Last Day on Day 4

Day 4 - 17 Aug 2025
Last record of the recent ALSW trip in Phuket. Forgot what did I do in the morning; probably having hearty breakfast with friends whom we met only once a year during ALSW. In order not to miss the mass group photo at Golden Dragon Monument at 12noon, we arrived early to take photos with friends. This time we had not one but two national flags for the mass group photoshoot. Love it!

We walked to the Phuket City Hotel under the scotching hot sun for the final closing ceremony, what a blast with the 'yellow pencil' passed to Urban Sketchers Pune for the next ALSW. Very sure the tag is "ALSW2016Pune"!

Well, the spirit was so high we continued to walk to the Sunday Night Market at the old town and I did a sketch after having my dinner at Little Phuket. Ya, I didn't eat much or forgot to eat at the closing ceremony. The night ended in the high note with another group photo at Soi Pradit lined with beautiful graffiti art.

See you in Pune next year!

Parade at Phuket Old Town on Day 3

Day 3 - 16 Aug 2025
The hightlight of the day was the colourful parade for the opening ceremony of Thailand Biennale at Phuket Museum. No wonder the grab driver said it was closed! I could still sketch with other sketchers outside the museum with the huge red bear in muaythai outfit. I took pictures with gorgeous locals dressing up for the event. Just noticed I wore the same matching purple, soft pastel colours too.

In the afternoon, I sketched the big 7-colour on the wall of Tu Kab Khao restaurant. That's where I witnessed the parade. I saw the artists I met earlier at the park next to the Golden Dragon Monument holding the banners in the parade walking past me. The entire road was closed for about an hour or two and the whole street came alive with music and dance! It was very quickly back to normal with cars and people strolling at the sidewalks, wow, just so nimble and efficient!

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Raining on Day 2

Day 2 - 15 Aug 2025
It was drizzling in the morning so I did not join any group going down to Phuket Old Town or the beach. Instead, with the permission of the hotel arranged by the event organiser, 3 of us went up to 9th floor of the Phuket Merlin Hotel to sketch the panoramic view.

Afternoon was spent to attend the chapter admins' meeting and took a slow stroll to town before having dinner at Chuan Chim, another Michelin award restaurant where we met KK. The food was really good and had to wait for quite a while for our food.

Phuket Phuket

Phuket Sketches

I did two loose Arches and two Etchr Accordion Sketchbooks for this trip Asia-Link Sketchwalk Phuket 2025. The sketches were posted individually and this is the collage of all of the sketches including the collected stickers.

Thanks for a memorable experience.

Dr Sketch

Day 3 - 16 Aug 2025
Dr Sketch session at event center. I was a little late but my patients are so patient waiting for me. I prescribed more "Grammar Pills" in art and design. Fun time.

People on Day 1

Day 1 - 14 Aug 2025
777 participants from 26 countries for the event in Phuket not to mention those came without the tickets. It was impossible to say hello to each and everyone daily. Thanks to those who said hello and took photos and sent to me. I am not good in taking photos with people so here is a collage on people I met on Day 1. Interestingly, I could identify by my outfit to know which day these photos were taken.

Registration was to start at 1pm so I went to local coffee shop for my breakfast with the recommendation of our Grab driver. I did a sketch at Aroon Restaurant with Michelin awards from 2019 to 2025. I met a couple of sketchers in the shop and along the way. Many sketchers already busy sketching as I strolled leisurely before settling down with another sketch at the Golden Dragon Monument and met a group of Thai artists preparing for the Thailand Biennale Phuket 2025. Photos of Biennale at my post.

I also met a group of Taiwanese sketchers led by their teacher. Very busy saying hello and catching up with old friends plus meeting new ones during registration from 1 to 5pm. Party began soon after with a sumptous welcome dinner and spectacular performances. What a blast and fruitful day.

Surprise!

Day 1 - 14 Aug 2025
I name this photo collage "Surprise" because it is still a surprise to me up to this day. I was so shocked Asnee and I were called up to the stage and each received the Legend Award with a beautifully presented Museo brush as senior founders of Asia-Link Sketchwalk.

The stories of ALSW is here at this link: Link

Food in Phuket

Sketches done will be posted separately. First record of Phuket will be a collage of food I eaten. I tried to frequent the local coffee shops besides the popular tourists' eateries, cafes and restaurants.

Don't play play, even the dark, gloomy local coffee shops I went all have Michelin awards from 2019 to 2025. Yummy and delicious food they served. I didn't go to the other crowded modern cafes and pubs where there were demo sessions.

Phuket offers abundant seafood from prawns, squids, crabs and various fishes to unique local seven-colored lobster which I sketched but didn't try. Next trip!

Places I went in that order by day:
Wonderlounge, Merlin Kitchen, Cafe Amazon, One Chun Restaurant, Aroon Restaurant (first sketch here), Roti Thaew Nam, Chuan Chim, The Tent Phuket, Little Phuket, Limelight and Tu Kab Khao. I also bought instant noodles at the airport, HA!

ALSWPune2026

Night Sketch

Day 4 - 17 Aug 2025
Asia Link Sketchwalk Phuket 2025 was officially over on 17 Aug with a sketchwalk in the morning, a group photo at Golden Dragon Monument at 12nn and a closing ceremony from 1 to 5pm at Royal Phuket City Hotel followed by a night sketch from 6 to 8 pm at the old town Sunday night market which was HUGE.

I have not done any night sketch for a very very long time. If I remember correctly, I had only done a night sketch at Geylang, Singapore probably in 2010. So, I was not prepared with any equipment and I could only sketch fast before the sky totally turned pitched dark. It did not help at the location I was sitting among the motorcycles that had no light and I could only rely on the street lights from the nearby shops at the junction of Ratsada Road and Takuapa Road.

I didn't eat much at the closing ceremony so I had dinner first at The Little Phuket because of the attractive squid ink dishes and moo hong (pork belly stew) which I remember our first Grab driver was telling us when we took the Grab from HKT; Phuket International Airport to Phuket Merlin Hotel near the Phuket Old Town. The sky was still bright when I started a new Etchr Accordion Sketchbook but I knew it would turn pitched dark soon so I had a quick shape drawing done before adding details. It was pitched dark when I started colouring and I could not see the colours on my palette. I was very familiar with my colours so I used lots of Payne Grey with other colours such as cobalt blue, violet, sienna etc. For brighter areas, I just used the mixtures of bright yellow. I added more payne grey and noodler ink for the dark sky later when I could see better in the hotel room.

It was fun and my take was that with the understanding of our personal art tools, night sketch could be blind sketch on location as well in my opinion. Before we went back to our hotel and rest, we took a group photo at the adjacent street called Soi Pradit. Not to mention we had a great time scrolling the huge night market filled with food stalls, tourists, baskers and massage corners. We even spotted a bus coverted into a mobile public toilets! Sad to say when we returned to the same streets the following day, it was a totolly deserted scene in the day with less crowd, no activities on the streets. What a drastic change!

Etchr Accordion Sketchbook
Size: 910 x 210mm

The Bear

Day 3 - 16 Aug 2025
I did the Golden Dragon Monument on day one, so today I drew the big red colour bear in the Muay Thai outfit at Museum Phuket. Apparently this was the exact location for the opening of Thailand Biennial Phuket 2025 in the evening.

Etchr Accordion Sketchbook
Size: 520 x 210mm

Panoramic Sketch from the Hotel

Day 2 - 15 Aug 2025
It was raining heavily in the morning and a group of sketchers were waiting to board the buses to the seaside. Others waiting for the rain to stop so they could walk to the sketching locations at the Phuket Old Town.

A few of us stayed in the hotel lobby and we were chatting with the amazing organisers. They told us they just got the permission for us to go up to 9th floor of the event venue to sketch the city for 2 hours!

So, I did another loose piece from the 9th floor of Phuket Merlin Hotel! The tallest building on the right is the iPavilion Hotel Phuket, next to it is the Pluck Panya Municipal School with the long national flags of Thailand hung from top floor of the building. I also noticed there were other institution buildings with big flags hung from the top floor.

Arches Watercolour Paper
Size: 650 x 190mm

A Sketch at Dragon Monument

Day 1 - 14 Aug 2025, Registration Day
After leaving Aroon Restaurant, we wanted to find out the location for Golden Dragon Monument where the group photo will be taken during the mass sketchwalk 2 days' later.

What a find, we met so many artists working hard on their artwork as there was an event "Phuket International Contemporary Art Festival 2025" at the location. They were so nice to serve us free food and drink.

I heard someone saying "Let's meet here at 12noon" and he was none other than 朱啟助 who hosted the Asia Link Sketchwalk in 2018 in Taichung. Chn'g Kiah Kiean was also nearby at the canal sketching alone.

Later, a group of Thai artists who took part in the event also gathered around me asking questions and we took group photo when I completed my sketch. Popular question was "Are you a professional artist?" My answer was always "No" with a smile!

Etchr Accordion Sketchbook
Size: 520 x 210mm

Breakfast at Aroon Restaurant

Day 1 - 14 Aug 2025
At around 7:45am, we decided to find a coffee shop for a local breakfast so we took a Grab and asked the driver to bring us to one in Phuket Old Town. He rightfully brough us to Aroon Restaurant and we saw the locals streaming in with grab delivery men making a line outside the shop waiting to get their orders.

I love to have the hot soup in the morning but it was not ready for breakfast so I had "Laksa"; vermicelli in tasty yellowish sauce and my hubby had the crispy prata with eggs and beef curry. Coffee and tea were very strong.

The boss sitting at the counter collecting money and his beautiful daughter in her very colourful outfit and head scarf walking up and down the aisle chitchatting with the customers while getting orders. Another very old man came out of the kitchen with our tea and coffee asked when we understood Bahasa Melayu! We got our order right with limited vocab.

Etchr Accordion Sketchbook
Size: 390 x 210mm

First Sketch at Phuket

Day 0 - 13 Aug 2025
I arrived in Phuket on Tuesday, 12 Aug in the evening. Next morning, I did the first loose piece after breakfast at the hotel. It was raining in the morning when I walked towards the old town, so took refuge at Cafe Amazon which is the first cafe I saw along Yaowarad Road. I sat outdoor with Qifeng Zhang, a fellow sketcher from Bejing and we said hello to sketchers who passed-by.

Arches Watercolour Paper
Size: 650 x 210mm

Asia Link Sketchwalk Logo

I have been busy after returning from Kuala Lumpur sketching trip, but it is a must to follow the updates on Asia Link Sketchwalk in Phuket this year from 14-17 August. I take pride in updating the logo from the old post here: https://tiastudio.blogspot.com/2023/08/asia-link-sketchwalk.html

The seed of Asia Link Sketchwalk was first planted by earlier sketching trips organised by Penang for the Georgtown Festivals in 2012 and 2014, then Sketchwalk ChaoPhraya in Bangkok 2013 and the first USk Symposium in Asia (Singapore) in 2015 continued with formalising Asia Link Sketchwalk started in Bangkok in 2016. The rest is history.

Asia Link Sketchwalk Phuket

Sketch Clinic

Come see me the "Dr. Sketch" if you caught the sketching bug, I will prescribe you with the correct medicine.

Video from ALSW2024