On the other side of the Huangpu River, where the other outing with Drawing Shanghai was on the previous Saturday, is another fantastic example of the Shanghai government’s effort to redevelop areas that have been abandoned or neglected from closed down factories. What used to be polluted river fronts, now showcases footpaths, cycling paths, jogging paths, patches of parks and new developments to inject life into these remote locations. Weekends now see local population visiting these places, taking note of new developments in their city. So on this Saturday in November, our group of urban sketchers descended to the area near the former National Cotton Mill No. 9. It is…
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Great weather to be out sketching the city. It’s been some time since I actually went out urban sketching with @drawing_shanghai. Together with Lily, we planted ourselves nearer to the Lupu Bridge and near the silo (which now houses a contemporary art museum) located on the Minsheng Wharf. The areas along both sides of the Huangpu River has been redeveloped these past few years into a long park with space for cyclists and joggers and pedestrians. The factories that were on these shores have been closed, demolished or converted into museums. The 80,000-ton silo structure is a great example of a converted property although it has been closed during the…
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Last Friday, after weeks of planning, Vanessa (@dansmoncrane) and Kristina (@kristinaselhammer) and I carpooled to the Juqi Antique Market (also known as the Ling Shi Road Market) at 5:30am! Yes, it was still dark in the streets of Shanghai and when we arrived there. The antique market is located in a building at the back of the Flower and Bird Market, which was not open yet. The antique market comes alive on Fridays only, the rest of the week, except for a few sellers, the place is empty and quiet. Kristina had noticed that on the second floor where we first went, it was mostly men traversing through the stalls,…
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Last Sunday, 25 August, 2019, was the Happy Little Moments and annual Postcrossing Shanghai meetup crossover event, held at the Shanghai Mass Art Center. The event was originally slated for 10 August, 2019, unfortunately, was postponed due to typhoon Lekima that hit Shanghai. As this was the third year running, the number of people coming to mingle, buy, browser, write postcards, listen to the talks and more has doubled since the first one was held 2 summers ago. What an amazing turnout that was! Feeling so grateful that some friends came to the event and I even managed to grab a chance to chat with old and new friends alike.…
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These days, I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone and actually going out and meet new people! The fact that these are like-minded people makes it somehow easier to socialize… This weekend was one of the rare occasion where I actually showed up at 2 locations! 06.22 Sketching Jiangpin Road Draw Shanghai’s theme for these next 2 weekends is documenting through sketches this old street which used to be a flower-&-bird market. Now it’s all been cleaned up. Actually the street is getting a facelift, gone are the hawkers on the streets, facades of old houses have been restored or fixed up. Although not as authentic anymore,…
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Another challenge done! The just-concluded #oneweek100people2019 initiated by Marc Taro Holmes, Liz Steel, and Suhita Shirodkar was a fantastic way to brush up on drawing people again. This year, my goal was to (1) understand more about gestural drawing and (2) be quicker with drawing people so I can incorporate into my urban sketches. These are my sketches this year… DAY 1: Was on a business trip so drew people at the railway station waiting area. Day 2: I tried (or planned) to do more but after my morning quick sketch at a nearby coffee shop, I didn’t get any chance to do anymore. Below is the colour version which I…
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Super excited and honoured to be a guest at the Alila Anji for a series of weekends dedicated to artful explorations with kids. The program is called “Artist-in-Residence” which is part of the pop-up series of events. I’ve been asked to develop a series of art workshops for kids and adults who are guests at the resort (check out their website and you will see how amazing the resort is). While this is not something I do full-time (since I have company to run), I think this is something I can add to my bulging bag of experiences. Bucketlist ticked? Yes can be that esp since I have thought of creating…
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So! It’s finished (or is it?)! The just-concluded #oneweek100people2018 initiated by Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steel was both a challenge and interesting to say the least. I have eyed this challenge last year on Instagram but never got the courage to join as my biggest drawing weakness is in people or human form (and perspective). I typically avoid it in my urban sketches when I am out. This time, I finally summed up the courage to actually show up and try this challenge. Here are what I ended up doing… DAY 1: Drew from life mostly… People from the park and around me. I love the woman with curlers in…
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Me and my little collection of Midori Traveler’s Notebook – I only have 3 plus a mini – are well-used as you probably have seen in this blog and thru my IG feed. Yes, I started making my own about 5-6 years ago when I first saw one here in Shanghai, back before there was a big following. Then a little later, I decided to invest on the real deal and boy! it was definitely the right decision to go as these has become part of my everyday carry (EDC) for years now. I am still loving every bit of these notebooks! Here is a few background story photos on how…
