During China’s long public holiday, I spent ten days in the Eternal City — Rome — wandering through cobbled streets, stepping into centuries-old churches, and sketching ancient ruins with my sketchbook always close at hand. This year is the Jubilee Year, and I’m deeply grateful to have been invited by my sister, Angie, and her husband, Willie, to experience what truly felt like a once-in-a-lifetime event. The first couple of days were spent exploring, getting lost, and sketching — simply trying to get a feel for the city. Then I had the joy of meeting my wonderful friend Kristina, who flew in with her husband for what we now hope…
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On this trip, I opted for a minimalist approach to my art supplies. I brought along a single journal and a small sketchbook. Additionally, I packed two watercolor palettes, although I only used one. I also brought a set of Caran D’Ache water-soluble pencils, some brushes, and fountain pens. We arrived in Hong Kong around noon. However, I had an urgent matter to attend to, which unfortunately left me with no chance to sketch. The next day, I set out early to run some errands. As a habit, I always find the post office first to purchase stamps for sending postcards to family and friends. Although I planned to take…
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Last May, we spent two consecutive Saturdays sketching in various parks. The weather in Shanghai was perfect for outdoor activities, making these sketching sessions truly enjoyable. What made these outings particularly interesting was exploring “new” places I hadn’t visited before. On the first Saturday, we headed to Changfeng Park. I may have visited this park over 20 years ago, but not since. Initially known as Huxi Park and Biluo Lake Park, it was built in 1957 and reopened in 1959 under its current name. The park’s design draws inspiration from Beijing’s Summer Palace and the landscaping techniques of Suzhou Gardens. Its layout mimics natural landscapes, focusing on the lake and…
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The Spring weather in Shanghai has been unpredictable, but I've been enjoying sketching outdoors on warm weekends. I sketched at various locations, capturing snapshots of life in the city. From bustling areas to redevelopment sites, each sketch tells a unique story.
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My frend, Tõnis (@vanishing.shanghai), calls our mini “group” the “Five o’clock Club” because we used to get up early to go out sketching. In a previous post, I posted about our early morning sketches, which is how we enjoyed these crazy morning hours. However, we can’t do it as often now because of our busy schedules. I have to feed the cats and kids before I leave for work, and Tõnis is busy organizing his exhibits. But we still try to grab any pockets of time we can to go out and sketch, and we call them “mini adventures.” Adventure 1: Anren Street One morning, we had an impromptu sketching…
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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…
