Png:Sg Trip 17: Second last day - more USkers, more food...more shophouses

February 4, 2014 | Leave your thoughts


Every day that I walk to and fro along the street on which my hotel was located, I bemoaned the fact that the shop houses opposite my room where the plainest for 4 blocks. There were lots of far more intreating architectural features everywhere else. However, on  my second last day I sketched the plain shophouses and it turned out to be one of my favourite sketches of the whole 3 weeks. Why? Well I think it they had been more detailed I would have just used my usual ink and then wash but because they were so plain I started with paint and really had fun trying different things. THe lack of detail helped …and of course although plain in detials the colours were inspiring.I particularly like the red shutter in the middle and what the watercolour started to do when I drew through the wet paint with my ink pen.


And here is the spread in full, including my breakfast. Amazing how much I have slowed down in the past 12 months (now don’t laugh…. this trip was a slower rate than previously!)… in previous years I would have sketched breakfast every morning!


In much need of a coffee (am I becoming addicted to coffee?… what is going on?) but sadly had a disastrous morning trying to find a coffee shop open and with a functioning coffee machine… and by the time I was almost to one, I received a message to meet up for dessert! Chris told me that I should not bother with ice kachang or chendol but that I needed to have and to sketch a Snow Ice Mango Strawberry dessert.
Sounds good!… but to work up an appetite I did another quick sketch of  a few Chinatown shophouses.


The dessert was spectacular in every sense and despite the cold AC was melting fast. I also was pleased to have some carrot cake (this is not sweet western style carrot cake).
I love the before and after photo!


This was a day where I was expecting to be on my own till 3pm but USKers turned up everywhere. Went to Holland Park early and sketched with Chris and then Parka turned up for a brief while-  the only chance I got this trip to see him. Yes, this is the Parka of the famous Parkablogs – a site that is very dangerous… he does way tooo many reviews of art books and art tools.

 
I got a bit excited by the rain (had seen so little during my whole time in Asia!) I also love the way there is nearly always an undercover place to sit to sketch in Singapore.

Met up with Paul and then Edric turned up to surprise me (I missed meeting him last year, and he had only just gotten back from another trip and about to go away again… amazing really that we met at all) Went to yet another nice cafe – D’Good Cafe and finally got my coffee and half a cake (more cake!).

 
Once again we sat and sketched and it looks like we were being very anit-social… the two on the other side of the table where sketching me! What a treat – I am such a cartoon figure to sketch – always wearing my sketching dresses! It was great to Edric’s work IRL and so nice to have been able to hang out with Chris so much this year.
Dinner… a very hit-the-spot-ish bowl of rice porridge (I wasn’t feeling great and was told this is the thing to eat when sick!) and I didn’t sketch it!(wow!) More great art chat over dinner (I have so many ideas and things to pursue this year as a result of my conversations and the work of other artists during this trip!)


Back to my hotel room early only to go out again at 9.30ish for a cup of tea with Whee Teck and his wife. I had ordered some Daniel Smith paint from him (yes yes yes!) Had a lovely cuppa which of course I HAD to sketch and YP starting telling me lots of interesting about hisotry of the Malay people, Kampong Glam, Singapore and the Peranken culture… I think I will be wanting a history tour next time I visit.

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Time to get back to my room and pack…believe it or not this trip is going to come to an end… only one more day!

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