Sketching Vegetation

Part of the old homestead in the Old Cheese Factory grounds in Berwick, Victoria is now occupied by a cafe. Tables and chairs have been placed in the shade of this vine covered pergola. What a tangle of vegetation! 

I love sketching vegetation and have devised a method I like – working in layers, alternating drawing with pen and drawing with watercolour. Sometimes there's more watercolour drawing than pen drawing, it's certainly quicker and gives a more interesting rendition.

This was done at the March sketchmeet of Casey Sketchers on a hot 31C degree afternoon (that's why I took refuge under the deep shade).

To read a previous blog post on Old Cheese Factory, click here.

To read about the history of Old Cheese Factory click here. 

Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”

#OldCheeseFactory

Rumah Bebe

 A virtual visit to the exciting Rumah Bebe in Singapore to practice page design with the Casey U3A class I am a volunteer tutor for. This shop sells all things Peranakan Chinese (clothes, artifacts, food) and conducts beading classes and private tours.

My page spread shows the front of the shop, a set of Tingkat (a tier of containers for delivering food) and a plate of Peranakan (Nyona) cakes. 

The class called Sketch Your Story is held on Zoom and this exercise was done from 3 photos (the class pretended to be travellers going to the shop, not knowing what they were going to see or sketch next). 

The aim was to sketch from the 3 photos one after the other, designing on the fly ie. thinking about layout, main and secondary sketches, what to colour and what to leave uncoloured, improving the layout with headings, text and other embellishments. 

If I had done some pencil pre-planning I would have made the plate of cakes somewhat smaller. 

This class was a nostalgia trip for me as I am (on my father's side) a 7th generation Peranakan Chinese. 

To check out the shop click here. 

For a very short video on the Peranakan Chinese click here.

To learn about U3A and #Casey U3A click here.

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Alpha Sketchbook, 8.5" x 5.5”

Singapore Shopfront Challenge

 I'm managing to meet (occasionally) the Shopfront Challenge set up by Singapore sketcher Alice Lim. She shares a weekly photo of a Singapore Shopfront on Facebook and Instagram and artists are invited to depict it in their own style. 

I've long been interested in this form of Singapore architecture and it's a bit of a nostalgia trip for me as I'm originally from that city state. Doing this challenge has stretched my skills – trying out new techniques and tools on a subject I don't usually draw. 

Here are a few sketches done for the Shopfront Challenge.

Hoi Chow Clan Association, Ann Siang Road 

I'm informed that this Cantonese clan association was set up in 1937 to look after the welfare of people who came to Singapore from Hoi Chow village in Guangdong Province, China. 

Tai Chong Kok @Sago Street

One of several outlets, it sells mooncakes and traditional Cantonese pastries, making them by hand from scratch since 1935. For some reason I found this sketch very difficult to do even though it's such a simple frontage. Maybe I'm still getting to know the paper (Fabriano Studio Hot Press), working at A4 (I usually work smaller in a sketchbook) or was it the shadows or trying to get some depth? 

The shop also sells piglet shaped biscuits in plastic baskets! Gosh! I've not eaten one since I was a child!! To read about what this shop sells, click here. 

Potato Head Restaurant and Bar, Keong Saik Road

A rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar inside an iconic heritage building. Also, a photo of the actual building (a challenge in perspective!).  

Momolato Cafe, Haji Lane

This is an ice cream place. I had great difficulty matching the colour of the purple building with my watercolours so I used a marker. A patchy outcome but the colours matched! 

You can read more about this form of architecture and my interest in it in a previous blog post. Click here.

First 2 sketches: #Sailorfude pen, watercolour, Fabriano Studio Watercolour Hot Press, A4.

Second 2 sketches: #Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”

Thanks #shopfrontchallenge, #eurekawanders, #eureca1 for the challenges.