van huynh | an illustration blog

“Walk in the Park” 

I had made a post awhile back about wanting to make more art in the new year no matter what. Well it looks like it’s going to be one tough year for art and it hasn’t even begun yet…

On December 26th, my hometown of Rowlett, TX got hit by an EF4 tornado. My parents house was completely torn apart. Saturday night was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever experienced. To assume that something awful might have happened to your own family just days after you had spent Christmas Eve with them is heartbreaking. For two hours I couldn’t get a hold of them on the phone. The cell towers had been blown down. A massive surge of rain was about to come towards North Dallas. My sister and I struggled to figure out whether it was even possible to get to my parents to see if they were okay but all reports said that traffic and debris on the road made it near impossible. Finally, to my relief, I got a call from my mom that my uncle in Garland was able to reach them and that they were safe but that the house was in shambles. Everything was gone.

The next day we went out to the house. It was pouring and freezing outside and due to road blockages we had to walk a block in the rain to get to the house. Bleak is an understatement. My neighborhood looked almost unrecognizable. Debris was everywhere. When I turned the corner to see my parents’ house, it made my heart sink.

Now I’m going to admit. I remember when I really wanted to move out of that house after college. I wanted nothing more than to get away and be more independent. I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend 5 years ago and basically didn’t look back. I just assumed that it would always be there. A time capsule of my childhood spent growing up there. Everything my parents owned in that house was pretty dated. My mom still kept all of my drawings and paintings I did in high school in the closet. 

To see that house the way it was made me feel both sad but also furious and angry. Why did this happen? It wasn’t fair. My parents came to this country as immigrants from a war torn Vietnam with nothing. They spent almost 40 years building a new life here. That house meant everything to them. It wasn't just the house our family grew up in. It was the house my parents built from so many years of hard work. I can’t tell you how proud my dad was of his little red brick house. It might not be big or extravagant but it was his. 

The backyard was their favorite part. They built a gazebo. They dug out a pond for fish. They planted all sorts of trees and a thriving herb garden. My friends loved seeing the backyard when they came over. You can tell they put a lot of love into it. Just this past October my sister had her wedding ceremony in that backyard. Everything looked so nice. For the first time in probably 10 years, my whole family had gathered in that house to celebrate together. It was a good memory... 

Here are pictures of the house. The day of that wedding and the day we saw it on that cold December day after the tornado.

That’s me in the last photo... In the backyard I had mentioned earlier. My parents did all of that landscaping themselves. They do everything themselves. It’s just the kind of people they are. The sad truth is, they cannot rebuild this by themselves... 

My friends started a fund site to accept donations for my family. I wouldn’t have even thought of it and I know my parents would feel weird asking for money. They rarely ask for anything, but I know they will need it. Please consider donating. Every little bit helps and would be deeply appreciated. Here is the website: 

https://www.gofundme.com/huynhtornadorelief

So as people gather to celebrate the end of 2015 and ushering in the new year with great anticipation, I’ll be wondering what 2016 will bring for my family. My mom said the tornado only took a minute to take the house down. It’s going to take a year to build it back up. I initially had a long list of personal resolutions I wanted to achieve for 2016. I wanted to do a lot of art and kickstart my illustration portfolio and already I’m not sure if I can even begin or if it really matters in the scope of things. Its easy to feel so disillusioned and overwhelmed right now. 

Hey Guys

I can’t believe its already December and I’ve barely made a dent in the assload of art I had planned to do this year. Part of it was laziness. Part of it was being burnt out by my job schedule. Part of it was not being inspired. But a huge part of it was probably some form of depression. Not gonna lie. This year was filled with times where I kinda sorta wanted to draw or create something, but then a huge wave of paralyzing sadness comes over me and I find myself doing the dishes or hugging my cats instead. I’ve dealt with this off and on for many years but it was particularly bad this year and I didn’t really draw anything substantial for weeks at a time... Probably months now that its the end of the year already. 

I call it depression but it could be a whole host of things that’s causing my lack of motivation in general. I’m also turning 30 next year and I’m really feeling the pressure to up my game. Over the Thanksgiving break we watched a couple old episodes of Bob Ross on youtube for shits and giggles. It reminded me of a time when I was a wide-eyed little kid who didn’t know how to paint but felt a sudden urge to paint because a white guy with an afro on PBS said that I could do it. And I did. Kind of. I used none of the tools and paints he suggested and everything that I painted was in purple tempura paint with crappy brushes I got from the Crayola watercolor set. It was all I had, but I drew all kinds of landscapes and trees and mountains and it was fun! I called it my purple phase. It was experimental and a lot of it was crap, but I made tons of drawings and I improved my drawing skills from there. So there is no real reason why a 30 year old seasoned artist with all the art tools I could ever really need at my disposal should have trouble making a huge body of work.

So here’s a little New Year’s resolution for myself... a freaking month in advance because that’s how hardcore I am about this right now. 

Art Resolutions for 2016 

1. MAKE ART AS MUCH AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Even if its for just 10 crappy minutes a day. Even if I hate everything I draw.

2. FILL UP A SKETCHBOOK WITH INSPIRATION. Get the hell off my computer/ipad/iphone/netflix/bed/couch/floor/cat and open a damn sketchbook and fill those damn pages with something... ANYTHING that still stirs the soul. Or whatever I have left of it. 

3. UPDATE ONLINE WITH MY PROGRESS. Let the internet know that I actually did a thing instead of reading tumblr for 5 hours. Even if its ugly as sin and makes my eyes burn. Make other people’s eyes burn too!

4. MAYBE TALK TO OTHER ARTISTS AND STUFF. *Crickets chirping* Yeah, I have no idea how to accomplish this. I am terrifically shy and live in a hermit-like bubble, but I think it would be encouraging to make contact with other working artists. 

5. NEVER FORGET ABOUT THE PURPLE PHASE. Being a dumb grown-up person doesn’t mean I should freak out over everything that goes wrong. 

6. WATCH MORE BOB ROSS JOY OF PAINTING VIDEOS.