Let's take a moment to pause and truly notice what surrounds us this November. What are we grateful for in this very moment? Together with Lea, let's embark on a journey of journaling.
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Experience Shanghai through my eyes with early morning urban sketching during the "Golden Week."
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08:45 am | Saturday My sketching adventure last Saturday was at the Zhenru Temple (真如寺) in Putuo District. When my friend, Lily, suggested this place to visit instead of the venue designated by Drawing Shanghai / Shanghai Urban Sketchers, my curiosity was perked. So good that we went to the historic Zhenru Temple, I don’t know why I did not know about this temple before. Originally built in the Song Dynasty (960-1276), the temple has undergone several changes throughout history between the Taiping Revolution to the Cultural Revolution where a lot of relics were destroyed. There is one temple within that is the original structure but most are rebuilt due…
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07:45 am | Sunday My friend, Tõnis, and I decided on another early morning meet up to sketch around the Xiaonanmen (小南门) area. Tõnis dropped a pin to where we are meeting up, and I walked to Xitangjia Alley (西塘家弄) from my home. Along the way, the streets feel so empty… deserted… feels like a ghost town with pretty much the houses in this neighbourhood has been boarded up. Most of the locals have moved out while there are a very rare few who are still holding out for as long as they can. Seeing this sight as I walk through the narrow streets, I cannot help wonder – is…
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It’s 6:15 am when I finally got to The Bund. I’ve wanted to go out early to Shanghai’s iconic Bund to sketch the skyline of Lujiazui (the other side of the Huangpu River) ever since I saw @envy4lens share some early morning photos on his Instagram. And finally, Tõnis @vanishing.shanghai and I made it there this morning. Typically, this place would be jampacked with tourists. And going there that early, it’s just fantastic to see this area without them, to savour in the sights of the boats plying the river, the early morning sun (after rainy mornings), kite flyers, a group of young dancers, and a sprinkling of tourists. We were mesmerized by the…
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Lots going on all around between my tweens going off to uni next year, still grieving for my mum’s passing, treading water through this economic downturn, to finding enough time in between to make art. Through all these, I’m reminding myself my OLW (one little word) for 2023… Breathe. Life is an adventure.
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For Saturday’s (20 May) outing, we went to sketch No. 543 Guangdong Road, at what was formerly known as the Central Hotel (中央旅社), built around 1929 and owned by the Chief Inspector of the Police Force in the International Concession, Lu Liankui （陸連奎）. It was also known to be the gangsters’ den. Lu Liankui’s story was he was rural area and escaped to Shanghai getting caught defrauding people during his stint as an orderly. When he arrived in Shanghai, he saved a rich man who in turn wrote him a recommendation letter which he used to his advantage, signed up with Huang Jinrong’s gang, and then rose up to his…
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Last Saturday, 13 May, the sketching location was around Xiao Nan Men (小南门), which is not too far from my home. We have sketched here in the past but not this year so far. As per Tōnis’ (@vanishing.shanghai) observation, this part of the Old Town stands out as the most “green” with plenty of plants, foliage, trees, and vines hanging down electricity lines. It was great that I decided to venture out early that morning for sketching was a delightful experience, as it allowed me to take in the vibrant energy of the locality. From delivery men in electric bikes deftly maneuvering their way around the narrow lanes to vans…
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All done! I reached the finished line even though it took longer than it should. In the end, I made more than 100 sketches (probably my OCD) that felt like I needed to finish up the sketchbook even of that meant going over the 100 “limit”. The sketching locations with Drawing Shanghai took us to various parts of the city, though some repeats to the Laoximen area is not uncommon. When December came, we all got hit with COVID which meant being house-bound for almost all of December. We were fortunate enough to have still managed to get our exhibit at the UNO Gallery push through right after everyone had…
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The recently concluded Drawing Shanghai exhibit showcasing select sketches of Shanghai’s local life that is slowly vanishing as the city is rapidly modernizing and “upgrading” the standard of living of locals. Soon, longtangs or communities that are quintessential Shanghai will be long gone. We hoped with this exhibit we can at least immortalize the local lifestyle through our sketches. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thank you for stopping by.
