Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch

I was inside 7-11, enjoying a bottle of Minute Maid, when I sketched the Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch.  The passing vehicles were the most difficult to draw.  I need to be fast enough in sketching the vehicles before the stoplight gives them a go signal.  Sadly, I was not fast enough.  Long before I finish a sketch of one vehicle, all vehicles would continue to their respective destinations and be gone in a second.  I cannot remember how many vehicles had passed before I was finally able to draw the jeepney you can see in the above sketch.      

The Bund at Night, Shanghai

Walking along the Bund was a pleasurable experience.  It felt like being in two places at once because of the contrast in the sights of the two sides of Huangpu River.  Facing Huangpu River, Shanghai's skyscrapers, including the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower, come into view.  Turn to the other side and go back in time with the sight of historic structures.  Once the sun is out, lights are turned on to bring everything to life, offering quite a different, yet equally dazzling sight, from what is seen at daytime.

I chose to sketch one of the historic buildings along the Bund, the Customs House, at night.  One trivia I learned from the audio guide we rented while inside Oriental Pearl Tower is that the clock on the Customs House is the largest one in Asia.  Anyway, this was my first time to sketch at night.  I thought the experience would not differ so much from daytime sketching, but I was wrong.  I could not see the color of my pencils and had to look closely at the color labels for me to recognize the colors.

Derwent Watercolor Pencil on 125 lb. Hahnemuhle Mixed Media Spiral Pad

The lights made the structure really attractive that I became determined to capture it in my sketch even though I was feeling lazy.  

Longhua Pagoda, Shanghai

In my trip to Shanghai this October, I used a new medium for my sketches: Derwent Watercolor Pencils.  These pencils are lovely.  Put one color on top of another and tada!!! a new color emerges, making the creation of immense colors possible even with just a limited number of colors to start with.  Block in the shapes you have drawn with colors, just like a kid doing a coloring exercise, and create a beautiful watercolor painting by just adding water to the colors.

Here is the outcome of my first attempt in using watercolor pencils in my urban sketch.

The sketch shows the Longhua Pagoda in Shanghai.  The pagoda consists of 7 storeys with each storey smaller than the one below it.  Unfortunately, tourists are not allowed to climb the structure and can only appreciate its architecture through looking at its exterior.  According to the plaque placed on the wall surrounding the pagoda, walking clockwise around the pagoda is a sign of respect to the gods.  Immersing ourselves in the culture, we walked around the pagoda once before entering Longhua Temple.

I am not an expert in sketching, but I would like to share what I learned while doing this sketch.  I had a difficult time drawing the corners of the pagoda's roofs.  After drawing the roof of the top storey, I had to look carefully on how the corners of the second storey's roof are positioned relative to the corners of the top storey's roof.  I continued doing this for the third storey's roof until I realized that there is actually a more efficient way of drawing the roofs.  I drew straight lines that served as guides on where the corners of the roofs should be placed.  See below for illustration.

I think this technique can be applied in drawing any architectural structures.  Try to look for patterns and draw lines that will serve as guide for the position of parts of the structure.  This will ensure that the structure is drawn in proportion.

Photo taken by my brother while I was sketching.

Something interesting happened while I was working on this sketch.  Two curious men were watching me sketch and when I turned my head into one of them, I was greeted with "Langfei shijian!"  "What you are doing is a waste of time!," said one of them.  I just smiled and continued with what I was doing.  I guess only a sketcher knows the joy in the process of sketching.  We draw our interpretations of what we see, creating a unique picture that no one can imitate.
    

February 2014 Hong Kong Sketches

Sitting on a cushioned seat in an air-conditioned space -- definitely the most comfortable urban sketching experience I have had as of now.  Impatient, I thought that it would be a good idea to sketch the busy airport ground while waiting for boarding.  I ended up sketching the background afar showing vague outlines of  architectural structures covered by clump of trees instead, and left the spot where the airport ground should have been placed blank.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport.  Faber-Castell Brush Pen and Black Fineliner on Moleskine Sketchbook.

The only sketch I did in Hong Kong is a section of the long stretch of the Central - Mid-Levels Escalator.   I did it very quickly, while my sister was buying a cup of coffee.

Faber-Castell Black Fineliner on Moleskine Sketchbook.

El Hogar Building

I love to sketch and I am loving it more.  As I search for new subjects to draw, I am often surprised to discover something new in a place I am very familiar with, and I start to appreciate the beauty in things that may seem not worthy of one's attention or even unattractive at first glance.

For instance, I have never known that there is such a building called El Hogar, the subject of my sketch, in Binondo until now, even though I had lived in this area for 20 years.  The building is old and not well-maintained, but if one would only spend a few minutes to look into the intricate architectural detail of the structure, one would surely agree that it is actually an impressive building.

I learned about El Hogar upon visiting the website of Urban Sketchers Philippines; El Hogar was the theme of the group's sketch walk last February.

El Hogar Building, located in Juan Luna Street, facing Pasig River.

My Sketch.  Faber-Castell Black Fineliner on Moleskine Sketchbook.

I am really looking forward to the surprises awaiting me in my next sketching adventure.

Sketch Walk: Intramuros

What I came to appreciate about sketching with a group is the relief I got from having to worry about the odd look of curious onlookers for the obvious reason that I am not the only one doing the thing that may seem strange to others --- sketching on location.  The downside though is the need to give up my usual control over the time I spend on a sketch,  resulting to the unfinished sketches of the Manila Cathedral.

My Sketch.  Faber-Castell Black Fineliner on Moleskine Sketchbook.

My Friend Rachelle's Sketch.  Pencil on Sketch Pad.

Thankfully, ample time was given in our next stop, Fort Santiago.  The wall below depicts Saint James's slaying of the moors.

My Sketch.  Faber-Castell PITT Artist Brush Pen, Black Fineliner on Moleskine Sketchpad.  

My Friend Rachelle's Sketch.  Staedtler Pens on Sketch Pad.

Overall, the experience was fun. Looking forward to the next sketch walk

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Salazar Street

Faber-Castell PITT Artist Brush Pen, Black Fineliner on Travelogue Artist Journal; 3 hours

With the mandarin orange trees, boxes of tikoy, 2014 calendars, decorations with images of horses and good luck wishes on them, it is not hard to see that Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

This is the street of Salazar.  I used to frequent this place to drop by the nearby DVD store and Chinese bookstore.  The fruit stalls outside the stores along the street have always caught my attention every time I pass by, while the stores themselves go unnoticed.  Only until the time when I was sketching the street did I realize that there are several stores selling Chinese lucky charms in this area.

First Day of Sketching; 1 hour

Second Day of Sketching; 2 hours

I completed the sketch in two separate days.  It was becoming late the first day I did this sketch that I had to come back another day to complete the sketch.

The main difficulty lies in making the sketch look three dimensional.  Drawing overlapping objects helps in achieving this goal.  With overlaps, distinguishing between what's in front and what's at the back becomes easier.