Y is for YELLOW

Continuing with the lesson, we applied the colour theory to urban sketching in Singapore and Lisbon context. Using yellow and purple and their mixtures plus tints and shades. I also reminded the participants to leave some white spaces here and there and exploring textures and patterns. Participants were having so much fun and made new discoveries during the zoom workshop.

My first post on the workshop was on 7 Oct 2021 at this link

Lisbon Alphabet 2022

These are the exploration work with the participants. 

I was invited to be one of the instructors for Lisbon Alphabet 2022 and I conducted a class via zoom on 2 July 2022. The alphabet assigned to me was Y. So I developed a lesson plan based on "Y is for YELLOW". 

We had so much fun exploring the colour yellow, its complimentary colour and the opposite intensity. I first introduced Johannes Itten's colour wheel and we made a simple colour wheel using watercolours. Next we explore the primary colours and their complimentary, then I let the participants made some discoveries by mixing some colours as per instructions. 

Later part of the workshop, we focus on YELLOW, PURPLE and the opposite intensity and their tints and shades plus some simple textures and patterns. Before the class ended, we explored how to apply the colour theory to urban sketching. Simplification is the key!

My first post on the workshop was on 7 Oct 2021 at this link

Lisbon Alphabet - I am conducting a class next July

The Lisbon Alphabet Course will start soon with 26 letters/classes and 26 guest instructors invited by José Louro, Mário Linhares e Ketta Linhares. They will prepare a class based on a memory about Lisbon. All classes will be via Zoom but from directo observation. Registrations are open. See the full program here: https://drive.google.com/.../1JIZy4HPFQzWpd.../view

Can’t wait to see you there!

The image of this 8th year of the Lisbon Alphabet Course was made by José Manuel Vieira Louro Full info:linhares.mr@gmail.com

The book "Urban Sketchers in Lisbon - drawing the city"

I got my copy sent by Eduardo Salavisa tonight.
If you like to purchase a copy, click the buy button on side bar at USK.

video of Lisbon by Gabi

The memories of 2011! An unforgettable July afternoon near Lisbon, celebrating the end of the Symposium with friends, music and opened sketchbooks. The Sabina song is so beautiful.

In the video I was sketching and the sketch was posted here.

video from Lisbon

Day trip to Obidos

We took a day trip to Obidos on Monday, 25 July, 2011. I did two big format sketches and this is the very first one at size 200 X 400mm or 8" x 16".

I then moved on to do the second piece on a square format. You can spot Pramote and Ana in the picture too. For this piece below the size is 200 x 200mm or 8" x 8".

Sintra & Obidos after Lisbon

After the symposium ended on Saturday 23 July, on Sunday 24 July, a few of us were invited to join the USK Lisbon group for a celebration at the beautiful weekend house of Pedro Cabral and Rita, his wife at Sintra. The group worked very hard to make the symposium a great success! Among the Lisbon sketchers, there were also talented and really professional guitarists and singers.

On Monday, 25 July, 2011, I also joined Asnee, Pramote from Thailand, Ana Luisa Frazão and Dulce Nunes from Portugal for a day trip to Obidos to sketch. It was like a mini symposium. These five sketches were done in the Muji Sketchbook.

Obidos, a old walled town, is 100km in the north of Lisbon. Bougainvilleas were everywhere and the town retained some authenticity when no new building was permitted and only the existing structures within the walls were used as shops. The walls of the old town were painted white, with blue or yellow ochre trimmings. The town was occupied by the Moors before falling into Christian hands and that explained the Moorish patterns everywhere.

Lisbon Symposium - Day three

Lisbon Symposium - Day two

Day two I attended the workshop called "Stories of the Square" by Melanie Reim and Angela Luzia. These are the sketches I did according to time stamp the top one being the last and the quickest like 5 to 10 mins. The A4 auction piece was missing in my original post to raise fund for scholarship for the next symposium but the successful bidder, Mario and Ketta Linhares scanned a copy and sent to me so I can now show it here which is the second one from the top. The interior was the lecture hall packed with participants, instructors, speakers and volunteers.

In the afternoon, I attended another workshop by Eduardo and Monica. It was about movements and we watched people at the Cais Do Sodre. I totally forgot about these two pieces of people sketches. They were done on A4 sizes as exercises. I enjoyed being a student again and followed strictly according to their instructions.

First we did the tree sketch along the way from FBAUL to Cais do Sodre just to warm up for about 20 to 30mins. Then we arrived at Cais do Sodre to do the people sketch after watching them for a while.

Lisbon Symposium - Day one afternoon

These four were done with day one workshop with Norberto Dorantes and Mario Linhares at Escadinhas do Duque with a spectacular view of the castle. We started with thumbnail sketches but mine grew to 3" x 3" on the top. The second one also grew to 3" x 6". The last one we were to go to the local shop and talk to the people in the shop to get their stories and sketch the interior and the story. Three of us found this cafe and bought the coffee, started splashing with coffee and sketched.

On the left was the third one after the thumbnails exercise. We had a hour to work on it so I did the big format at 200 x 400mm or 8" x 16". It was at this stage that I was interviewed by the local TV station.

I was on Portuguese TV

Lisbon Symposium - Day one morning

I had a lecture to deliver at 2.30pm so I decided to take it easy in the morning by skipping the workshop that I signed up for. I went to this nice corner near the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon or FBAUL and sketched alone. I sat next to a red post box enjoying the nice breeze under the cool shade. The trams went pass me and people on the trams often looked out to see what I was doing at the road side so near to the tram line.

Lisbon Symposium - Day zero

From Singapore to Lisbon, I started the first sketch on interior of the plane while waiting for the toilet. The lines were never straight as the plane was vibrating. I did two more sketches while in transit from Paris to Lisbon. Two French ladies came to me when I was sketching at the cafe in the airport :"Are you TIA?". They were participants from Paris to Lisbon!

2nd International Urban Sketching Symposium in Lisbon!

The 2nd International Urban Sketching Symposium is announced and this time I was invited as one of the speakers to deliver a lecture. Line up of instructors and speakers here.