old flats where I grew up

I lost my Hero M86 fountain pen. I might have lost it after I did the last sketch. So I used Zig calligraphy pens - black and grey to do the outline of the flats after the watercolours. I quite like the watercolour effect on the yellowish smooth moleskine card surface.

I did a post on my birthplace here. I wanted to sketch places I grew up and schools I studied. Unfortunately the old flats I grew up at Queenstown were demolished but my first home look like the one here. This old neigbourhood at Commonwealth is now the foreign students' hostel as I saw them walking in and out of the flats with backpacks and groceries plastic bags. The railway track is just next to the flats and the train only appeared once as I was sketching. The ants and mosquitos were everywhere that I had to leave early and finish the flat details at home. There must be at least ten mosquitos bites on both of my arms and feet.

I will need to get another fountain pen and I will add a small bottle of insect repellent on my art material list.

caught the sketching bug during work

A colleague brought this bicycle to the studio for students to draw. The sketching bug got onto me that I had to sit next to the students and sketch. The young student sitting next to me must have felt so intimidated as he took a very long time to just draw a few lines. I remember talking to myself : "How is he going to finish the drawing with tonal values before the class ends? Oh dear, I better leave now." So I left the class without looking at his face and please if you are that student reading this, I apologise for intruding into your class.

photos of night sketchwalk at Geylang

Night Sketchwalk at Geylang

Sketches at first, second and fourth locations. Geylang is hailed as the red-light district in Singapore. So you can imaging our reaction when the idea of a night sketch walk at Geylang was mooted. As I was waiting for the sketchers to arrive shortly after 6pm at Kallang MRT Station, I sketched "7-Eleven" - a popular local convienient store near the entrance so late-comers would see me. Next, we arrived at the corner of Sims Avenue and Lorong 7, Geylang Road. We ordered a few drinks so we could sit comfortably and sketched the durian stall opposite the coffee shop. There were many uncles in the coffee shop and I saw a young lady approaching a lone uncle offered to sit with him with a big smile on her face. She looked decent in her laced dress but who would ask to sit with a lonely man at Geylang?

Durian stalls were mainly found along Sims Avenue and KTV, bars, pubs and bright neon signs were the common sights along Geylang Road. We stayed together and sketched at the corner of a back lane and Lorong 19 after a sumptuous meal near-by. It was so difficult to sketch in the night especially under the dim sodium street light when I could not see the colours properly. YES, interesting activities around us. Uncles were all around here and there pretending to be walking, smoking or waiting for someone. I saw many cars going into the dark alleys where the girls were standing at both sides. You could see bright lights at the end of the road in the sketch and it was the lights from Paramount KTV at Geyland Road.



Sketch at third location along Lorong 9, Geylang proved to be an interesting experience too. I was sitting alone on my small stool at the corridor when the sky turned pitch dark. I could only see my sketch with the help of the bright light from the coffee shop opposite where I was sitting. Passers-by often stood a short while and looked at my sketch. Constrant stream of people, cars, buses and trucks making the place noisy and lively. Why was I alone? other sketchers were sketching the workers working in the middle of the road and I chose to do the streetscape that took a longer time. I later met up with the sketchers for a dinner highly recommended by people who frequent the eateries at Geylang. It was a wonderful night full of excitement throughout with good company, good food and good sightseeing of a different kind.

Night Sketchwalk this Saturday!

Thank you Drewscape for the original post.

The upcoming sketchwalk will cover the colourful geylang stretch where there are durian stalls and many busy eateries. We will meet at Kallang MRT station at 6pm and start walking off at 6pm sharp. Then we will move on down the road toward Aljunied MRT station. At 7pm, we will break for dinner at a coffeeshop with good food (you may also find your own food depending on your preferences.) Then we will continue the sketchwalk as a NIGHT sketchwalk. For sketching at night, there will be more dark areas interspersed with colourful bright areas, so do bring black markers or inkbrushes that can colour black spaces fast. We will conclude our sketchwalk at 9pm at Aljunied MRT station. Please call 91070735 if you can’t find us on that day. No need to sign up, just show up on that day.

ps: It is adviseable for female sketchers to dress with longer pants and less revealing shirts to avoid being scanned by uncles:) But we will stay away from the sleazy areas nonetheless.

Coffee Club on a hot Sunday

At local coffee chain called Coffee Club in the quiet Central Business District on a hot Sunday afternoon. Coffee Club opened Singapore's first gourment coffee house in 1991 with its own on-site coffee roasting facilities. Today, they have 24 outlets that promote a modern cafe lifestyle.

Camp Odyssey Performance Night

Every year during orientation period, the students will be giving the orientation camp a fanciful name. Last year it was called Camp X and this year it is Camp Odyssey. Orientation has becoming an important part of students' life here in our design institution. The last night of Camp Odyssey was the performance night. I arrived early so I started sketching up in the viewing gallery when the hall was quite empty. When I finished, the hall was packed with students with their tribal flags and props. It was a memorable night for staff and the students.

my favourite mee pok noodle shop

Again, at my favourite noodle place for lunch. There was another one done here.

things around the house

It was hot, hot, hot at 32 deg C outdoor so it was a stayed-home Sunday for me. I was getting quite bored at one point that I grabbed these cute little dolls I bought a few years ago from Hong Kong and did a quick watercolour sketch while watching TV at the same time. These little dolls were joined together as a mobile and the colours already faded as they were washed once in the washing machine. The stuffed cotton was also exposed at some spots so they will be thrown away one day but my sketch will be around for a long time.

at starbucks

Last Saturday evening, I went to the neighbourhood Starbucks with my son. He was studying and I was sketching. The place was packed with young people with laptops and earpieces hung around their necks. Two guys in a group occasionally spoke so loud that you know they were boasting about their investments. I was sitting at the far end near to the corner wall having the best view of the entire cafe.

I had another earlier sketch of the same Starbucks here.

skyline of Singapore

Skyline of downtown Singapore seen from the Marina Bay which is on reclaimed land. The coloured tiled roof are the dwarf but charming historical buildings along the shoreline against the giant skyscrapers in the background. You can find out the names of the towers here. On the right is the relatively new motorway bridge that spans across the mouth of Singapore River with the iconic Merlion at the end of the bridge. I am proud to be living here enjoying the view like this on a lazy Sunday evening.

Nakhon Kitchen

At Nakhon Kitchen, a Thai coffee shop at Bedok South, the public housing estate. There was a constant waiting line during dinner hours. I sketched while my family members queued in the line. I added the shades when I finished my dinner. The picture was taken after the dinner. Yummy!

another TP Canteen

It is vacation time for the students. Our canteen at the Design School is closed so I went to Engineering School for my coffee. The coffee here is not as good as the one at Design School but what choice do I have?

Self Portrait

I don't remember I have ever done a self portrait. This is ME.

my colleagues of twenty years

Three of my colleagues for twenty years - that is a very long time! Rosli, Phek Gek and Kee Jan.

sketchwalk result

We had a great turn out last Saturday, 27 Mar2010 sketchwalk at Tiong Bahru Estate, one of the oldest neighbourhood in Singapore. We started around 9am after a hearty breakfast at the famous Tiong Bahru Food Center and ended at around 1pm at the same place for lunch. I did four sketches and they are all posted here.

Here are more pictures, enjoy!

lunch time sketch

This was done during lunch time under the indoor comfort of Dome, my favourite lunch place whenever I go to Singapore River for a field trip with the students. The coffee stain was on the postcard size watercolour paper already. Taking advantage of the coffee stain, I put the Supreme Court Building aka the flying saucer and the Victoria Concert Hall next to each other although they were at quite a distance apart with each other.

iPhone Art

First attempt using iPhone applications. Original watercolour of Singapore River Done at home on top taken with iPhone camera and photo of Botero's bird also taken on iPhone on the bottom right. On the bottom left, both images were put together with apps by Autodesk's Sketchbook and Photogene.

Nagore Durgha Shrine at Boon Tat Street

Singapore is a big melting pot and in this Chinatown area at the corner of Boon Tat Street and Telok Ayer Street, you will not only find the oldest Chinese temple which I did a sketch here but also a mosque, a Methodist church and an Indian shrine which I visited this week after work.

The shrine was built by the Muslims of southern India in 1828–1830 at Telok Ayer Street which was then a sandy beach crowded with sailing craft. The Nagore Durgha Shrine was gazetted a National Monument in 1974. The architectural features of the building blends classical and Indian Muslim motifs.

The weather was so hot and humid that I had two big icy apple smoothie drinks and sat outside the drink stall comfortably while experimenting with watercolours, brush pen and watercolour paper that already collaged with gesso, colour tissue papers, paper pulp and blue acrylic paint. Using a brush pen to draw on a collage was a new technique for me and I found it very liberating and refreshing.

To simplify the motifs, I find it very therapeutic to add so many dots on the building with the brush pen.

Sketching Symposium in Portland, Oregon

***Press Release****




[March 22, 2010]

Urban Sketching Symposium promises to be a big draw

The city of Portland, Oregon, becomes the canvas for drawing enthusiasts from around the world this summer as Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and Urban Sketchers (USK), a nonprofit dedicated to fostering the art of on-location drawing, host the 1st International Urban Sketching Symposium.

This unique Symposium will feature a blend of lectures, panels, exhibits and sketch outings led by a dozen of instructors, including, among others, renown author of architectural drawing books Frank Ching, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, Tia Boon Sim, an architect and design educator at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore; Simonetta Capecchi, curator of “In Viaggio Col Taccuino” sketchbook exhibits in Naples; Gabriel Campanario, a staff artist at The Seattle Times and founder of Urban Sketchers; Veronica Lawlor, an illustrator and teacher at NYC’s Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute and the Dalvero Academy; and Lapin, a French illustrator based in Barcelona.

Guided by the symposium's presenters and instructors, participants will take to the streets of pedestrian-friendly Portland to sharpen their drawing skills and get one-on-one feedback. “Drawing is often a solitary endeavour,” says Campanario, “but I find that the energy and inspiration you get from sketching with others goes a long way when you are trying to develop as an artist.” The three-day event (July 29-31) is perfect for illustrators, architects, designers and other professionals who use freehand drawing as a communication tool. Symposium participation is open to everyone with an interest in drawing the urban environment on location.

Sketching sites include Portland's renowned Chinese, Japanese and Rose Gardens, the scenic waterfront and bustling city center of downtown Portland, as well as the vibrant cultural district in Oldtown and the Pearl District, where PNCA is located. Field groups focus on specific techniques —pencil, ink, watercolor— and subject matter —sketching people in movement, architecture. Expect to draw the boating activity along the Willamette River with interesting drawbridges as a backdrop, eclectic downtown architecture, public gardens and fountains, theater performances and Portland's wonderful indoor and outdoor night-life scenes.

Lectures will cover all aspects of sketching. Instructors will share first hand advice about drawing in public, tools, materials, techniques and composition, as well as how to share artwork on the web or get it published. An exhibit of sketchbooks and other original work by presenters will be on display at PNCA during the Symposium.

Participants are encouraged to register early due to limited availability. To register, check PNCA’s website.

Contacts:

Gabriel Campanario
Urban Sketchers
Executive Director
gabicampanario at gmail dot com
or 425.686.2398

Patrick Forster
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Director of Continuing Education
pforster at pnca edu
or 503.821.7864

More details at Urbansketchers

Sketchwalk 27 March, Saturday 9am

The upcoming sketchwalk will be around Tiong Bahru, one of the older neighbourhoods in Singapore and also a place where good food abound! Meeting point will be Tiong Bahru Market (a short walk from Tiong Bahru MRT station). Starting off time will be 9am sharp! Those interested in joining us for a leisurely breakfast, please meet at 8:15am instead. Please call Andrew 91070735 if you can’t find us. No need to sign up, just show up if you are attending.

at a meeting

A meeting held on 5 March 2010 that I did not contribute much, but at least I got an opportunity to sketch people.

Boat Quay field trip with students

At today's field trip, I was so inspired by students' enthusiasm that I completed two pieces of watercolour pieces on location to illustrate different techniques and tools.

Top piece was done with coffee stains, salts and watercolours. Second piece was done with watercolour on watercolour paper prepared with paper pulp, gesso and acrylic colours here and there. I was also impressed with the outcome by students' effort too. I am looking forward to tomorrow's class which will be a visual treat.

The sculpture is Botero's big bird at Singapore River, I did an earlier piece here

Little India Sketches on map

View Sketches of Singapore in a larger map

I started putting all my sketches done at the last group sketchwalk on the map and wow, I am so impressed with myslef.