My Art Tools

Easter Sunday checking on my old watercolour set and brushes which I neglected for a long time.

"Mi Kwang Magic Palette" made in Korea but bought in Taipei,
"Escoda Reserva Kolinsky-Tajmyr Sable Pocket Round #12" travel brush bought in Barcelona,
"Straits Art Sable" travel brush made by Ah Seng bought in Singapore Straits Art,
"Colorpro Taklon Squuirrel" rigger brush made in Japan.

I don't use these anymore, I use mainly fountain pens and synthetic water brushes for colour washes.

Shirakawa-Go

Finally scan my long Concertina Sketchbook. I remember the weather was so cold that I could not feel my fingers after this sketch and the ink didn't flow well, probably frozen too. Added some colours when I felt warmer. At Shirakawa-go, world heritage site.

ml.shirakawa-go.org/en/
世界遺產合掌村 白川鄉

Oyama Shrine in Kanazawa

I was the only soul at around 7:30am when I entered the shrine compound, I could hear everything so clearly in this cold weather while sketching. I will be able to see Cherry Blossom if I stay for another week, here the red dots are Plum Blossom.

http://www.oyama-jinja.or.jp/

My Flickr Pro

I still have a Flickr Pro account but it is neglected for a very long time. I just scanned and uploaded my recent sketches and this is the screen shot of those sketches in collage.
Visit my flickr Pro to see more at https://www.flickr.com/photos/tia_studio.

Looking at the sketch collage, there are wide variety of topics from landscape, building, cafe, train, exterior, interior to figurative subjects. There are ballpoint pen, fountain pen, black ink, blue ink, brown ink, watercolours, washes and brushes. There are dots, lines, shapes, colours, textures, tones etc etc. However, there is one common thing these sketches share is the fact that they are all done in ONE old stock of Moleskine A6 sketchbook, double spread.
Another common point is that they are done fairly quick from 10 to 45 minutes. Like this simple line sketch at the Bar at National University of Singapore Society (NUSS), it took probably only 20 minutes to complete, no colours and no tonal values, the lines and blacks bring out the layers and spatial quality of the sketch.

Marine Parade Road under construction

The entire stretch of Marine Parade Road is under construction for the future Thomson East Coast Line to be ready from 2019 to 2014 in five stages. Marine Parade Station will be ready in stage 4 in 2013.

I love Marine Parade.

my 6th post on Instagram is a sketch

My first Instagram post was in 2011 and I only had 5 posts thus far but over 850 followers since. I am curious as I am obviously not an active user at all. However, Instagram is great for image manipulation so I took a rare moment to spice up my recent sketch and post it. You can really make a dull sketch look great on Instagram.

Shiinoki Cultural Complex at Kanazawa

I was given one-hour notice to go to Japan at 6pm on a Wednesday, next, I found myself on a 7am flight the following Thursday morning. I was told it was a one-way ticket while office was still sourcing for my returned flight. I had very little time in Japan, so every morning, I would take my breakfast at 6:30am and walked around the hotel before my official duties at 10am. I was pleasantly surprised that the hotel was located near to a beautiful park いしかわ四高記念公園, Kanazawa Castle Park and Kenrokuen

This is the Shiinoki Cultural Complex facing Hirosaka Street in Kanazawa of Ishikawa Prefecture. The big dome-shaped grand chinquapin (shiinoki) trees at the main entrance were propped up by wooden poles. They are really good in preserving the old heritage trees.

Sungei Road Thief Market

Sungei Road Thief Market will soon be gone by July 2017. You can read about it here.

Whether you call it thief market or flea market, it is undeniably important part of Singapore's history. My uncles would come all the way from Johor, Malaysia to source for the parts that he wanted and brought back to repair his fridges or fans or even cars.

On this sketch, I thought it was important to sketch the context too, so, I chose a view to include Sim Lim Tower and Rochor Centre which will be demolished soon. You can see my sketch of Rochor Centre here.

Wheeler's Yard

I was with the students for the visit to Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in the morning since 10am followed by Balestier Heritage Trail in the afternoon. So I was really tired when it ended at around 5pm. I refused to go home to rest as I was so near to Wheeler's Yard; a hippest cafe housed in a massive warehouse at Lorong Ampas just a stone throw away from Zhongsan Mall when I parked my car. I decided to check it out and I found myself sketching over a cup of strong long black and a small plate of black pepper lime squids at Wheeler's Yard. I knew the staff were standing behind watching me sketch since the cafe was quite empty at that time of the day. As I prepared to leave, they requested to have a closer look at my sketchbook and took a picture of the cafe sketch. I should have taken a group photo with them holding the sketch but I forgot.

March Sketchwalk at Sungei Road

We will be swarming down to this crossroads of curious finds on Saturday to sketch it before the many peddlers are forced to move away from this local bastion of pre-loved goods.

While the focus will be the criss-cross of the makeshift stalls, the vicinity has much to capture, including the old Muslim Cemetery at Jalan Kubor, the revamped Rochor River, and the vibrant streets of Little India and Kampong Glam.

MEETING POINTS
Start
3:00 pm
Pitt St x Sungei Road junction
https://goo.gl/maps/y2EEL4R5ph72

End
06:00 pm
Blk 30 Kelantan Lane
We'll meet at the back of this block in the shade it will provide.
https://goo.gl/maps/nMET41C9DgS2

Remember to have sun protection and water with you to stay hydrated. See you there!

Sketching in the Plane

On my way back from Nagoya to Singapore. It's a 380, very spacious cabin but I was stuck at window seat sitting next to two Japanese ladies for 6 hours. Did a sketch to kill boredom.

Dakota Crescent

Dakota Crescent is older than Singapore. It was built by Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1958 and handed over to Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 1960. The name Dakota was taken from the American transport aircraft Dakota DC-3, which commonly landed at Kallang Airport before it was closed. The name Dakota could also commemorate the aviation disaster of June 29, 1946, when one of the Royal Air Force's Dakota aircraft crashed at Kallang Airport in a thunderstorm, killing all passengers on board. Anyway, its days are numbered too. It is to be demolished and make way for new development. You can read all about it here

The playground seen in the sketch which I cropped on the left is also iconic. It was called the Dove Playground designed by a very senior HDB architect in 1979. The same architect also designed the other iconic playgrounds in Singapore - the Dragon playground in Toa Payoh. I sketched it here. The Dove Playground will be demolished too but the Dragon Playground will remain.

February Sketchwalk

The lights have already gone out on this 59-year-old enclave of Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) flats built before our island nation became independent.

This is a final chance to capture the modernist architecture of the estate, albeit vacant and in a state of abandon, silent except for gawking visitors.

We will rendezvous at the playground, from where you can spread out and explore the neighbourhood.

MEETING POINT
Start
9:30 AM

End
12:30 PM

Dakota Crescent Playground
Block 10 Dakota Crescent
Singapore 390010
https://goo.gl/maps/Eqpe8W7bscU2
*we will both start and end here

Dress for the weather. See you there!

It's a Wrap for Term 4

I taught two classes of Early Childhood Studies and these students were very responsive. Teaching tip: one of my rules set up on day one with the classes is "if you find my lessons boring, please pretend to be enthusiastic, I need you to motivate me too!".

I am still sketching the city

January Sketchwalk

It's the first sketchwalk of 2017, and also the first day to usher in the Year of the Rooster!

We're going to Chinatown, and will be starting from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, and ending at Chinatown Point. Along the way, while the streets and business might be quiet, there's still plenty to draw, especially the conserved shophouses with decorations put up for the Lunar New Year.

MEETING POINTS

Start
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum
9:30 am
https://goo.gl/maps/PHz8i5xBcHs

End
Chinatown Point
12:30 pm
https://goo.gl/maps/x4eu7iBH5CQ2

This session is kindly led by Pocholo. See you there!

Punggol Sketchwalk

HDB has been a long time partner with Urban Sketchers Singapore with several collaborative projects. This latest one we participated in the official opening of Punggol Square the Discovery Cube overlooking the gorgeous Punggol Waterway waterfront. Minister Teo Chee Hean graced the occasion and we hosted him at our USKSG exhibition booth.

first sketch of the new year 2017

I keep the tradition of sketching on the first day of the new year and here is a sketch of Rochor Centre which will be demolished this year to make way for new roads. There are only around 5 households left and they are old residents who are given extension of time to move out by mid Jan. I personally feel very sad to see Rochor Centre go because it is one of the earliest mixed commercial and public housing projects by the government. Singapore's Rochor Center to me has the potential to be rejuvenated like London's Barbican Estate but I guess nothing stays long enough in Singapore to become memories, heritage etc etc.

December Sketchwalk

On the very last day of 2016, we'll be sketching along and around Hill Street, with the stunning Hill Street Police Station as the centrepiece.

We will start off at the Old Hill Street Police Station, then pop over to the iconic red-and-white fire station, before spreading out to beautifully conserved buildings such as the Armenian Church, The Freemasons Hall, The Philatelic Museum, and Peranakan Museum.

We'll end outside the old Capitol Theatre, to share the sketches done and cool off/take shelter in the newly conserved complex.

See you before 2017 rolls in!

MEETING POINTS
Start
9:30 am
Old Hill Street Police Station
140 Hill Street
Singapore 179369
https://goo.gl/maps/A4CtHBpHPhp

End
12:30 pm
Capitol Theatre
11 Stamford Rd, Capitol Piazza
Singapore 178884
https://goo.gl/maps/JN2uv3wunkC2


Join lucky draw for Dec 2016's sketchwalk at Hill Street!
https://goo.gl/6BkDnm

Asia Link Sketchwalk in Bangkok

TOP: BOOK ONE
ABOVE: BOOK TWO
LEFT : On the left was the empty Seawhite Concertina Sketchbook I brought for my recent sketching trip. I attended the Asia Link Sketchwalk from 24 to 27 Nov 2016 in Bangkok and extended my Bangkok trip from 28 Nov to 1 Dec, 2016 after the event. I completed two Seawhite Concertina Sketchbooks that I bought in London with the help from Anne Marie Percival, a fellow sketcher from Manchester when I visited London, Manchester and Liverpool for the 7th Urban Sketchers Symposium in July this year. I want to buy more but the shipping cost is just too high so I have to go back to my usual Moleskine Japanese Album.

November Sketchwalk at Beauty World

While most of the sketchers will be up in Bangkok for the long weekend of artistic madness, we're going to an old section of Singapore which is seeing a lot of changes.

There's Beauty World Centre, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, and the hustle and bustle along Jalan Jurong Kechil. You can explore the area via Google Street View to familiarise yourself ahead.

MEETING POINTS
Start
9:30 am
End
12:30 pm

We will both start and end at the street level of Beauty World MRT Station Exit C, which is really near the Bukit Timah 7th Mile Market, where you can grab breakfast before the sketchwalk, and lunch after we do our sketch showdown.

See you there!

Giveaway Contest for November 2016 Sketchwalk at Beauty World. More details at https://goo.gl/xF7f6F

sketches from UK trip

I only realize I have not posted any sketches here from my UK trip in July 2016. Here is one sketch at Covent Garden, London.

Inktober - mission completed

I am an urban sketcher but I also love doodling from imagination, often without references. For the very first time, I gave myself a task to do Inktober this year and tried to doodle underwater creatures for the challenge. I have no time to scan page by page for the entire month of October so I just took photographs with my phone camera and posted them on my Facebook. Click the image to see them all on Facebook.

Huge mural project

Photo Credit: Yuen Kit Mun

100% made in Singapore. We have the capability. Now everybody knows about it, this is my contribution. it's a huge mural panel at Basement 2, Centrepoint Mall. First of its kind in material and size because it is direct digital print on aluminium panels. No, I did not paint this on site. You can see it once you enter the mall from the MRT station via 313@Sommerset. I will need time to do the documentation on processes later.

Other artists who are involved in this are: Francis Theo, Ignatius Yeo and Tony Chua, all members of Urban Sketchers Singapore but this is not an Urban Sketchers project, it all started from a story line like this: Once upon a time, TIA met up with her old schoolmate from School of Architecture at Temesek Poly.......

October Sketchwalk

It's going to be a festive weekend with Deepavali/Diwali falling on Saturday, so we're going to visit the narrow and bustling streets of Little India looking for colourful scenes to put on paper.

MEETING POINTS

Start (Briefing)
9:30 AM
City Square Mall (above Farrer Park MRT station)
Kitchener Road entrance steps

End (Show n Tell)
12:30 PM
Indian Heritage Centre

See you there!

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Join the giveaway contest!

Link to the lucky draw giveaway contest:
plus.google.com/u/0/+TeohYiChie/posts/fqkJsd25PWW

Inktober #02

This is done with the Pental black brush pen.

My first Inktober

This is the first time that I take part in Inktober. I have so many different types of sketchbooks, pens and colours that I bought or gifted laying pretty on my bookshelves, I need to either give away or do something about it. It was last Saturday on 1 Oct that I took out the A6 size sketchbook I got from Royal College of Art in 2004 and doodled on it with a grey brush pen. I used to doodle underwater sea creatures during those office meetings in the day, all imaginative and nonsensical based on a grid. Let's do this again and see how far it takes.

September Sketchwalk announcement

For the session this coming Saturday, we visit Peck Seah / Tras Street, where some huge shophouses stand proudly against an ever climbing skyline.

MEETING POINTS
Start
9:30 am
Tanjong Pagar MRT Station
Exit A

There's a field like place by the side near the temple. And early birds can have their breakfast across the street at the coffeeshop or food centre.

Peck Seah and Tras Street, plus Tanjong Pagar Road, run parallel with lots of beautiful shophouses to catch your eye, and we'll move north towards Duxton.

End
12:30 pm
Flor Patisserie
2 Duxton Hill
Singapore 089588

We will end here, and those who wish to can enjoy Francis Theo's current exhibition of sketches done of Pulau Ubin.

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Join the giveaway contest, thanks to Parka!

Link to the lucky draw giveaway contest:
plus.google.com/u/0/+TeohYiChie/posts/jVXF3Auegn2

What I was busy with

Wood: Re-Purposed