me. I see the truth in him." -- Jared Lim

"Gospel and salvation"

Material Used: paper, scissor
Art Technique: paper-cut
Topic: Jesus Christ
Date Created: December 2011

As a human, I stumble and face numerous challenges throughout my life. Overcoming obstacles are crucial, though it becomes much easier when I know that my Lord is holding me and helping me right there.

"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected." -- Paulo Coelho

"That quote was really beautiful and bizarre at the same time.

By the way, who is this handsome guy here!?!" -- Jared Lim

"It's not me. It's just a guy that I saw when I looked at the mirror." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil

Art Technique: chiaroscuro

Topic: myself

Date Created: September 2015

Gogh drew himself. Bernini also has self-portrait. Picasso reinterpreted his face into expressionistic viewpoint. Why don't I also draw myself in the mirror?

"We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts." -- William Hazlitt

"Renard! It's a piece of heaven down here!" -- Jared Lim

Material Used: brush
Art Technique: watercolor
Topic: nature
Date Created: July 2014

Nature is the place where I seek peace and rest. If there is a heaven, it will resemble the tranquility and amazement of the Earthen forest.

"Is the Mona Lisa an 'accurate' representation of the actual human model for the painting? Who knows? Who cares? It's a great piece of art. It moves us. It makes us wonder, makes us gape - finally makes us look inward at ourselves." -- Tim O'Brien

"Lisa sits there, silently, before all the meaningless disputes and pompous discourses.

When I gazed at her eyes, she knew who she was." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: black marker, Microsoft Word "Marker" effect Photoshop
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Topic: Mona Lisa
Date Created: February 2012

I'm the only one who deserves the power to define who I am.

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." -- Vincent Van Gogh

"Small cells form my multi-functional body.

Beautiful and breathtaking display of monitors is the works of small pixels.

Small dots express an art and an idea." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: ink pen
Art Technique: pointillism
Topic: small things
Date Created: July 2015

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: segmented
Topic: living things
Date Created: April 2012

I frequently encounter the concept of building blocks in every aspect of life. We no longer put emphasis on apparent phenomena; we focus on the fundamentals of process and attain a complete understanding from smaller components.

"Before speaking her name she had been nothing but a gesture. When I spoke her name, she came to me and became a flower." -- Kim Chunsu

"The meaning of existence blossomed like a flower when I desired it." -- Jared Lim

Material Used:brush, pastel color
Art Technique: watercolor, pastel
Topic: flower
Date Created: July 2015 // May 2012

Flowers generally stand for beauty and love, but I put more values into their nature. Their existence explains how and why we are created.

"Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." -- Steve Jobs

"I will design the world. I will design the future." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: chiaroscuro, 3-D art
Topic: Steve Jobs
Date Created: December 2011

"I miss you."

Material Used: rubber stamp, ink
Art Technique: rubber stamp carving
Topic: Steve Jobs
Date Created: December 2011

Occasionally I think about where we would be technologically without him.

"Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg until it is broken." -- M. F. K. Fisher

"That's why life and birth are so exciting.

My heart flutters when I see the endless possibilities in a newborn baby." -- Jared Lim

"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg." -- Samuel Butler

"That's so complicated process for a cell.

Were I an egg, I would rather go through mitosis." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil // brush
Art Technique: chiaroscuro // watercolor
Topic: life and birth... or chicken and egg
Date Created: June 2015 // October 2013

My mom just cracked two eggs from the refrigerator. I hope that was two chicks breaking their shells.

"Birds have wings; they're free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy." -- Roger Tory Peterson

"Why do you envy their flight if you can fly the sky without wings?" -- Jared Lim

Material Used: metal plate, chisel

Art Technique: metal scratch
Topic: Eagle
Date Created: October 2014

Material Used: metal plate, chisel

Art Technique: metal scratch
Topic: Eagle
Date Created: June 2015

We envy birds' wings, and birds envy our imagination.

"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened." -- Anatole France

"The true enlightenment comes when we realize that we are dependent on each other.

Not to mention animals." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil

Art Technique: croquis
Topic: living things
Date Created: June 2013

Material Used: metal plate, chisel

Art Technique: metal scratch
Topic: living things
Date Created: October 2014

Mahatma Gandhi pointed out that "the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." We find out our identity and personality in different forms of life, for they are not equal to us but resemble us a lot.

"For me an object is something living. This cigarette or this box of matches contains a secret life much more intense than that of certain human beings." -- Joan Miro

"All objects are alive indeed. Had they visual perception,

I would be under a perfect surveillance." -- Jared Lim

"Benign Big Brothers!"

Material Used: pencil, acrylic paint
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Topic: still-life
Date Created: January - May 2015

If we begin to put more meaning into inanimate objects, that means we just started to put more meaning into our own existence.

“I watched a bowl of fruit on the table remain motionless. Just another example of life imitating art.” -- Jarod Kintz

"Oscar Wilde was such a Romantic guy. I'm sure you enjoyed

the conversation between Vivian and Cyril a lot." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: brush
Art Technique: watercolor
Topic: still-life
Date Created: November - December 2014

The entire conversation between Cyril and Vivian is whether we value art or nature (reality) more. Life is beautiful, but it becomes more beautiful because we express them into an art. Once art imitates life, life starts to imitate art.

"Life is a lot like jazz... it's best when you improvise." -- George Gershwin

"I am a jazz musician who improvises the rhythm,

an artist who improvises the curves." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: iPad MyBrushes Pro App
Art Technique: Lettering
Topic: jazz, myself
Date Created: April 2015

It took one minute to draw this art. A perfect improvisation based on whim.
The art itself is based on my name: Jared Lim.
Start tracing the letters starting from the saxophone.

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet" -- Khalil Gibran

"Um... then should I throw this away?" -- Jared Lim

"Just Do It!" -- Nike

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: texture
Topic: shoes
Date Created: April 2015

It's worn out. I gotta change it soon.

"Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?" -- Frida Kahlo

"For a moment to prepare yourself before you fly" -- Jared Lim

"The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art." -- Leonardo da Vinci

"You mean architecture?" -- Jared Lim

"Then I suppose there are the blueprints!" -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Topic: human
Date Created: January 2015

Nothing exists without the base. How incredible it is that two feet can support our entire body! It is surely the most beautiful architecture found in the nature.

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"So my heart imagines my hand, and my hand will be an art." -- Jared Lim

Material Used: pencil
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Date Created: August 2014

Material Used: ink pen
Art Technique: chiaroscuro
Topic: human
Date Created: August 2012

Material Used: color paper, crayon
Art Technique: design
Topic: human
Date Created: December 2012

Understanding our body is intriguing. We say we know ourselves, but many times I think we are ignorant of who we are. Self-recognition starts from careful observation of one's body.