My phone rang and woke me up around 0:30. „you volunteered to host refugees, here is a mother with two kids and a cat. Cn you host?“ … „ok, when?“ … „now.“ 15 min later, they arrived with a volunteer. 🧵🧶 1/n

— SoyoungQPark (@DecisionPark) March 23, 2022

2/n I went down to welcome. We could communicate with google translate. The driver said he would like to help them carry up the luggage 🎒into the flat, the single bag they had was smaller than my laptop bag and the cat cage. I sensed he wanted to check inside.

— SoyoungQPark (@DecisionPark) March 23, 2022

3/n I showed him sleeping kids and id to ensure him. He smiled, gave me a phone number and left. The family have been on the road for 4 days. „How long can we stay?“ „let’s sleep and talk tomorrow“ a conversation in silence. The three and 15 y/o were nervous.

— SoyoungQPark (@DecisionPark) March 23, 2022

4/n I could not sleep. Now the war came home, I thought. Can we handle? The next morning, they woke up early and asked again „how long can we stay? I need health insurance for my son. He is sick. We need to be registered.” I sensed a mom in max. functioning mode.

— SoyoungQPark (@DecisionPark) March 23, 2022

5/n before my work started we rushed to get some urgent shopping to supply cat and kids. Then We gave her internet access and room to calm down after this journey. Once they realized being in security, they all slept, all day and all night.

— SoyoungQPark (@DecisionPark) March 23, 2022

How devastating it is for innocent families to flee their homes for an uncertain future because of one man’s greed.

In my own little way I’m helping a refugee family remotely by helping the dad with his work as he is now under my wing as they escaped to one of the markets I’m in charge of. I gave him all the leads I was working on and in the following days I will be introducing him to some of my sources.

We don’t know how long this war will last. I hope not long.

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So i tried the initial wash and the washing itself is challenging because the colors just stay in place. So no, gansai colors aren’t meant for washes. They should be for layering only.

This sketch is done on an A5 sketchbook and you could only imagine how small those kois are. It’s difficult coloring them without messing them up.

I’m just letting this completely dry and I’ll pencil over some grass and bushes and make an outline of the azaleas.

UPDATE

All I can say is, gansai colors are very hard to control.

I know now what this is best for: flowers.

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While I was drawing, Breaking Benjamin was playing and it was the song “I will Not Bow”. It was the song that strengthened my resolve to keep fighting everyday when my girls were on life support when they were born. I played it everyday while driving to the hospital for a month.

It’s now my anthem; I will keep fighting and I will survive this. I will no longer break. He will no longer break me.

Fall

Now the dark begins to rise
Save your breath, it’s far from over
Leave the lost and dead behind
Now’s your chance to run for cover

I don’t wanna change the world
I just wanna leave it colder
Light the fuse and burn it up
Take the path that leads to nowhere

All is lost again
But I’m not giving in

I will not bow
I will not break
I will shut the world away
I will not fall
I will not fade
I will take your breath away

Fall

Watch the end through dying eyes
Now the dark is taking over
Show me where forever dies
Take the fall and run to Heaven

All is lost again
But I’m not giving in

I will not bow
I will not break
I will shut the world away
I will not fall
I will not fade
I will take your breath away

And I’ll survive, paranoid
I have lost the will to change
And I’m not proud, cold-blooded fake
I will shut the world away

I will not bow
I will not break
I will shut the world away
I will not fall
I will not fade
I will take your breath away

And I’ll survive; paranoid
I have lost the will to change
And I’m not proud, cold-blooded fake
I will shut the world away

Fall