Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Palazzo Vecchio, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

Palazzo Vecchio - before going to Uffizi Gallery, Florence. With its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the open space, the plaza was full of people in the summer.

Symbol of Political Change

Three Barack Obama presidential campaign posters, by LA based street artist Shepard Fairey, became the iconic images in the US history when Obama won the election on Nov 4, 2008. More posters inspired by Fairey's style here but should it be encouraged? Taking reference from a photographer's work?

Spanish Steps, Rome

Rome, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

This quick sketch took me about 5 minutes as I suddenly found myself in a crowd when Rome had just won the football match that day. The street was begining to fill with people waving big and small flags plus sound from the car horns as I stood opposite and added very quick lines for the steps.

concert poster

The poster i did for a 1994 concert which my elder son was performing.

Andrew Wyeth (1917 - 2009)

American artist Andrew Wyeth aged 91, died on Friday, 16 Jan 2009. Read more about him inThe New York Times. Here is one of his famous paintings - Christina's World (1948)

people around me this week

Holiday is over, it is back to office and GCE 'O' level result was released on Monday. Here is a sketch on people around me this week for Joint Admission Exercise; a one-week event for the school leavers to have course adivsements and decide what to do in their next course of studies. Good Luck!

Pantheon, Rome

Pantheon, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

I remember this took me a little longer to draw as there was distraction from the conversations, tourists, movements around me at this manificient building. About 30 minutes. When I was to add the details to the cupola, it was about 4pm in the afternoon and the sun light was already moving upward so I had to make some 'adjustments'. This had resulted in a darker shades on top. Hmmmm, go ahead if you want to call it a mistake! HA!

Two Water Cities, China and Italy

In Aug 2006, I took a one-day trip to Zhou Zhuang from Shanghai where I was on an official trip. Zhou Zhuang is the Venice of China, one of the ancient water cities in Jiangsu Province. I sat on one of the many steps and sketched for about 20 minutes under the hot sun. The second drawing was done in Jun 2001 while I was crossing one of the many canals in Venice with my friends. It got to be real quick and it was done like in 5 minutes on a crowded narrow bridge. It was amazing how much a few rapid lines can depict a city and how different are these two sketches after a good interval of 5 years. In my view, the 'differentiation factors' are the locations, moods, type of drawing instruments, time durations and company! What do you think? Send your comments to urbanskechers

St. Mark's Basilica, Venice

Interior of St. Mark's Basilica. I sketched since we were not allowed to take picture. Got to be real quick since I did not want my friends to wait too long for me. Probably done in less than 5 minutes.

Venice from my travel sketchbooks

St. Mark's Square, Venice. I like this drawing a lot. It was done very quickly and I can still remember how I added the birds last in a few strokes!

I went to Venice with a small group of American classmates on a summer programme in 2001. It was such an unique 'back to college' experience for me. We stayed at a local camp site outside Venice and the journey to the city took us almost one hour by local bus. I was the only 'matured' Asian student then but I wanted to follow my younger friends so we stayed at this simple, far away camp site for less than US$10 per head and ate pizzas or hot dogs with water. I must be 20 years older than my American classmates but I probably did not look my age then to the Americans. When I told them my elder son was already 17, they all fell off their chairs....

Kampong Lumut, Malaysia

kampong, Malaysia, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

Abstract version of Kampong Lumut, Malaysia

Lumut, Malaysia

In July 2000, I brought a group of 12 IAD (Interior Architecture and Design) students to Lumut, Malaysia. I did a few drawings and two A3 size watercolour pieces of different expressions.

Pulau Ubin, the great escape

It was such a wonderful idea to spend a cool Saturday outside the cosmopolitan Singapore to sketch and take some cool pictures. Pulau Ubin is a small island only 10.19 sq km located in the north east of Singapore accessible by bumboats at S$2.50 (US$2) per ride. There are many bicycles on rental at only S$2.00 per day for visitors to explore the island. Pulau Ubin literally means 'Granite Island' in Malay. Granite quarrying supported a few thousand settlers on the small island in the past and now, the island is very popular with nature lovers, trekkers and cyclists because of its unspoilt marine wildlife and kampong (village) lifestyle.

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not for the faint hearted

The famous Cheng Mun Chee Kee Pig Organ Soup at Beatty Lane near Lavendar Road. The soup itself usually contains a mix of pig intestines, stomach, pork slices, strips of salted vegetables and some Chinese lettuce. I must say it is an acquired taste and a popular local dish. Just count the numbers of serving bowls with various sizes stack together you can tell the shop is very popular during lunch hours. Opposite the shop there is a very colourful Tibetan temple which I will love to sketch one day.

Sultan Mosque and Kampong Glam

I had always wanted to explore Kampong Glam area but I could never find a parking lot. It was my luck on 23 Dec 2008 that I managed to get a parking lot so I decided to order a cup of coffee and sat outside the coffee shop and started drawing. My lamy pen ran out of ink after a few lines! I was contemplating whether to buy a cheap pen at the near-by shop or to stop drawing. It was pure luck that I met Dr Suriani, a potter friend and she loaned me her S$2.70 pilot pen G-2-07 that I managed to complete the drawing. Since it was my lucky day, I was reluctant to go home after drawing so I explored the area around Sultan Mosque and found Sasha - the first teddy bear boutique in Singapore. I bought two Christmas bears - Spencer and Zora for my daughter and my younger son.


click to enlarge

Sultan Mosque was built in 1928 and was gazetted as a national monument. Kampong Glam - the area around the mosque has developed into a popular day and night spot for both tourists and the locals with shophouses occupied by boutiques, shops and cafes. Some of the coolest, grooviest shopping finds are around these busy streets near the mosque. You can also find people sitting on a carpet along the five-foot-way (corridor) and smoke sheesha in the near-by tiny street called Haji Lane.

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colours for a better 2009

60 club street, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

I rarely do small format watercolour sketches on locaiton. I used to do large format. I did four small A4 size watercolour sketches along the five foot way outside an interior design shop. The old uncles who were playing majong game in the rich-man-club nearby came out to watch and say hello to me. To see other 3, click here

we will miss you Idzwan....

What a sad start for 2009, Idzwan who is holding the cutting knife here in the picture, met up with a fatal road accident in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and passed away just before noon. I am grieved....

something different

click to enlarge.

On something else not location drawing. This was done many years ago. I did many of these in the past.

club street, Singapore

BBC office, club street, SIngapore, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

club street, Singapore, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

I like to share these two drawings done on two separate sunny Saturday mornings here to cheer our urban sketchers who are experiencing the icy-cold weather at this time of the year. These are urban drawings from Club Street, Singapore. Club Street is a street that is lined with a row of local styled building called 'Shophouse'. In the past, people stayed upstairs with their shops on the ground floor. Now the street is rejuvenated with coporate offices, showrooms, pubs and shops. BBC - top drawing; had their local office at Club Street.

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Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

Last year my family were holidaying in Israel during the year-end vacation but this year we are not going anywhere because my elder son is busy working in Hong Kong. Two years ago we were spending our Christmas in Hong Kong and I did a sketch at the Disneyland outside Tomorrow Land. I remember the weather was quite cold when I sketched while my husband and our three children were having a really good time with the rides inside this interesting structure. I am thinking if this sketch was done in 2005 Christmas trip, what happen to year 2006? Did we go anywhere? I guess the answer can be found in one of my travel sketchbooks.

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Bali trip after tsunami

click for larger image

On this boxing day; also 4 years after the terrible tsunami swept across Nias island and Aceh province of Indonesia on this day, I will like to post this quick drawing I did for the bali trip to remind us how beautiful Indonesia is. In a time when all we can see around us are more bad than good news, here is my personal wish for peace to a new 2009.

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quotes

"I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies."
Le Corbusier

"If people knew how hard I have had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all." Michelangelo

"From the time I was six, I was in the habit of sketching things I saw around me, and around the age of fifty, I began to work in earnest, producing numerous designs. It was not until after my seventieth year, however, that I produced anything of significance. At the age of seventy-three, I began to grasp the underlying structure of birds and animals, insects and fish, and the way trees and plants grow. Thus, if I keep up my efforts, I will have an even better understanding when I am eighty, and by ninety will have penetrated to the heart of things. At one hundred, I may reach a level of divine understanding, and if I live a decade beyond that, everything I paint-every dot and line-will be alive. I ask the god of longevity to grant me a life long enough to prove this true." Hokusai, postscript to One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji [translated by Carol Morland]

"I'm glad I haven't found my style yet. I'd be bored to death." Degas

x'mas bears

x'mas bears, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

Yesterday, I bought two small Sasha bears as x'mas presents for my teenage children. Sasha is Singapore's first teddy bear boutique and I like their tag line - "we all need a hug sometimes". Here are Spencer and Zora, the x'mas bears wishing all a Merry X'mas and a Happy New Year.

Also blog at urbanskechers

at a seminar

at a seminar, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

I want to post this drawing because I met the same lady in another forumn I attended in Nov 2008. This drawing was done in July 2008 during a small seminar with participants from different countries of the world. The lady who is holding the microphone is a translator for the Japanese speaker next to her. When I did this sketch, I was sitting behind my architect friend Kenta kishi whom I had not met for almost 10 years!

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last year this day

Israel01, originally uploaded by tiastudio.

How do you sketch when you are on a guided tour?

The answer is you have to stand behind the group and be super quick! This was the quick sketch I did last year this day for a family trip to Israel. The itinerary was quite packed but I still managed to do 4 sketches.

The view was just breathtaking from the Jewish Cemetary, Mt Olives. I could not resist the urge to sketch but I did not bring my sketchbook on that day. So, I did this at the back of the A5 size tour booklet. I invited Arieh, the tour leader to sign at the bottom of the sketch since he had been such a wonderful guide for the trip.

To see other 3 sketches, start here.
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old coffee shop

Drawing from office desk is a great idea from Urban Sketchers. However I am on year-end vacation so I will contribute a drawing I did during my lunch hour in the downtown area. I was having my very late lunch at an old coffee shop where my family frequented since I was a little girl. The only new fixture added to the coffee shop now is the air-condition. The same old man still sits at the counter collecting money with the same attitude - indifferent, quiet and expressionless!

I had a plate of chicken rice which is voted as our national dish also available in many eateries. I also love their milk tea. I was the only customer in the shop at about 3.30pm when I finished sketching. the old man's face was still blank as I settled the bill and showed him this drawing. Oh boy, I need to work harder to get him to at least smile, talk or say something. Sigh!

my neighbourhood - the other two drawings

I needed a coffee after finishing my first drawing as shown in my last post! I walked across the road and met two friends outside a well-known coffee chain. We talked for about half an hour filling up all the gaps since we last met. I ordered a long black after they left and started reading for a while before I decided to do my second drawing. If you are interested in the name of the coffee chain and the book that I was reading you can click the left drawing and find the answers.

I got carried away for using two pages as a sketch. The third one was done at the place where I live. I stay on the fourth storey unit of the building on the left. I don't normally have the luxury of enjoying the afternoon like this so thanks to the December vacation! So much for a visual diary on a lazy Tuesday afternoon!

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my neighbourhood

Today I was taking a break from my office routine and I decided to explore my neighbourhood in the Siglap area. This was the first time I tried drawing across two pages after seeing what the other urban sketchers did to their sketchbooks. It was quite addictive that I did two more after this first drawing outside a row of shops.

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back lane

It was a quiet Saturday morning and there were hardly any cars and people in the area. I was attracted by this back lane scene when I found tree growing on the dilapidated wall. The tree on the wall is now removed and the wall repaired and repainted by the new tenant.

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Dragon Kiln

This is the very first set of drawings I sent to Urban Sketcher flickr group. It is also timely for me to do this post before our group exhibition 'flashpoint#01' on Sunday, 14 Dec. The 64-year-old Thow Kwang Dragon Kiln is one of the two surviving dragon kilns in Singapore. Much of the knowledge about our local traditional wood-firing has been lost with the decline of Singapore's pottery industry in the early 1980s. The wood firing was first revived by a group of clay artists in 2001 and I joined the group for the third firing in 2003. I spent many hours at the place playing with the clay and one day, I decided to draw trying to capture the rustic charm of the place. These drawings show the exterior views before and after renovation to the place. The kicking wheel in one of the drawings is probably the only one you can find locally and the entrance to the dragon kiln is shown in another drawing. To know more about the dragon kiln, click thow kwang clay artists

Balmoral Park

Those days in 1980s, we could get big job by showing our great ideas like this on butter paper mounted on boards. In just one week, I designed and did the visuals on butter paper with a lot of interesting interior spaces. I cannot find the big interiors drawings and this exterior view was found on my pc:

sketch on serviette

This was done on the serviette in a restaurant with my favourite lamy fountain pen. Love the flow of the ink very much and will like to do more. I gave this to my niece -the girl in the picture and hope it would motivate her to draw more. She likes to draw and paint too.

Boat Quay at Singapore River

This watercolor measuring 60x35cm was done on location before Boat Quay was rejuvenated. These bumboats have since disappeared and the buildings housed many pubs, cafe and restaurants. Boat Quay is now a happening place and you can take a a ride down Singapore River in one of these water taxis converted from the traditional bumboats.

Modern skyscrapers form the backdrop for the row of refurbished shophouses at Boat Quay along Singapore River. I love to stroll along this historical quay which is now a popular afresco dining place for the office executives working in the skyscrapers as well as the locals and the tourists.

This is also a A2 size drawing of boat quay. Can't find the original. My location sketches are normally A3 or smaller. This is a rare A2 drawing. I remember I did it as a demonstration to a group of first year design students. Well, it is time to organize my thoughts and things.

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Pangkok Island, Malaysia

I found this drawing on the corner of the wall at my parents' house. We visited Pangkok Island after staying in Lumut, Malaysia for a few days. Pangkok Island is a vibrant local fishing village. Love the people and the energy of this small town. This drawing also reminds me that I need to better organise and start clearing my drawing chest.

A Window

On a saturday morning, I couldn't resist the beautical shadow as part of the visual composition for this piece at 82 Club Street, Singapore. I was sitting under the hot sun without a hat so I had to be quick to capture the moment as the the shadow would move away very soon in our tropical climate.

60 Club Street_photo

60 Club Street_photo
Originally uploaded by tiastudio

This is the subject of my drawing in the earlier post. It is not a typical shophouse with art-deco style built in 1953. It must be built much later than other shophouses along the same street. One of my favourite usual morning coffee places until they decided to open later around 12 noon. I like to sit at the table with the coffee at the five-foot way and sketch and watch the world go by.

Club Street

On day in April this year, I was at club street finising up my drawing. The week before I started the drawing with bright sunrays showering at the building and I was so glad I thought I could include the sharp shadows as part of the composition to give the drawing the 'soul'. However, 15 minutes into the act, the raindrops fell on my sketchbook causing the page to warp and I had no choice but to stop. I went back a week later to the same spot to continue but there was no sun! No sun no shadow so I had to change the mood of the drawing. Clement from Eden Cafe came to sit with me for a while and we chat. He was going to open his second outlet at Rochester Park! 'So when are you going to have exhibiton at my cafe?' he asked. We talked about the neighbourhood, about the people, who's in who's out. We people watched together;made comments about the delivery trucks and laughed at funny sight. As I was drawing after he left me, an American tourist came and we chat. He said "this area is so well developed with the new and the old blended together, better than what Hong Kong has done". And he went on "Is this your hobby?" I replied "It is more than a hobby for me." Now, I am pleased to show you the drawing I did on 19 April 2008, Club Street, Singapore.

quick ink drawing

I teach at Temasek Design School in Singapore and this afternoon, I have a drawing class with the design students. This is what I did during the lesson and we had so much fun drawing together. Never mind the dirty brushes, left over ink and cheap paper the students started to draw each other. The studio is very spacious and the lighting is just ideal for drawing. Although I have been drawing for a long time, this is the first time I try china ink wash and I love how I manage with one thick felt brush to produce thin to thick lines, light to darker shades by twisting my fingers and wrist. Another satisfying experience.

another old doodling during a meeting

If you look carefully at the lower part of the paper, the eyes are on a square grid......

doodling during a meeting

when i was 13

I found this picture of my drawing in the file. I remember I did this when I was 13 years old. I was learning art under Liu Kang, Singapore's pioneer artist at his studo at Kirk Road near Cathy Cinema when I was 10. I left his studio when I was 17 or 18. I visited Liu Kang and his family periodically till he passed away in 2004 at the age of 94.

I must say looking at the drawing now, I am very impressed with what I could do at the tender age of 13!