Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Shelter for Three

Oliver the giraffe held the umbrella high while Toby clung tight to its handle and Lucy walked close beside them, the three making their way home through the rain-soaked woods. Step by step, the storm couldn't touch them, not while they stayed together.

Ink and watercolour illustration.

Shop This Print

Pages of Italy — Episode 3: Italian Cuisine — A Story of Regions

Buongiorno! Episode 3 of my Pages of Italy is now live! Pull up a chair. Pour something Italian. Turn the page. Pages of Italy is a reading podcast for anyone who loves Italy — or who has always wanted to. Each episode is a slow, warm journey through Italian history, cuisine, architecture, and culture, hosted by Italian landscape watercolour painter, former columnist, and writer-illustrator Denise Wong. In this third episode, we sit down at the Italian table and discover there is no such thing as "Italian food" — only Venetian, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Tuscan, a thousand regional kitchens sharing a language but not a plate. We trace the surprising Arab roots of dried pasta and Sicilian pastry, the late and reluctant arrival of the tomato, and journey from the butter and risotto of the north to the olive oil and dried pasta of the south — before asking what the slow, unhurried ritual of the Italian meal reveals about how Italy moves through time itself.

The Puffin Collection Watercolour Art Prints

The Puffin Collection

Five watercolour studies of Atlantic Puffins — now available as fine art giclée prints, capturing their colourful beaks, quiet character, and coastal habitat.

Atlantic Puffin

Shop The Print

Portrait of a Puffin

Shop The Print

Puffin with Sand Eels

Shop The Print

Two Puffins

Shop The Print

Two Puffins

Shop The Print

Each giclée print is produced on high-quality 189 g/m² paper sourced from Japan, preserving the fine detail and colour of the original watercolour.

The Lake Como Collection Watercolour Art Prints

The Lake Como Collection

Four watercolour views of Lake Como, Italy — now available as fine art giclée prints, hand-selected for their soft, sun-warmed palette and quiet lakeside charm.

Lake Como Art Print

Shop The Print

Lake Como Art Print

Shop The Print

Villa Balbianello, Lake Como Art Print

Shop The Print

Nesso, Lake Como Italy

Shop The Print

Each giclée print is produced on high-quality 189 g/m² paper sourced from Japan, preserving the fine detail and colour of the original watercolour.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Medieval Italian Hilltop Castle Beneath a Full Moon, Watercolour Painting (Completed)

Buongiorno! The 31cm x 16.5cm watercolour painting is done! This painting will be available to purchase soon in my Etsy shop DeniseWongArts.

I have took videos of the painting process. I'll do my best to share the video in my Youtube channel, and then post the video here.

The Latest Visitors in my Garden: Palm Civet (Toddy Cat!), Squirrel and a Frog

Any idea what animal is this? Ok, by now since the names of the animals already stated on my post's title, it is easier to know that this creature is a Palm Civet or a Toddy cat!

It showed up on the roof of my house about two days ago. At first, I thought a large cat had showed up, but no (and yes; it does look like a large cat). I wasn't aware it has been living inside the roof of my house (with baby toddy cats!) as I heard the sound of baby animals crying whenever this large cat showed up.

Can you spot the cat? Yes, it is wearing sunglasses! Nope. Alright, the cat is on the left, and was about to cross to the tree branch to reach the fruits (small jackfruit/chempedak, a fruit tree planted by my late father) which has strong sweet smell. But when it saw me it immediately walked back to where it came from, most likely the entrance to the "inner sanctuary" of the roof where it has a family there.

Can you spot the cat? At this moment of time, Toddy the cat showed up again after disappeared for a few seconds; it climbed onto the fruit tree and was very close to the fruits by now. But it stopped, and watched me, and studied me from the top! And after a few seconds, it walked back to the roof again.

It is not a small Toddy cat. It is pretty large with rather long tail. A large wild cat indeed!

There it was studying me from top, again. It has cute face.

It was looking at the floor many times, I wonder why.

A large Toddy cat. Beautiful creature.

What if I only saw the back of it? Will this frightened me? Because from this view, it looks like a strange wild animal. A wild monkey? Nope, that is Toddy the large cat.

This is another wildlife encounter! It is a squirrel! Here in my garden, there are, if not mistaken, two types of squirrels that live here. This type is fatter and has a white line across both sides of its body. All the squirrels here are very cheeky, playful and energetic. In this photo (a screenshot from one of the videos I took of it), it is feeding on the small jackfruit.

There, maybe it is the same squirrel, on the same day. It was watching me and was approaching me.

It was getting very close to me!

Very curious, cheeky and energetic squirrel.

And this frog. It had a the most pleasant swim in a big water container in my garden about 8days ago. And since I needed to throw away the rain water from the container, I had to scoop it out and move it to another "pond". Here the frog seems very happy and contented with whatever Providence has prepare for it, or it has complete confidence in me that it is in good hands, hence it was very relaxed and steady.

I will share the videos of Toddy the cat, the squirrel and the frog soon in my Youtube channel.

Friday, July 24, 2026

Burano Canal, Venetian Lagoon - Watercolour Painting

Buongiorno! I am delighted to share my latest Venice watercolour painting (16.5cm x 31cm) - A sun-drenched canal in Burano, lined with colourful houses and moored boats, arched by a small stone bridge and shaded by an overhanging tree. This painting will be completed this week and will be available to purchase in my Etsy shop DeniseWongArts. It is painted on 300gsm professional watercolour paper.

Medieval Italian Hilltop Castle Beneath a Full Moon, Watercolour Painting

A 31cm x 16.5cm watercolour painting that I started working on a few days ago — a medieval Italian hilltop castle stands on a rocky cliff beneath a luminous full moon, set against a deep blue dusk sky. This painting will be completed this week, and it will be available to purchase in my Etsy shop, DeniseWongArts. I do worldwide shipping to selected countries via DHL International Express, with delivery taking around 3 days only.

Life in Venice: A Venetian Cat, a Gondola, and a Restaurant at Venice Canal, Watercolour Painting

I have been working on little watercolour paintings of Venice, this is one of them! For the last 2-3 months, I have been looking at and studying hundreds of images of Venice. This painting is painted from my imagination and feelings — the Venetian cat, the gondola, and the restaurant at the Venice canal. If you'd like to purchase this original painting, it will be available in my Etsy shop today. It is painted on lovely 300gsm professional watercolour paper.