I will be conducting a workshop with Paul Wang for the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium in Barcelona from 11-13 July. Hope to see you there!

A day after by-election

Sunday lunch at Gek Poh before heading to Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln to glaze my pots ready for wood firing. People were reading the news on the Punggol East By-election held on Saturday, 26 Jan.

Bak Kut Teh dinner

A sketch of my 'younger' hubby for his birthday dinner of his choice - Bak Kut Teh dinner on 24 Jan.
Bak Kut Teh means "pork meat bone tea", it can be either herbal or peppery broth with meaty pork ribs simmered in spices. It is best eaten with very strong Chinese tea with an aim to dissolve the oil or fat in the meat.

First sketchwalk in 2013

 Sketch by Favian

Hi everyone,

The first sketchwalk of the year will be along Portsdown Rd (Wessex Estate area). We will meet 930AM, 26 JAN, Saturday, at Fusionopolis' Ya Kun cafe. You may take the circle line and drop off at One North Station, which is below Fusionopolis itself. Take the escalator up to the first floor and you will see Ya Kun cafe. 

Have your kaya toast breakfast there earlier, if you like. At 9.30 sharp, we will start moving off along Portsdown Road (see map). You may stop to draw anything that catches your interest along the way. But keep moving up the road, pacing yourself, until you reach Colbar, a famous eatery. There will be signs that will point to the eatery when you near it. There is a cluster of cafes there. Feel free to take any detours you like along the way. But at 12.30pm, please be present at Colbar for our "show and tell" gathering and possible lunch there.

If you are late, just head up Portsdown Road and you will find us along the way. It a long walk so travel light. But it's a nice walk. See you there!

changi airport dinner

The day we sent our domestic helper back to Philippines to attend to her dad's funeral, we had dinner at the airport staff canteen. We were spoiled for choices.

a sketch at work

With the release of "O" level results, it is time for us to recruit new students. A sketch done during Joint Admission Exercise when students submit their application for a place in the Polytechnic.

Taiwan Sketching Trip

On 29 Dec 2012, Ch'ng Kiah Khien from Penang, Malaysia was conducting a workshop at Taiwan University for Urban Sketchers Taiwan. I just detoured my trip to Taipei for that weekend to join in the afternoon sketching fun after their workshop proper. This picture was taken immediately after the workshop and just before the sketching session.

flying home

busy street junction

This is the only big format I did at this Hong Kong trip. It was also done as double spread in my travel sketchbook. It is the very very busy Tung Choi Street in Mongkok, Hong Kong. I was trying to capture the light too. Although it felt like 17 or 18 deg C, the sunlight was very strong. I almost lost concentration while doing this, I was too distracted by the noise, crowd and hustle and bustle.

a new year sketch

This was done on new year 2013 in Hong Kong.

Time Square, Hong Kong

Before meeting up my son, we went to Time Square and chill, it was crowded. We could not find any seat in the cafe, I was so tired walking around. Did not like the crowd and the noise. Finally found a seat at a cafe, talked to the two young ladies at the same table and they were from Singapore too! What a small world. I did this sketch after the two ladies left.

a sketch in the air

Towards the end of 2012, my husband and I flew from Taipei to Hong Kong to visit my son's family. From Taipei to Hong Kong was about an hour so I did a very quick small sketch in the air.

At Taiwan University - 草地的故事

From Susan Chang, also a sketcher from Taipei, about this sketch when I posted it on Facebook:

這片草地是近兩年才有的，因拆掉兩棟和農業陳列館成ㄇ型、開口向椰林大道的大建築，未來不一定會常如此，欣賞此美景的要快去畫。此"人類學博物館"原來是舊圖書館(即現在校史館)封閉的側門，如今整修再利用，加上眼前開闊，在Tia Boon Sim 筆下，顯現前所未有的美麗，老建築應很高興。我以前只能在門前近距離側畫，很擠呢!

又:據說拆掉兩棟建築後會空成如此草地，是計畫要蓋的文學院大樓爭議中，有另外的聲音反對兩邊都是老建築的椰林大道，校門口一進來就見龐然大物新建築。我好像在說"草地的故事"。

Day 4 in Taipei

Day 4 at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall before meeting the gang at Taiwan University. The compound is so big, the CKS Memorial Hall was under renovation with scaffolding at certain area but I exercised my artistic license to ignore it. Also there was a big make-shift red tent with booths selling local stuff and also Taiwan flag were flanking along the pavement and these were in the sketch.

black and white sketch

While waiting for Kwin, a sketcher from Thailand, we continued to sketch at Ximending and i decided to do a black and white piece in my sketchbook. really felt very free and loose and lots of fun too. Two Taiwanese passersby were so shocked when they watched my using the dirty tissue which I used to clean the brushes to have a dab here and a blob there on the sketchbook to create the darker tones that you see here.

Kwin finally joined us at Taipei in the late afternoon, What a gathering for sketchers from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia! Totally unplanned! It just happened!

Ximending 西門町

I did two loose watercolour pieces at Ximending and this is what you see when I put two of them side by side.

What a gathering at Ximending. The name of Ximending came from the period of Japanese colonization. At that time most local residents live within Taipei City. Ximending is the center for recreation. In 1896, the first theater "Tokyo Stand" was set up. In 1922, the place was officially called Ximending. Ximending is really a happening place. So glad to meet all the sketchers. Even Kwin from Bangkok joined us in the afternoon. Asian sketchers united!

Day 3 in Taipei

Day 3 in Taipei - my 1st sketch. We met other Taipei sketchers at the Red Theatre at Ximending. The Red Theatre was built by the Japanese as their entertainment centre when Taiwan was under Japanese's control. Now it is the incubation design centre for the young entrepreneurs. I bought a sliver ring from a young local designer.

Warming up piece. So many people watched over my shoulder and I really felt overwhelmed. Also I had to move a few times when the signage contractor came and did some welding job to put up a very big signboard just over the roof where I was sitting. A tiny spray of welding sparks also dropped towards me. It probably burnt a tiny strand of my hair. HA!

Day 2 at Jiufen, Taipei

We arrived in Taipei on 26 Dec 2012 and we visited the popular Shilin night market to eat to our heart's content. The place was so crowded and the food place was smelly but I did like it, it is the smell of Taiwan!

Day 2 in Taipei, we traveled to a famous small town called Jiufen on the eastern side of the island. We took the public bus it was very comfortable until the bus reached the railway train station and picked up all the tourists heading for Jiufen. I was looking for a restroom and found this cafe overlooking the sea. Had a cup of aromatic coffee and did a sketch. I remember I was very pleased with the piece when I completed it on location. Sketching really lifted my spirit. Yay!

A second sketch was done at the teahouse which was the movie set for the famous local film that gave Jiufen the fame. We had our lunch here and the owner repeatedly told visitors about the stories of the place and his 100-year old timber furniture.

The weather was gorgeous. We bought two bags and a few tees made of Jeans designed by the shop owner, a fashion designer. He had two shops called Cool Jeans opposite each other.

Preparation for another trip

My recent trip was a cross over trip from 2012 to 2013 in Hong Kong. First stop of the trip was Taipei when I gate crashed Ch'ng Kiah Khien's sketching workshop held on 29 Dec 2012 at the famed Taiwan University. Ch'ng is from Penang and very well known for his impressive black and white sketches using just tree branches and twigs and Chinese ink.

Instead of doing the same thing the last trip I was in Hong Kong, I brought this sketchbook made by Ketta Linhares who put all her handmade sketchbook on this link. The sticker I bought in Taipei was matching the colour of the cover.

This time we traveled on Cathay Pacific. The gate at Changi Airport is right at the end of the terminal, this is what I saw on this sketch, the cargo planes.