Jon Waystan artwork

One of the most common questions newbie artists ask is "how do I find my own art style?"

The usual advice comes in two flavours. The first says just draw a lot. Put in the mileage, fill the sketchbooks, and eventually a style will land on you. The second says do master studies. Copy the artists you admire, mix and match what you take from each of them, until you arrive at something you are comfortable with. Both of these work, and I am not here to argue against them. But notice that both of them are about the hand.

After I finished my master's degree, I found another way in, and it barely touches the hand at all. That way is studying.

By studying I don't mean only studying the final outcome of art, the finished picture and how it was rendered. I mean going further back, into the things sitting behind the picture. Critical theory. Art history. Culture, folklore, craft traditions, the material a thing was made from and why that material was available in the first place. Once you know why a movement happened and not just what it looked like, you stop seeing a style as a look you can borrow. You start seeing it as an answer somebody gave to a problem they had.

When you take in knowledge from these areas, you can condense it into the creation. Narrative starts to enter the work on its own, without you forcing a "concept" onto it afterwards. One stroke from a master is not simply a drawing on paper. It is a condensation of his training, his teacher's training, the tools he had access to, the paper he could afford, and everything he had lived through by the time the brush touched the surface. That is why copying the stroke never quite gives you the stroke.

Looked at this way, style is less a look and more a set of decisions you keep making. What you choose to leave out. Which stories you keep returning to. Which shapes you trust and which ones you find dishonest. Those decisions have to come from somewhere. If nothing has gone in, there is not much to decide with, and the drawing defaults to whatever you saw on your feed that week.

These experiences and knowledge will flavour your creation and add depth to your drawings. It becomes even more valuable now that GenAI is outpacing us on generative skill. The one thing GenAI cannot do is relate history, lived experience, culture and craft into a single creation and mean it. It can produce the surface of a style convincingly, sometimes better than we can, but it has no reason for choosing that style. It was never in the room where the choice mattered. This, I must say, is where human creativity still wins.

So the next time you hit an artblock, why not step away from the desk and read some works instead. Read about a movement, a craft, a place you come from. Talk to an old craftsman if you can find one. It will definitely add some bonus to your creation, and usually the block was never in your hand to begin with.

13 years apart 🤣

18/05/2026 Malaysia political turbulence
From the Menteri Besar crisis in Negeri Sembilan to UMNO's push to go solo in the upcoming Johor state elections, the foundation of the unity government is shaking. Yesterday's shockwaves saw Rafizi and Nik Nazmi officially jumping ship to lead a new party, leaving PKR behind. Now, even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is sounding the war drums at the Pakatan Harapan congress, warning that a snap General Election could be imminent. The political turbulence has officially started. What lies ahead for this fracturing coalition?
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This coalition was born of bold, yet chaotic beginnings. Looking at the cards, the narrative is clear:

The Fool (Reversed): Speaks of past missteps, hasty alliances of convenience, and a profound loss of direction.

The Knight of Wands (Upright): Charges forward with fiery ambition. However, this energy burns fast and recklessly, prioritizing swift action over long-term stability.

The Hermit (Reversed): Serves as a stark warning that the future lacks introspection. Without taking the time for deep reflection, internal divisions will only deepen, and the search for fundamental truths will be abandoned.

This government faces a critical test: pause to seek wisdom, or risk scattering like sparks from a dying flame.

The turbulence will persist unless leadership turns inward—away from ego politics and back toward a cohesive, shared vision. The path ahead demands profound humility, not reactive haste.
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But does time even permit the coalition to step back and ponder its trajectory? The sounds of dissatisfaction—both from within their own ranks and from the people—are growing deafeningly loud.

Interestingly, this echoes a reading I did a year ago regarding PKR's fate. Unfortunately, the party failed to introspect on their path, a misstep that ultimately led to the dramatic departure of Rafizi and Nik Nazmi. As it stands, the coalition is in its most vulnerable state. PKR will struggle to hold the center for much longer. Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) remains ever-hungry for power, and UMNO is quietly seizing the chance to recover under the protective umbrella of PH.

The political chessboard is moving fast. Brace yourselves.

Kamen Rider Eins

2025 差不多迎來尾聲，又是時候看看《推背圖》怎麽說。
2025年乙巳蛇年對應推背图第四十二象
乙巳 艮下离上 旅
谶曰
美人自西来,朝中日渐安。
长弓在地,危而不危

颂曰：
西方女子琵琶仙,皎皎衣裳色更鲜。
此时混迹居朝市,闹乱君臣百万般。

很多人都説是西方國家會出一個强勢的女性領導人，然後會撼動整個世界。
目前最對應的是日本新任首相-高市早苗。西方也不見得一定要在地球的西邊。
高市早苗出生於奈良，又上了神戶大學，都是相對於東京的西方。
一上任便以「台灣有事」撼動整個台海局勢。
更別說後來的各種軍事演習，也確實應驗著「长弓在地,危而不危」

2026年又怎麽説呢？
丙午 巽下离上 鼎
谶曰：
君非君,臣非臣。
始艰危,终克定。

颂曰：
黑兔走入青龙穴, 欲尽不尽不可说。
惟有外边根树上, 三十年中子孙结。

上一個丙午年是1966年, 中國文化大革命開始，同時印尼-馬來西亞對抗結束。
推背圖畫的是一個官員想訓斥一個平民，而平民舉手反駁。
很多人解釋是台灣中國的關係（大國欺負小國？），但也可能是現行任何一場戰役，俄烏、以巴或是最近的泰柬。也有說法是上一象的女子琵琶仙造成了這一象的制度混亂和崩潰。

黑兔走入青龙穴，黑兔有說是兔年2023。2023兔年我能想到的是以巴戰爭和台灣總統大選（24年1月13舉行，但仍是兔年）。「欲尽不尽不可说」，是要結束嗎？好像也説不上來，反正是會有一個重大的轉折。

回看馬來西亞又是個怎樣的情形？「君非君,臣非臣」正中應驗了玻璃市這幾天發生的政治内鬥。雖然都是同屬PN陣營，但是PAS内部跳票，讓Bersatu直接喜獲一個MB。接種而至更是各種Bersatu領導辭職，不知道這種亂序接下來還會不會有。當然還有2026年即將届滿的馬六甲周政府，這絕對也是對PH的一個考驗。續納吉居家服刑被駁，1MDB被判刑，UMNO對於聯合政府發出不滿的聲音，會不會正所謂的「臣非臣」現象？甚至造成國會會提前解散?

後面「惟有外边根树上, 三十年中子孙结。」，我就不知道怎麽解了。有的説是66年的，造成30年后（其實是60年）后2026年的社會結構性動蕩? 也可以預言著，在這一切糾紛外會出一個平定一切的人，30年（或者2030年？）了結這個糾紛？

總結是接下來一年會是個政治動蕩之年，只是這個局勢究竟會發生在一個國家的内部亦或是全球範圍，這就只能再看看了。機會應該就在這個「外边根树上」....

#唬爛