Sri Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road

It was a very hot day. I moved 5 to 6 times to hide in the shade to complete this panoramic sketch on 2 sheets of A4 size watercolour papers. Plus I forgot to refill the ink in my fountain pens, so I had to use gel pen this time.

Muse Watson watercolour papers 300gm, Japan. https://www.muse-paper.co.jp/
Size: 594 x 210mm

Third time I sketch this small temple

Sin Choon Huat Temple (Fu De Ci Temple) at 17D Moonstone Lane, built and donated by Bachu Singh on 23 July 1957. The temple's main deity is Tua Pek Kong. Mr Bachu Singh is the father of Ms Ivy Singh (of Bollywood Veggies).

This is the third time I sketch the same temple at Moonstone Lane. The other two were posted here.

Muse Watson watercolour papers 300gm, Japan. https://www.muse-paper.co.jp/
Size: 297 x 210mm A4

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

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

Last Sketchwalk of the Year

Whenever I sketch at Marina Bay looking at the skyscrapers mushroomed behind those low-rise heritage buildings along the bay, I feel very proud of the achievement of Singapore that ever-changing skyline is formed in just one generation of Singaporeans. The heritage buildings are so well preserved like the charming old dames protecting her people with grace and elegance.

The heritage buildings are:
The Custom House,
OUE Tower,
The Clifford Pier,
The Fullerton Hotel
The Merlion Park and
The Fullerton Waterboat House behind Merlion Park across the road.

The newer buildings directly fronting the Marina Bay from the left are:
Fullerton Bay Hotel
Fullerton Pavillion and
One Fullerton

Old Watercolour Paper

I found some old watercolour papers with splashes and used it for this morning sketchwalk at Orchard Road. Added a bit of darker colours at home for the contrast.

Daler Rowney Watercolour Paper
Size: 420 x 297mm

YMCA

In my classes that I teach, there is a topic on colour washes and I prepared many cartridge papers splashed with colour washes for the participants. I used the left over 135 gram cartridge papers for the sketchwalk at YMCA. The colour washes are yellow and purple, red and green.

I was not sketching the YMCA building as I was sitting comfortably at the Social Kitchen on level 4 of the YMCA building overlooking the state-of-the-art School of the Arts (SOTA). My youngest son graduated from SOTA and went on to be an Architect. At that time of its inception, while all the elite schools such as Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls School, Convent of Holy Infant Jesus and St. Joseph Institution etc etc were moving out of central city area, government put the new SOTA back into the heart of the city. WOHA, the architect of SOTA designed the running track on the roof top and theatres, cafes etc were located on the lower floors opened to the public.

You can watch the video I made here

For the building history of YMCA Singapore, you can click this link.

Cartridge Paper 135 grams
Noodler's Lexington Grey ink over colour washes

Tiong Bahru

Since I had a 4-person group exhibitons in 2010 and 2011 on Tiong Bahru at the then White Canvas Gallery, I had painted at different corners of Tiong Bahru. This same view was captured multiple times and I found these in my Flickr. I had a few pieces collected from my old office after I retired and a few pieces at home in the attic. There might be a few more somewhere in the house. I need to find all the originals and start sorting them out. There are also those who were sold at exhibitions either at White Cavas Gallery or Art Gallery@Glocal Connect Village from 2010 to 2015. After that I had a few exhibitions without any sales as they were not commercially driven initiatives. I also donated one or two pieces on Tiong Bahru for charity purposes only for very special causes.

Meanwhile, let me grap a cup of coffee and relax.

Buy this piece to support GUI

Final push - BUY THIS PIECE TO SUPPORT GUI'S BUILDING FUND.

Contact: meichang@groundupinitiative.org

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=350700187312450&set=a.278258541223282

By the end of 2023, the land lease of Ground Up Initiative (GUI)’s current home base, a 2.6-hectare land near Khatib MRT station is to be returned to the authority for redevelopment. Therefore, this fundraising dinner which will be held at Orchid Country Club on 27th Oct, 7.30pm-10.30pm, is to help raise funds for GUI to rebuild the new site.

Funds raised will be used to pay all expenses related to this campaign, and the balance will go towards the construction cost of the new site.

F1 Night Race in Singapore

As urban sketchers, we had the privilege to tour the back of house of our National Gallery on a Saturday morning. Just 17 of us on a special tour guided by Mr Loke Chee Meng, also my schoolmate for over 50 years! So happy to reconnect with him after so many years. He had such wealth of knowledge on our National Gallery. We could only use pencils to sketch the court room in a very dark lighting upper gallery due to the huge historical British royal family portraiture paintings on the wall.

I was early for the tour so I sketched the city view from the famous steps of National Gallery. The view was blocked by the big screen and the steel pillars, lighting grids, barricades etc etc for the biggest event in town next week from 13 to 19 Sep - the F1 night race!

F1 night race started in Singapore in 2008 for 21 times up to last year.
F1 details at https://singaporegp.sg/en

A Sketch from the Weil Hotel

The sky only turned brighter after 7am so we had a coffee and quick bite before leaving the hotel for a dim sum breakfast in town booked at 8am. This sketch was done between the time we came back from a pottery studio visit and lunch at the hotel say at noon and hotel checking out at 1pm not to mention the quick packing before we left the room.

I was checking high and low on the google map when we came back from Ipoh the landmarks in this sketch. Friends said the tower could be the airport but I only found out today that it was the tower at Perak Turf Club on the left and Impiana Hotel on the right.

Charcoal Factory

The compound is so big and there are many charcoal factories with wood kilns next to the river. We met Mr Tan Chin Soon, the guide who is the third generation of the operator at My Charcoal Factory. I was standing and sketching the charcoal factory after the initial tour of the place. Heat, ashes, dust and workers working all around me so I had to sketch real quick. More details at:
https://www.facebook.com/mycharcoalfactory/
https://www.facebook.com/KualaSepetangCharcoalFactory/
https://www.facebook.com/portweldcharcoals/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT-DbURnos8&t=312s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A51eFFycQT0

First sketch in Ipoh

Caught sketching the one of the two small wood kilns while the others still checking out the two huge abandoned wood kilns at the former Sin Cheak Lee Pottery. Took group photo with Fa Kor, the owener of the small kilns. His real name is Chin Kam Peng (陈金平).

More details at:
https://www.facebook.com/hspwiph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnZeDrm0CW0

A Customary Sketch at Airport

Bishan Park

I call this piece "A Dancing Bridge" in Bishan Park just outside McDonald Cafe. Same location where I also did a sketch in 2013. In that old sketch the water stream and buildings can be seen. Now in the new piece, there are bushy shrubs along water body and the buildings are covered by the tall trees.

Watercolours on Arches 300gsm

July Sketchwalk at Bishan Park. Yellow, blue and green are the colours of the day. #usksg #usk #urbansketchers

Posted by Tia Boon Sim on Saturday, 29 July 2023

An old sketch on Singapore Art Museum

Found a few old sketches done in square format, here is one on Singapore Art Museum in 2019, I used lots of purple and splashing of sky during that period.

Size: 250 x 250mm

Masjid Darul Aman at Eunos

Found a few old sketches done in square format, here is one on the iconic mosque at Jalan Eunos and the HUDC flats (Housing and Urban Development Company) before it was sold enbloc behind the mosque. Now it is the private condominium called Parc Esta with over a thousand units. I remember I was inside the car at the nearby carpark and did this real quick.

Size: 250 x 250mm

Emerald Hill

While doing some housekeeping, I found a few old sketches done in square format on Daler Rowney watercolour papers. This one was done during the sketchwalk in 2016. That period I used lots of purple colours.

Size: 250 x 250 mm

Taking Stock

Taking stock before colour-play, yummy!

Checking out from Marine Bay Sands

Here is the collection of artwork done on loose watercolour papers at MBS whenever I have the family staycation during the pandemic. About ten of them thus far, may be a few more at home. Lost count.

Size: various around 750 x 285mm