A very long sketch

Happy Holidays!

I am determined to sketch from Marina Bay Sands to complete another Etchr Accordion Sketchbook which started with Amerigo Vespucci on 26 Oct 2024 for the first 6 pages of the sketchbook. This sketch was completed on 20 Dec 2024 over 9 pages with the last page filled with stickers etc.

The video on the entire sketchbook is here https://www.facebook.com/reel/964061462235300

Etchr Accodion Sketchbook
Size: 1170 x 210mm

Sketching on Vacation

I did a few more sketches on the cruise at Solarium and at meal times. Also one at Phuket during mango dessert time at a big local shopping centre Jungceylon near Patong Beach.

Sketch on Deck again

Sketch 2 - This is a sketch facing the other direction.

I cannot remember which evening I sketched this when you were on a cruise. Speed sketching on deck 15 or 16 next to the Sky Bar.

Etchr Lab Square Sketchbook
Size 420 x 210mm

A sketch on the Cruise

Sketch 1 - Beautiful sunrise on the deck.

I woke up early in the morning to sketch on Deck 15 of Anthem of the Seas during our family vacation trip when family members were still sleeping. From this angle, we could see the North Star that elevated the guests high above the ship for unrivaled 360-degree view. The pavilion on the right is the DJ station opposite the big screen above the pools.

Brought the new Etchr square format sktechbook. Paper had the 'fibrous' feel with ink and washes as it's 100% cotton.

Size: 420 x 210mm

Family vacation on a cruise

Thian Hock Keng Temple

Once again, I did two A4 size sketches on the cartridge papers with splashes left over for my senior classes. The end result is quite interesting as I worked around the splashes of red and green. I often told people it is a moment of deliberation working on papers with random splashes. Don't hesitate, just do it.

I was sketching the pagoda within the temple compond. The pagoda was called "崇文阁“; the first Chinese private school built in 1849. The building next to it used to be a school set up by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan in 1913. You can read more about the rich heritage and culture in Chinese by Kua Bak Lim (柯木林); a respectable scholar. https://kuabaklim.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-post_2125.html

Extract from the temple's website:
"Thian Hock Keng was built in 1840 along Telok Ayer Street, a bustling meeting point among min (闽) businessmen and an important congregation point for Hokkiens. Upon the completion of Thian Hock Keng, southbound immigrants who had just landed or northbound immigrants heading back to China would always stop by the temple facing the waterfront to pray for calm waves and a safe journey.

The construction of Thian Hock Keng signified the transformation of an immigrant society to one that planted its roots. The temple, hailed to be the biggest building island-wide then, took many years of sweat and toil and heavy financial commitments to complete. It was also deemed to be the religious centre for the Chinese community at that time. Today, although Thian Hock Keng is primarily a min temple, its worshippers are not limited to min descendants. It has transcended dialect boundaries and worshippers are from all walks of life.

Thian Hock Keng is a rare temple that encompasses Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Ancestral Worship. In addition to its main deity, Goddess of the Seas, other deities include Goddess of Mercy and Confucius. Over the years, it has continued to attract devotees of different dialect groups and is especially crowded during birthday celebrations of deities."

Cartridge Papers Size: 297 x 210mm

You can find out more about the temple at their website https://thianhockkeng.com.sg/site/

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Old Watercolour Paper

I found some old watercolour papers with splashes and used it for this morning sketchwalk at Orchard Road. Added a bit of darker colours at home for the contrast.

Daler Rowney Watercolour Paper
Size: 420 x 297mm

YMCA

In my classes that I teach, there is a topic on colour washes and I prepared many cartridge papers splashed with colour washes for the participants. I used the left over 135 gram cartridge papers for the sketchwalk at YMCA. The colour washes are yellow and purple, red and green.

I was not sketching the YMCA building as I was sitting comfortably at the Social Kitchen on level 4 of the YMCA building overlooking the state-of-the-art School of the Arts (SOTA). My youngest son graduated from SOTA and went on to be an Architect. At that time of its inception, while all the elite schools such as Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls School, Convent of Holy Infant Jesus and St. Joseph Institution etc etc were moving out of central city area, government put the new SOTA back into the heart of the city. WOHA, the architect of SOTA designed the running track on the roof top and theatres, cafes etc were located on the lower floors opened to the public.

You can watch the video I made here

For the building history of YMCA Singapore, you can click this link.

Cartridge Paper 135 grams
Noodler's Lexington Grey ink over colour washes

Demo Pieces

You see two almost identical demo pieces side by side because I have two different classes in a week.

These are my demo pieces during the Oct/Nov lessons that I teach at Brahm Centre after my retirement from the higher institutions which I seldom or don't do demo at all. At higher institutions, younger students will engage in self discovery in their art journey after I give them the lecture or briefing at the start of each lesson. However, I realise for senior learners in my current classes, demo is necessary for them to grasp the skills in a structured way.

Cartridge Papers 135 grams
Gel pens, ink and watercolours

Senior Learners

This morning I officially completed another 2 classes of "Pen and Ink Drawing Penang" at Brahm Newton and Tampines for the seniors. I learnt so much from them as much as they picked up so many tips from me. My new class in Jan 2025 is full and new classes at intermediate level will be announced next year. Thanks for all the support!

Dempsey Hill

Breif history of Dempsey Hill in my earlier post at this link: https://tiastudio.blogspot.com/2023/04/final-result.html

Part of Dempsey Hill, or Tanglin Village as it was formerly known, was a nutmeg planatation and military headquarters to the quaint lifestyle, art and culinary enclave it is today in less than two centuries.

Who is Dempsey? The road from Holland Road leading to where Dempsey Hill is today was named after General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey (1896-1969). He was the commanding British 2nd Army involved in the 1944 D-Day landings. During 1945, Dempsey was the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA) and the General Officer Commanding the Malaya Command, which were both headquartered in Singapore. Several other roads around the Tanglin area were also named after British commanding officers too.

Baohong Organ Sketchbook
Size: 1020 x 170mm