• Documenting Life - Shanghai living - Urban Sketching

    #the100shanghaivignettes Part 4

    March 10, 2023

    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…

  • Documenting Life - Shanghai living - Urban Sketching

    #the100shanghaivignettes Part 3

    November 25, 2022

    Feeling excited as I mark the 3rd quarter installment of my #the100day project. Last week when I was counting the number of sketches, I thought I still had 20+ to go but then when I recounted yesterday, I actually have about 10+ more to go! Yay! Driven right now to get this project over and done with! The past outings with Drawing Shanghai / Urban Sketchers Shanghai has been quite fun as a lot of these places were quite interesting. We seem to have ventured mostly to the old town more. In this batch of sketches, #52 to #54 were…

  • Documenting Life - Shanghai living - Urban Sketching

    #the100shanghaivignettes Part 2

    August 27, 2022

    The second quarterly update to my #the100dayproject is here after a long delay. In between my last post, we have come out of lockdown, gone back to work, searched for apartments, packed and moved to new apartment, unpacked and settled. It has been a whirlwind of 3 months and my art practise has also been focused on art journaling and other creative pursuits that sketching has taken a backseat. There were some sketching events organized by Drawing Shanghai since lockdown was lifted however it has been a bit difficult to balance going out and other priorities. PLUS (and I am…

  • Documenting Life - Shanghai living - Urban Sketching

    #the100shanghaivignettes Part 1

    April 4, 2022

    When I started with this project, I was raring to go out and do quick sketches. Little did I know that I was going to end up with a bad cold that I couldn’t stay outside and sketch as what I had originally planned. So my progress ended up slower than I had anticipated. I decided to change my approach starting from changing the hashtag to my project. The other change I made was taking photos of subjects I wanted to sketch and sketch these at home. This is not my preferred way of urban sketching because I tend to…

  • Documenting Life - Shanghai living - Urban Sketching

    #the100shanghaivignettes

    February 16, 2022

    2022 #the100dayproject is here!!! And I’m doing urban sketching, finding those places to sketch that are “typical” Shanghai. I actually prefer to do more of the old Shanghai rather than new but I will make some exceptions just like my first sketch. My plan is to do 100 sketches and that may turn out to be in 50 days or more. Don’t want to pressure myself on doing 1 a day. My hope is that I will be more accountable with this year’s project compared to last because it was not easy to keep track of what I was finishing.…

  • Art Journals

    #the100daysofnoticingtogether

    January 12, 2021

    For 2020’s #100dayproject, I did a project together with @craftymue based on @aliedwards The Art of Noticing. When Ali posted on Instagram about this concept and the kits that she was introducing, there was a lightbulb moment for both Lea and me and we talked about how this could be a good project for the #the100dayproject. So when the start date of the project rolled around, we went into this project together as a way to support each other, to show up and to give each other a boost to finish the project. So in my Instagram Highlights and IGTV,…

  • Art Journals - Currents - Documenting Life - Scrapbook

    Currently…in April

    April 17, 2020

    Over a month since the COVID-19 virus made China stand still, we are still taking precautions and even with almost zero new cases, although now the new cases are from overseas. Shanghai has started to have some normalcy and right now feeling a lot of gratitude that we can experience Spring even if it is not like the way it used to be. These days have been different, not just in China but I’m sure everyone else in the world. My kids have been e-learning since the beginning of February and so grateful how the school put these all together…

  • Chinese New Year
    Currents - Documenting Life - Scrapbook

    Currently…in February

    February 5, 2020

    The Year of the Mouse started in a blur… or pretty much the entire January was a depressing one… Chinese New Year was especially since it was overshadowed with the novel coronavirus that has now gripped the world. A truly depressing one especially when this is the most important holiday for the Chinese. To be told not to go out, not to see relatives, not to travel, has been on the top of each government WeChat posts. No one could have known how this virus has impacted everyone and how serious it was. So yes, we have been in home…

  • Shanghai living

    Watercolor Adventures

    June 27, 2019

    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…

  • Shanghai living

    #oneweek100people2019

    April 18, 2019

    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…