Urban Sketchers Singapore

National Museum 2012

2012-01-28T19:14:00.001+08:00

Photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teohyc/sets/72157629065771779/detail/

Giveaway contest for the Jan 2012 Sketchwalk

2012-01-25T12:10:00.001+08:00

That's the sketchwalk at the National Day Museum on Jan 28.

Criteria:

You must be attending to be eligible for this giveaway. I'll announce the winners during the sketchwalk.
Just post a comment on which prize you want to win. You can choose all, but you can only win one.
If you've won a prize within the last six months, then I'll skip over your name.

Urban Sketchers em Lisboa - desenhando a cidade
This is the sketchbook from the Lisbon Symposium 2011.

Color Mixing Recipes For Watercolor

sketchwalk January

2012-01-25T11:18:00.002+08:00

This saturday 28 Jan, we will be sketching inside AND all around the National Museum of Singapore. we will also cover the fort canning park which is just behind the museum. It's free and easy so you can chose just the museum or both locations. We will meet at the museum's main porch (or around the front) at 10am. We will then spread out to any part of the musuem we want. It is the museum's open house that day, so you may also visit and draw in any of the galleries for free (see below). We will meet back at the museum's main porch at 1pm where we will gather for "show and tell" and then head for lunch. See you there!

chinese new year sketches

2012-01-25T10:39:00.002+08:00

my grand parents, my mom driving, and my uncle on chinese new year. parellel pen on brown paper + photoshop to take out the brown colour using "levels" and to add flat colours. I could have used white paper but the brown paper had nicer texture.

Still a tourist after all (2) these years

2012-01-24T20:22:00.004+08:00

Lots of time in my hands over the Holiday, headed over to touristy destination.

3rd International Urban Sketching Symposium

2012-01-24T11:32:00.000+08:00

Happy Dragon Year to all!

2012-01-22T23:06:00.001+08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2012-01-22T19:21:00.005+08:00

So I went back to try and finish what I had started the previous Saturday. The washes were added at home. Glad I participated, albeit unkowningly, in the 34th Worldwide Sketchcrawl Day.

Sketching Dragons in Chinatown

2012-01-22T00:44:00.002+08:00

In conjunction with the Lunar New Year and the 34th Worldwide Sketchcrawl Day on the 21 January 2012, some of us from the Urban Sketchers Singapore group headed over to Chinatown to capture the festive mood on paper.

And here, I have attempted to capture my sketching process on video, which was entirely shot, edited and posted with an iPhone 4, together with the iMovie application.

Hope you'll like it!

Gallardo

2012-01-22T00:17:00.001+08:00

While walking from the promenade metro station to the Millennium bridge, I suddenly found myself on a parking lot in front of a shopping mall. There were eight Lamborghini Gallardo's parked among minor stuff like BMW 7 series, Mercedes S-class and Maserati quattraporte. Not a view that I am used to.
I drew this white beauty while my colleagues were patiently waiting for me; I painted it later in the hotelroom.

Orchard road

2012-01-19T06:01:00.001+08:00

I found this traditional wooden house in the middle of beautiful vegetation on Orchard road, just opposite my hotel. I woke up too early that morning due to a huge jetlag, so I made a little walk before breakfast, and painted this little drawing in the early morning sun.

lavander dried goods market

2012-01-18T15:14:00.003+08:00

Drew this from my car. parallel pen 3.8 + photoshop. parallel pen draws pretty well if you treat it like a flat brush and not like a pen.

sketchwalk drawings in chinatown

2012-01-16T12:13:00.000+08:00

For the coloured ones, i was trying putting down the colours first. Then drawing in the lines.

No sketchwalk for me

2012-01-14T20:49:00.000+08:00

Unfortunately I was unable to join the sketchwalk, I was on the plane back to Europe this morning (I didn´t even know there was one).
But last Thursday I happened to make a sketch of the same dragon that Parka drew, on the entrance road to Chinatown - I don't know the name. So consider me as a virtual member of your sketchwalk today.....

Chinatown Sketchwalk (14 Jan 2012)

2012-01-14T19:17:00.002+08:00

9 by 12 inch.

Second sketch on my new Ebony sketchbook from Daler-Rowney. It's not easy to stand and sketch with the book. Perspective is a bit off for the left piece.

More photos at:
www.flickr.com/photos/teohyc/sets/72157628864134651

Sketchwalk 14 Jan 2012

2012-01-14T18:56:00.001+08:00

I was a bit too ambitious with my first drawing of The Majestic (I'll have to go back), so for the time being I will settle for these "thumbnails", where I've included my so called "signature" white.
Very impressed with visiting sketcher Steve's drawings, it's good to have the chance to talk face to face with a great artist!

Ad-hoc Chinese New Year Sketchwalk

2012-01-11T13:54:00.002+08:00

We will sketch with Steven Reddy from Seattle this Saturday. Steven is going home from China via Singapore from 10 to 18 Jan. Check out his blog full of beautiful sketches. Before his trip to Singapore, he sketched with the Bangkok sketchers so now he is egar to meet the Singapore Sketchers.

Meet 9.30am at McDonald's Lucky China Town Point located at 211 New Bridge Road. We will explore the New Bridge Road, the big dragon, the bridge and the row of beautiful heritage buildings aka Majestic Hotel, Yue Hwa Emporium. Here is the map.

POST YOUR DRAWING TIP

2012-01-10T17:44:00.003+08:00

Post your drawing tip (following the format below) and I will collect them in our new

"drawing tip" page. http://urbansketchers-singapore.blogspot.com/p/drawing-tips.html

Post any personal tip from drawing tool to techniques. Keep it short and simple.

Title it "TIP FROM YOUR-NAME"

TIP FROM ANDREW

My own personal rule of thumb. Every drawing should these 3 parts. Highlights, mid tones and darks. Highlights can be the white of your paper or a very light colour. Midtones are your greys or any colour that becomes grey when you convert it to grey tones. Darks are your solid blacks or very dark colours. With these 3 tones in your pictures, you will bring out the shapes of objects more clearly. (some exceptions just have highlights and darks)

I find that the more contrast I have between each of the 3 tones, the more crisp the picture becomes.

Squinting your eyes when you are on the streets can help you see the 3 tones more clearly.

Zhu Hong's studio

2012-01-07T21:38:00.000+08:00

9 by 12 inch, Hero pen, Noodler's Ink, Graphitone

This is Zhu Hong's studio. I was there to attend the Telok Kurau Studios 14th Annual Exhibition and he was one of the artists featured. This was drawn before the exhibition.

I wanted to put in two vanishing points but failed.

Keppel Harbour

2012-01-07T21:37:00.001+08:00

9 by 12 inch, Pilot Parallel pen, Noodler's Ink, Graphitone

That should be Keppel Club at Keppel Harbour. I reached there by walking from Labrador MRT station along side Berlayer Creek Boardwalk, and then Bukit Chermin Boardwalk.

The buildings are more majestic than I've drawn them here.

I drew this really quick because the sun was scorching and places with shade were also warm. I'll probably revisit this place in the evening in the future.

Jalan Besar Stadium

2012-01-06T12:56:00.000+08:00

Hero pen

Watercolour Sketches

2012-01-04T02:46:00.000+08:00

Here are some of my recent watercolour sketches...

Village Chief's House, Pulau Ubin

Bicycle For Rent, Pulau Ubin

Botak Jones Burgers, Youth Park

Tong Ah Coffeeshop, Keong Saik Road

sketchwalk at orchard

2012-01-03T11:25:00.000+08:00

parallel pen, watercolour and photoshop.

Pilot Parallel pens pre-order

2012-01-03T03:32:00.020+08:00

I recently found about these pens online. They are calligraphic pens which have a different nib design
allowing ink to flow even from the edges. I bought a couple to try out. They do allow for good line variation. The consistancy of the flow depends on the type of ink and paper you use. It's not as smooth as a lamy (it skips sometimes) but if you like loose messy variable lines this could be good for you. It seems to work well with a continuous line drawing style or a very scratchy style. I do prefer a calligraphy dip nib pen for the quality of the line, but for traveling purposes this would work well in its place. The good thing is that you can re-fill it with any kind of ink without any cartridge. And because of the design, it is easy to clean and not likely to ever get permanantly clogged (if you use the wrong ink) Also, the nib is metal so it won't wear out like a calligraphy marker.

Some reviews online:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/borrominibear/6282986554/
http://26symbols.com/2009/pilot-parallel-pen-review/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w57jB6TNvIs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carmelscribe/sets/72157622082982460/
http://janefarr.blogspot.com/2009/08/pilot-parallel-pens.html

They are a pretty old invention actually. They were sold at the stores in Singapore in 2001 but because they did not sell well as calligraphy pens, they stopped bringing them in. One can only guess the reasons. Maybe if they had marketed them as drawing pens, they would have sold better. You can order them from Amazon, Ebay or Jetpens but you have to pay for shipping. I called Pilot Singapore and they have some leftover stock for the 1.5mm and 3.8mm pens (about 8 left). So we can get it from them directly.

Zhu Hong will be swinging by their office to get the pens. If any of you would like to buy them through him, please pre-order (with your telephone number) in the comment section. He will bring them at the next month end sketchwalk. They will be $10 for each pen.

ADDITIONAL REVIEW:
I've tried different ways of drawing with this pen. It seems that the most perfect way to use this pen is to align the nib more or less in the same direction as the line you are drawing. (when doing thin strokes or hatching). That way, the flow is always consistant. And produces excellent cut lines. So with this technique, you can do drawings with a more angular feel. The best ink I've tried for this pen so far is pelikan or calligraphy ink.

bye bye 2011, hello 2012!

2011-12-31T23:23:00.002+08:00

To celebrate the last day of the year, I decided to do a colourful piece for the otherwise dull Orchard Road Mall in my personal opinion. You can see the colourful piece on Ion Orchard on my blog. This morning we had the last sketchwalk of the year in 2011 and we met so many new and young faces. There was Charles, a 9-year-old boy who joined us for the very first time.

Orchard Road mall is crowded with people but the outdoor walkway lacks interesting icons, well designed kiosks, artistic signages, festive sculptures which are badly designed and installed. The scales are very flat and dull.

This corner at Scape off the main Orchard belt is dead and quiet. The blue umbrellas and the big shades cast by the trees attracted me to sketch the otherwise dry and empty area.

Spread the good vibes of sketching people! Looking forward to a great 2012 ahead!

Orchard Road sketchwalk

2011-12-31T21:38:00.000+08:00

Used a normal brush for these two pieces instead of the waterbrush. I'm pleased with the even wash.

More sketchwalk photos

Giveaway contest for the Dec 31 Orchard Sketchwalk

2011-12-27T23:27:00.000+08:00

Criteria:

You must be attending to be eligible for this giveaway. I'll announce the winners during the sketchwalk.
Just post a comment on which prize you want to win. You can choose all, but you can only win one.
If you've won a prize within the last six months, then I'll skip over your name.

1. Lamy Safari Fountain Pen
The one I'm giving out is of a dark brown grayish colour.

2. Pentel Waterbrush Set of 3
It's the one on the right with 3 waterbrush of different sizes.

YEAR END SKETCHWALK

2011-12-27T15:32:00.003+08:00

Hi all,
For the last saturday of the year, we will be having our sketchwalk along Orchard Road. This will be our chance to capture the christmas decorations before they come down. (christmas is still on considering there are supposed to be 12 days of it.) Here is the plan:

10AM- Meet outside ION's entrance (where the colourful sculptures are. Facing Tangs)
1PM- Meet at Scape (outside Toastbox) We will either head for the basement or one of the higher floors of Scape
where we will have space for "show and tell". Then we will have lunch around the area.

Weather report say that saturday will be stormy. But we will have plenty of shopping centres to hide in if it does. If you feel overwhelmed when you think of Orchard Road, too many things to draw, and the crowds, then think along these lines -
1. isolate smaller interesting things. eg, just one decoration or one shop.
2. Use the crowds to your advantage. You can hide among them to sneak a drawing of interesting people.
3. Go into and around the malls to explore and draw. Some interesting ones are ION (interesting curves inside and outside. Outside Prologue bookstore could be nice to draw), Lucky plaza (with a lot of maids on leave), Mandarin Gallery (they have nice big chairs to sit inside), Scape(interesting building design. Dance classes upstairs.), and youth park (across from Scape. it's not a mall. but it could be interesting.) You could also capture buskers in the underground tunnels (between Tangs and ION. Between Lucky Plaza and Takashimaya.)

See you there!

PS. Edric will be leading a group after lunch to finish drawing the Tudor Court area. (other end of Orchard Rd). Please follow him after lunch if you are one of those who can't get enough of sketching!

Logos Hope

2011-12-27T14:05:00.001+08:00

9 by 12 inch, Hero pen, Noodler's Ink, Graphitone

That's Logos Hope currently docked by VivoCity. I had wanted to draw it during the sketchwalk a few days earlier but didn't have the time. So I went back again to sketch it just before it leaves on 29 Dec 2011.

There's a book fair on deck which I wanted to draw but it was too crowded inside.

sketchwalk at vivocity

2011-12-26T15:18:00.002+08:00

hero pen + photoshop.

Sketchwalk at Tudor Court (Dec 2011)

2011-12-26T03:44:00.000+08:00

9 by 12 inch, Hero pen, Noodler's Ink, Graphitone

5 by 5 inch, Hero pen, Noodler's Ink, WN watercolour

Elephant Parade at VivoCity

2011-12-24T23:21:00.000+08:00

This was the first one I sketched. It's designed by Sonny Liew. I didn't know that until I saw the label.

And there's this one from another local artist called Mindflyer. I forgot to leave white space for the faces.

I finished three small 5 by 5 inch sketches. One was given away during the gift exchange at the end of the sketchwalk.

Here's a video I shot. View it in high res for extra goodness.

You can check out more photos at on my flickr page.

X'mas Eve Sketchwalk on 24 Dec 2011

2011-12-24T22:28:00.004+08:00

Size : 254 x 178mm (10 x 7")

Merry Christmas!

I did 3 sketches with another smaller warming up piece, total 4. Three on the giant X'mas tree and one on the ship "Logos Hope" - a one-of-its kind ship which sails around the world as a floating library and book store. The piece was presented to Drewscape as a X'mas sketch exchange among sketchers. He promised to give me a scan of the sketch of the ship later.

and here it is!

Christmas 2011 Sketch Walks

2011-12-21T18:29:00.007+08:00

Dear fellow Urban Sketchers and friends,

In conjunction with the closing of the Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 1 Exhibition at the URA Centre and also to celebrate this festive season the way we know best (through sketching, of course!), we have lined up a series of sketch walks for you!

1) First of all, we shall make a special return to Vivo City as we did for last year's Christmas sketch walk.

Venue: Vivo City

Date: 24 Dec 2011 (Saturday)

Meeting: 9.30am at Vivo City's Sky Park Amphitheatre

Show-and-Tell Time: 12.30pm at Sky Park Amphitheatre

This time, we'll explore the Sky Park area, and sketch-able subjects include the giant Christmas tree, the huge rooftop wading pool, the various outdoor sculptures and installation artwork (including the Elephant Parade!), and also the nearby cable-cars, cruise liners, waterfront and ferry terminal facing Sentosa Island, as well as St James Power Station. And that's just the outdoor ones!

At the same time, we would like to reprise the "Sketch Gift Exchange" game that we had last year, in which every sketcher who turns up would participate by drawing a special piece (in any of your own preferred style, paper and size), submit it into a box or bag, and during the show-and-tell session, randomly choose ANOTHER fellow sketcher's work as a Christmas gift to bring home!

So please remember to bring along your own single-sheet sketch paper (or card) in preparation for this special exchange.

We could also buy your lunch and bring it over to the Amphitheatre for the show-and-tell session at 12.30pm sharp, and picnic at the same time.

After that, we should then all make our way back (by bus *) to the URA Centre by 1.30pm to have a special closure of the exhibition, and also to help remove and collect back our sketches on display, as well as purchase any of the frames used in the display if so wish.

There might be special announcements after that, so do keep yourself available till around 2.30 or 3pm if possible.

* We could take the public bus services 80 and 145 to URA Centre, or alternatively, if we could get around 30-40 sketchers, we would hire a special charter bus via URA, for S$40 and split the bill. Do leave a comment under this post with your name to indicate your interest to share this charter bus.

2) Some of us who might not be celebrating Christmas at home and might like to do it with fellow sketchers, could join a special Christmas Day sketchwalk!

Venue: Orchard Road (from Ion Orchard to Tudor Court)

Date: 25 Dec 2011 (Sunday)

Meet: 1pm at Orchard MRT Station (Ticket Office)

Show-and-Tell: 3.30pm at Tudor Court

3) With the Monday (Boxing Day) being a public holiday too, some of us would like to take this opportunity and sketch over at...

Venue: Pulau Ubin
Date: 26 Dec 2011 (Monday)

Meet: 10am at Changi Point Ferry Terminal
Show-and-Tell: 3pm and beyond.

4) There will also be a final and official last-Saturday-of-the-month sketch walk on New Year's Eve. So while keeping an eye on the updates, do keep that morning free to join us too!

WATCH THIS SPACE!

In the meantime, see you all there, and have a Merry Christmas!!!

A LCD TV Christmas tree

2011-12-17T14:45:00.005+08:00

A LCD TV Christmas tree at Clark Quay. There are 48 40-inch TVs mounted on the two-storey high frame. It is from Heineken beer.

Lunch at Jack's Place

2011-12-13T10:43:00.003+08:00

I had a fall last week so I was on pain killers. I felt better in the afternoon and I went to Jack's Place for lunch with my son who was dropping his overdued library books. At Jack's Place, the Christmas decorations were up and we met Mr Tang Guan Bee, the respectable architect who sat next to our table. He was so gracious to pay for our lunch. Great company.

Kandahar Street

2011-12-12T10:41:00.001+08:00

Not long ago in the month of Nov, we had an ad-hoc sketch walk at Kampong Glam; I did a sketch of this blue building along Kandahar street after finishing 2 others at Pahang Street earlier in the morning. Paul and Zhu Hong were there too. We sat under the shade in a coffeeshop as the weather was getting warmer. I love the hustle and bustle of this place. Tony then pointed to a back alley and exclaimed, "So this is where all the taxis drivers are hiding!" He said it in an angry tone and I knew he was pissed. I turned to look at the alley and to my amazement, it was packed with blue and yellow cabs! As I turned back I saw some "uncles" sitting in the coffeeshop right in front of me smiling, then I realized they were the taxi drivers stealing a break from their morning routine. I did not sketch the back alley... I should have!!

December sketchwalk to Kreta Ayer

2011-12-12T10:33:00.001+08:00

Sketch of Chinatown Complex & Sri Layan Sithi Vinaygar temple.

Saturday Flea market at Block 4 Sago Lane.

Kreta Ayer

2011-12-11T12:33:00.000+08:00

I'll probably go back to re-draw the top two pieces. They were down under 1 hour each. I didn't feel like I quite captured the essence of the place.

The temple is the Po Chiak Keng. All temples are difficult to draw. Their architectural details are insane. I find it pretty hard to simplify all the details into something just suggestive enough.

sketchwalk 10dec

2011-12-11T01:08:00.002+08:00

calligraphic pen + photoshop.

KRETA AYER

2011-12-10T14:46:00.004+08:00

I could not stay for the sketchwalk after the interesting talk at URA, so I did my homework last Saturday, here is my sketch of Keong Saik Road.

I am going back to Spain for Xmas, see you all next year, have a great Holiday Season.

Giveaway contest for the 10 Dec Kreta Ayer Sketchwalk

2011-12-06T18:25:00.001+08:00

Criteria:

You must be attending to be eligible for this giveaway. I'll announce the winners during the sketchwalk.
Just post a comment on which prize you want to win. You can choose all, but you can only win one.
If you've won a prize within the last six months, then I'll skip over your name.

Derwent Graphitint 12-pencil box. It's a review copy so it's used but relatively brand new (like in the picture above).

A Petoskey Watercolor Journal

When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put

Old School at Mount Sophia

2011-12-06T17:06:00.003+08:00

Special 10th Dec Sketchwalk to KRETA AYER

2011-12-06T00:33:00.000+08:00

Dear fellow friends & USK sketchers,

This will be our one of our last few sketchwalks for 2011 and URA has kindly organised a special talk for us before we begin our sketchwalk to Kreta Ayer. This talk by URA's planner Jevon will be very informative and many sketchers found it useful during the previous talk. We hope that by knowing more Chinatown's history, culture and architecture, we will be able to sketch with an enlightened mind. Please help us spread the word and bring all your friends to this special event!

Meeting point - URA centre
1) Talk by URA Planner - URA Theatrette (Level 3)
2) Location #1 - Sago Lane (corridor between block 4 & chinatown hawker centre)
3) Location #2 - Junction of Keong Saik road & Kreta Ayer
4) Location #3 - Kreta Ayer People's theatre & Community Centre
End point - URA Atirum

Date : 10th Dec 2011
Time: 10-10.30am (Talk by URA Planner)
10.30--1.15pm (Sketchwalk)
1.15-1.30pm (Show & Tell)

** Just a gentle reminder that our recently published Urbansketcher book is still on sale at URA atrium, Kinokunikya; Basheers, BooksActually & Woods in the Books. If you are wondering what to buy for christmas, this is definitely the perfect gift to get!

Sketchwalk at Buang Kok (3 Dec 2011)

2011-12-03T23:03:00.001+08:00

Ink and Derwent Graphitone.

More photos on Flickr

new sketches for the new month

2011-12-01T23:41:00.011+08:00

Time flies, before we know it, November is gone! On the first day of December, I did three sketches with different formats. They are:

1. Hero M86 with Noodler's ink on 305x229mm (12"X9") 300gsm (140lbs) watercolour paper.
2. Hero M86 with Noodler's ink on 130x130mm (5"x5") Muji Sketchbook
3. Bamboo dip pen with Hero ink on 400x200mm (8"x6") 300gsm (140lbs) watercolour paper.

As the manifesto of USK says "We show the world one drawing at a time", I choose to post here with the first drawing that I did on the first day of a new month. On the left is the photo of the third drawing which is also a new experiment. It is the first time that I used the bamboo dip pen with Hero ink which is not waterproof. It was lots of fun and I will try the bamboo dip pen with a smaller nib next time.

You can see my other sketches on my blog or flickr.

sketchwalk keong saik/bukit basoh

2011-11-29T14:15:00.005+08:00

For most of these, I used a bamboo dip pen and some diluted ink. the coloured one was ballpoint and watercolour. last one was a marker drawing+photoshop.

Teck Lim and Keong Siak Road

2011-11-27T13:55:00.007+08:00

Great place for sketching, it was a lot of fun.

Urban Sketchers at Neil Rd and Teck Lim Road

2011-11-26T23:19:00.005+08:00

result of november sketchwalk

2011-11-26T22:39:00.003+08:00

I did three watercolour pieces at today's sketchwalk. This is at the third location, I was attracted to the interesting light and shadow cast on this building situated at the corner of Jiak Chuan Road and Teck Lim Road. We never make it to Bukit Pasoh Road which was the last scheduled location but we sure had lots of fun sketching together.

Two other pieces at my blog.

Keong Saik & Bukit Pasoh

2011-11-26T21:02:00.000+08:00

Teck Lim Road

Jiak Chuan Road

Maxwell Food Centre

Book Cellar at Bukit Pasoh

More homemade sketchbooks for sale

2011-11-25T20:57:00.003+08:00

I will be bringing a few more brown paper and white paper sketchbooks for sale. Same as before, they are $3 each. You can find them at the urbansketchers table at URA before and after the sketchwalk tmrw.

2011-11-25T09:13:00.001+08:00

Singapore has no scarcity of food... despite the fact that we do not have four seasons, we are compensated with five seasons of food to choose from. The multi-racial and cultural nature of Singapore has given the people a wide variety of cuisines and food types we couldn't really finish them all in our life time. In Singapore it is all about eating... we eat 5 meals per day!! We are a melting pot of food; western, chinese, south east asian, indian, middle eastern, muslim and many more. It is my quest to eat and sketch at these places!! (And not become too fat later on).:D

NOVEMBER SKETCHWALK 26 NOV 10AM.

2011-11-21T22:57:00.005+08:00

Hi all, here is the sketchwalk plan for this saturday. We will be reprising Keong Saik for the new comers and covering Bukit Pasoh too, which will be a new area for us all. If you come late, please find us along this route.

Meeting/Endpoint - URA centre Atrium

Location #1 - Junction of Neil Road & Teck Lim Road

Location #2 - Keong Saik road

Location #3 - Bukit Pasoh (Majestic Hotel)

Date : 26th Nov 2011

Time: 10.00am --1.00pm (Sketchwalk)

1.00pm (Show & Tell @ Atrium)

Sketchwalk at Golden Mile Complex (20 Nov 2011)

2011-11-20T21:59:00.000+08:00

The interesting game Edric had us play today is to use the drawing materials from someone else. I had Tan Chit Seng's materials which consist of mainly pencils, colour pencils and selected watercolour colours.

I'm particularly pleased with the dark clouds which I mixed with, I think, French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber.

The piece is only 5 by 5 inch.

More photos on Flickr

Orchard road

2011-11-20T03:50:00.003+08:00

Last months visit to Singapore lasted only for three days, not much time to sketch. I had to rise early to make this sketch, I left my hotel on Orchard road an hour before breakfast. I am not sure how this shopping mall was called, but it looked pretty impressive, especially when we visited it the evening before.
This was drawn on location, but painted from memory on the plane back home. So the colours are probably nowhere near reality.

Haji Lane (17 Nov 2011)

2011-11-18T04:11:00.000+08:00

Haji Lane is requires concentration. There are so much details in the area. I was sketching in front of a cafe (closed) and the owner was pretty thrilled to see me sketching and wanted to offer me drinks.

I used the edge of the sketchpad to draw perspective guidelines — very useful.

This was on the wall at Bian's cafe.

More photos on Flickr

Skinny Pizza

2011-11-16T01:20:00.001+08:00

Black in colour, the squid seafood pizza was so good! After splashing some coffee, I started a sketch. Teety from Skinny Pizza, Raffles City was so in awe when she saw me sketching her restaurant. She repeatedly said "my god" like more than 10 times.... Ha!

Dedicated Sketcher

2011-11-13T22:25:00.005+08:00

heavy rain

2011-11-13T01:15:00.000+08:00

At Saturday ad-hoc Sketchwalk. I did three sketches with two under the heavy rain at second location. This was done at the first location at Ann Siang Hill just outside URA building. Ann Siang Hill is characterised by the old clans buildings at both sides of the road.

At second location. Started a sketch at Boon Tat Street and it began to rain like cats and dogs. Got to find the shelter along the narrow five foot way on the left of this location.

My third sketch at the junction of Amoy Street and Boon Tat Street. Some of us took shelter at the narrow five-foot way along Amoy Street looking at Boon Tat Street. I was sitting near to the umbrella you see here before the rain started. The heavy rain did not deter the spirit and we had a great time sketching together!

Sketchwalk at Amoy Street, Telok Ayer (12 Nov 2011)

2011-11-12T18:50:00.002+08:00

Drew halfway and it started to drizzle.

And all the photos on Flickr:
flickr.com/photos/teohyc/sets/72157627984420751/detail/

Urban sketching on a rainy day-Ann Siang+Amoy street

2011-11-12T17:28:00.002+08:00

Rainy day but everyone was not deterred by the rain.. until it started to pour;)

sketchwalk around telok ayer

2011-11-12T16:42:00.003+08:00

it was raining

tony. drawn halfway.

tia's students

hero pen with ecoline inks + watercolour + photoshop

i'm selling some home-made sketchbooks

2011-11-10T19:13:00.008+08:00

I bought paper in bulk and I have too much to use all on my own. I was greedy. So i've decided to make them into sketchbooks to sell to you guys.

Brown paper. I think around 200gsm if i'm not wrong. It holds inks well and thick enough that it does not start buckling like thinner brown paper. It consists of 8 sheets of A4 paper folded, stapled and trimmed by me. That will give you 32pages of A5 sheets to draw on. I've included a decent black cover to complement the book.

Each book is $3. The price of a plate of carrot cake at Maxwell Market.

Brown paper is great if you want to try adding white highlights using chalk, white paint, or liquid paper to your drawings. It takes pretty much any medium well.

This is the sketchbook I usually make for myself to draw in. It has 9 sheets of slightly off-white paper (a bit smaller than A4), folded, stapled and trimmed by me. That will give you 36 pages of 14.5x19cm paper to draw on. I've used the brown paper mentioned above as the cover. It's blank so you can stamp or draw your own design on it. It's also $3 each.

This paper takes watercolour pretty well. As in, the pigments and water spreads and rests nicely into the paper rather than puddles in strange blotches, like other papers I've tried. If you are using black hero ink, I recommend putting a protective paper between the pages as hero ink tends to dry slowly on these pages. The paper has little bumps like watercolour paper. I'd say it's a cross between serious watercolour paper and sketching paper. I think it is around 160gsm. Thick enough to hold a couple layers of washes decently.

I will bring just a few books this saturday NOV 12 at URA for the sketchwalk. You can touch and draw on a couple samples and decide if it's something you want to buy. if you'd like to pre-order please tell me which sketchbook you'd like, and include your name and handphone number in the comments section here. Please call Andrew at 91070735 if you can't find me.

Jurong Island

2011-11-10T04:44:00.001+08:00

I guess this is one of the very few places where the Singapore sketchers won't hold a sketchwalk.... on Jurong Island. A few weeks ago I visited a building project there, for an industrial plant that I am involved in (I am a Dutch architect). And as you may well be aware you are not allowed to take cameras to the island. We didn't know, and the camera of one of our group was taken in by the guards at the entrance of the island. Fortunately regulations don't forbid to make sketches, so I made this drawing of the building works in progress.

NOVEMEBER 12. ADHOC SKETCHWALK (with special talk by URA)

2011-11-08T18:32:00.006+08:00

Meeting point - URA centre
1) Talk by URA Planner - URA Theatrette (Level 3)

2) Location #1 - Ann Siang Hill Park (deck infront of P.S Cafe)
3) Location #2 - Junction of Amoy and Boon Tat street
4) Location #3 - Thian Hock Keng temple
End point - URA centre

Date : 12th Nov 2011
Time: 10-10.30am (Talk by URA Planner)
10.30--1.15pm (Sketchwalk)
1.15-1.30pm (Show & Tell)

Boat Quay Sketchwalk & Plein Air

2011-11-07T14:02:00.001+08:00

Njoy!

Sketchwalk at Boat Quay, North Canal Road (5 Nov 2011)

2011-11-05T16:19:00.000+08:00

Video in 720P (youtube.com)

Photos in non-slideshow format, and slideshow format (below).

October Sketchwalk - Duxton Road

2011-11-05T13:35:00.001+08:00

The official sketchwalk in October was around the Duxton Hill area. It was my first time there and I found many interesting things to sketch. I managed 3 sketches before joining other sketches at the URA center for "show and tell".

Duxton Sketchwalk

2011-11-04T12:19:00.002+08:00

After adding some wash at home. Great place to draw, Duxton area!

Duxton Sketchwalk Part 2

2011-11-03T21:17:00.001+08:00

Happy faces!! --  Posting the group picture taken after the sketch walk at Duxton Plain / Hill and show & tell held at the URA Atrium.

Sketchwalk at Ann Siang Road (1 Nov 2011)

2011-11-01T19:47:00.002+08:00

sketchwalk around duxton

2011-10-31T17:35:00.002+08:00

Where the old BBH office used to be. the black cat named "xiao hei" was still there.

Tanjong pagar hawker centre.

Hero pen with a mix of red ecoline ink (from straits commercial) and a couple drops of black calligraphy ink + watercolour.

Duxton Hill

2011-10-31T02:45:00.003+08:00

Result of Sketchwalk at Duxton Road, Neil Road

2011-10-31T02:09:00.002+08:00

I was trying to do a smaller piece knowing there was a time limit. However, I continued to sketch with my usual format at 400 x 200mm complete with watercolour washes. It felt like another speed sketching session. This time without my proper tools. I did these two sketches with my favourtie fountain pen but only one new ZIG waterbrush. My usual tools, Holbein waterbrush plus my favourite watercolour set were part of the exhibits at the URA Centre.

Backpack

2011-10-30T12:41:00.002+08:00

Some of you asked me about this backpack, I got it at a shop called "Fourskin" at The Heeren, 260 Orchard Road, at street level.

SKETCHWALK OCTOBER! 29 OCT, SAT, 10AM

2011-10-26T13:01:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone,

October's sketchwalk will follow the same plan as the previous adhoc sketchwalk around the Tanjong Pagar and Duxton areas. There is much to draw and discover around these parts.

We will meet at URA centre (location 1) at 10am then walk over to the corner of maxwell road to sketch the former Jinriksha Station at 1 Neil Road (location 2). Afterwhich, we will walk and sketch along tanjong pagar road and explore duxton road and duxton hill area (location 3) before walking back to URA centre for our show and tell at 1pm. (see map) Then we will have lunch! If you get lost, please look for us along the mentioned route (we will be everywhere) or meet us back at URA centre after the sketchwalk.

This sketchwalk is open to the public and everyone is welcome, regardless of skill level!

Book Launch for Urban Sketchers Singapore Vol. 1

2011-10-23T13:40:00.003+08:00

All the photos for the event are on my Flickr page. There are too many for me to post here.

There's also a slideshow mode.

The book is available for sale at www.usksgvolumes.com.

At the urbansketchers singapore book launch/exhibition

2011-10-22T00:28:00.003+08:00

Hero pen + watercolour.

BOOK LAUNCH ADHOC SKETCHWALK, SAT 10AM

2011-10-21T01:09:00.004+08:00

To celebrate the launch of the new USKSG volume 1 book at URA centre, we will be having a special adhoc sketchwalk around URA centre, Tanjong Pagar and Duxton.

We will meet at URA centre (location 1) at 10am then walk over to the corner of maxwell road to sketch the former Jinriksha Station at 1 Neil Road (location 2). Afterwhich, we will walk and sketch along tanjong pagar road and explore duxton road and duxton hill area (location 3) before walking back to URA centre for our show and tell at 1pm. (see map) Then we will have lunch!

Don and Paul will be the sketchwalk leaders this saturday. So contact them for more information. Don- 84183032. Paul- 97923622.

THE LAUNCH IS THIS TODAY!! FRIDAY 5PM

2011-10-20T00:09:00.002+08:00

Come for the launch of the new urbansketchers book and also an exhibition of urbansketchers' original work. It ends around 9pm. So come after work. Books can be pre-ordered or picked up at the launch (artists will be there to sign) at the special launch price of $39. after the launch, it will be $49. See you there if you are coming.

Saturday 15th October 2011 - Sketching

2011-10-17T10:36:00.004+08:00

I didn't realize Saturday was Sketch Crawl Day Worldwide, but I went on my own to Dempsey and inspired by Parka's technique, was able to do this drawing of some derelict barracks before the ants finished eating me alive. In the evening I came across another nice building at 54 Waterloo Street, it used to house the Young Musicians Society of Singapore, but it's now closed due to some problems with the structure. I hope it does not reach the state of the barracks and someone recovers it.

collage of sketches for Sep and early Oct

2011-10-17T00:09:00.005+08:00

October 15

2011-10-16T00:40:00.002+08:00

What I did and where I went. Ball point, hero, ink + photoshop.

33rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Day - McD's Big Breakfast

2011-10-15T20:47:00.001+08:00

Today is the 33rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Day, but I had spent more time on our very first Singapore Instagrammer's Instameet at Vivo City instead, so I only did one quick marker sketch during my breakfast at McDonald's this morning.

Either way, both are my favourite activities right now: Sketching and Instagramming. So here's a combo of both pastimes: an Instagram of my Sketch! :)

Hope you'll like!

Cheers

Edric

No Feeding of Animals

2011-10-15T17:29:00.003+08:00

Let's play a game called "Guess where I am"

I hope this thing ends before the book launch on Oct 21.

Three metro stops apart

2011-10-14T02:19:00.005+08:00

Last week I visited Singapore on a business trip. I am René Fijten, an architect from the Netherlands, and am involved in a project on Jurong Island.
I loved Singapore, such a beautiful, well kept city - for what I saw.
Unfortunately it was a very short trip, from Tuesday morning to Thursday evening, and filled with meetings and site visits. But I still found the time to make a few sketches. They were drawn on location, but due to lack of time painted in my hotel room or on the plane back home.
Above a night scene at a corner on Dunlop street (I think), somewhere in Little India. Very colourfull and full of lights, they were preparing for the Deepavali festivities.
And below a scene of the Marina bay building. Of course the drawing does not come close to the fantastic reality with all these bright shining lights across the water. I was totally stunned by the view!
Hard to imagine that these two scenes were only a few metro stops apart!

Urban Sketchers Singapore - Kudos!

2011-10-12T10:12:00.002+08:00

Just want to say thank you all for being such an inspiration!! With the new book coming, Urban Sketching has entered a new era, and sketching (or plein air) has been re-discovered with a burning passion, to explore Singapore with a new eye. Sketching has never been the same now. It used to be a lonely process, but with the growth of sketchers, both in quantity and quality, sketching has as well become an art and a social activity, where artists come together to share their work, knowledge and experiences. The competition is a healthy one, in which everyone is pushing to learn more from another fellow sketcher, and to constantly inspire and aspire. Whether a sketcher is a veteran sketcher or a beginner, there is always something to learn from each other. No one is better or worse. The group is a vibrant concoction of passion, creativity and inspiration. Keep up with the fantastic work guys!!

Sketches done at the Malay Village Museum.

Sketching & Plein air @ Boat Quay

2011-10-11T21:27:00.003+08:00

I've been busy with work for the past few days and intended to rest at home last Sunday until I saw Paul Wang's post on facebook that he's going to sketch at Boat Quay.

So, instead of resting, I packed my bag and arrived about half an hour earlier at the meeting point and did an ink and wash sketch of the Raffles Place MRT station. Soon after, a few more sketchers arrived and sketched along the area too. Thereafter, we headed to the back alley of Boat Quay and I chose to do a small watercolour en plein air, amidst shouts and cheers from many fans watching the live screening of Rugby World Cup from the pubs nearby.

I also learnt something new today as I forgot to bring any pencils, so I painted with watercolours straight onto the paper for the plein air piece. I realised that without pencil lines, I can paint with more freedom and loose!

Here're the results... both done on Arches Rough 10" x 7".

Thanks for looking! I reckon it's a Sunday afternoon well-spent (instead of napping at home), don't you think so?

Sunday sketchwalk to BOAT QUAY

2011-10-11T13:29:00.000+08:00

These are my 2nd & 3rd final sketch done during our impromptu sketchwalk last Sunday. The weather was perfect and a very pleasant surprise to have 9 other die-hard sketchers coming to sketch with me.

Boat Quay (11 Oct 2011)

2011-10-10T03:04:00.000+08:00

Drew the lines in an hour and did the washes at the office.

URBAN SKETCHERS SINGAPORE BOOK Presale, Book Launch & Exhibition!

2011-10-06T23:37:00.010+08:00

Dear friends & fellow sketchers,

The upcoming Urbansketchers-Singapore book is nearly ready and we are very excited and pleased to share this unique book with you.

It has taken us many months to put together and no easy feat. The book now has 252 coloured pages filled with more than 360 beautiful sketches. Come join us for the official book launch on the 21st October, 5pm at Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Atrium. The launch will also be accompanied by a very comprehensive and colourful exhibition showcasing our tools, sketchbooks and live sketching demostrations.

Follow this link to pre-order your books at only SGD$39 instead of the original price of SGD$49 after the launch.

My Shoes

2011-10-06T23:36:00.000+08:00

These were done more than a year ago.

My shoes

2011-10-06T11:06:00.005+08:00

I found it funny that Tia in her post "My shoes" says that drawing your shoes is very common for sketchers. I have been drawing my own canvas sandals (espadrilles) for a few years now and in fact did the green ones only last saturday, while the drawing on the right dates from 2009. I usually do it when I cannot think of a subject to sketch (and I thought it original).

Collecting sketches and sketchbook for the Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 exhibition

2011-10-05T22:37:00.001+08:00

Hi Urban Sketchers- SG,

I’m collecting sketchbooks and sketches for the Urban Sketchers Singapore: Volume 01 exhibition. You can either pass to me this Thursday (6/10) in URA building at 3.30pm or Sat(8/10) 10am at Cityhall Starbucks. Just a reminder, the sketches have to follow USK Manifesto. Can give me a call at 9762 8062, if you have any enquiry.

Thanks,

Eve Tan

Coffee shop

2011-10-05T18:00:00.002+08:00

Been taking my lunch hour to draw nowadays to economise the time .. like 2 birds with one stone.. eat and draw

my shoes

2011-10-05T00:27:00.002+08:00

Shoes are the most common subject for sketchers and here I am sharing mine. I started drawing the left shoe and half of the right shoe a few months back at a meeting. The ink dried up and I only completed this page recently in Sep 2011.

Result of Sketchwalk at Balestier Road

2011-10-02T22:31:00.004+08:00

Balestier Road is the location for an ad-hoc sketchwalk yesterday. I joined the group in the afternoon after lunch at Loy Kee Chicken Rice. The row of shophouses was built in 1926 by a female developer, Mdm Sim Cheng Neo. It was designed by the architect firm of Westerhout and Oman. It is also called Sim Kwong Ho building as the name is inscribed on the front parapet of the building. The modern building on the right is Balestier Point built in 1986. It is an award winning building which derives its inspiration from Habitat 67 designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie in Montreal, Canada who is the architect for the Marina Bay Sands at Marina Bay of Singapore.

Sketchwalk at Balestier Rd (Oct 2011)

2011-10-01T22:49:00.000+08:00

At Zhong Shan Park looking at the Maha Sasana Ramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple.

Cross junction of Kim Keat Road and Balestier Road looking at Balestier Point.

I lost concentration somewhere around the top right. That explains that huge stray line.

Some photos:

2011-09-27T10:00:00.000+08:00

Backstage at chinese opera and flats..the mountains are added in later since Singapore do not have mountains