Perfect weather means sketching outdoors is even more exciting and inspiring. After days of dreary cold weather and plus being sick with a bad cough for over a week, I was just dying to get out and do some sketching. The venue for our sketching group was at the Duolun Culture Street, more specifically the old Protestant church called Hongde Church, formerly known as the Fitsch Memorial Church. The interior has been mostly been renovated as most of the church was damaged during the Cultural Revolution. Actually I did a warm up sketch inside the church (above), before moving outdoors to sketch the exterior; well, at least, part of the…
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Freezing cold but at least was a dry morning when we ventured out to the Changning District’s Sieh Yih Chapel. For this outing, I decided on doing vignettes. Brought a new sketchbook from SMLT Art and with the weather, I was fine with just doing a pen-&-ink sketch and alternating between with black and white brush pens. A bit of history Xiyantang, commonly known as “Xiyan Cemetery”, is also known as “The Ascension of the Virgin”, it was built in 1929 for the famous Catholic figure Ma Xiangbo and others, covering an area of 63 acres. The church in the cemetery is used for worshippers to hold burial ceremonies and…
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Almost 6 weeks spent in quarantine has come and gone. And I can say, “I survived!” Here’s a sort of breakdown of the days: Day 1 – arriving in Taipei, Taiwan Day 2 counts as first of the 14-day quarantine in Taipei Day 16-17 – time spent getting COVID tests to be able to return to Shanghai plus errands and meeting with family and friends Day 18 – arriving in Shanghai, China and first day of quarantine Day 32 – left quarantine hotel to quarantine at home Day 40 – finished quarantine and back at work For the first part of my quarantine in Taipei, Taiwan, all went smoothly. The…
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Xiao Nan Men area of Shanghai is mostly where a lot of old neighbourhood still remain, a maze of longtangs and old houses, in some areas, some “new” houses have been built. Part of this neighbourhood is up for demolition, reconstruction or in limbo. These old neighbourhoods are my favourite places to sketch because I can record a bit of the local life while sketching; sights, sounds, and smells. For this outing, I decided to stick to pen and ink sketches and journaling on the side. It was tricky to do any watercolour around where we were sketching. Location: Around Xiaonanmen 小南门; specifically Dafufang 大夫坊 and Heshunjie 和顺街 Thank you…
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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…
