Png:Sg Trip 10: Church Conference (at the Lost Paradise Resort)

January 24, 2014 | Leave your thoughts


My last five days in Penang was taken up with a church conference that was run by my local friends and a small local church with a visiting guest speaker from Scotland (who I know well and saw in the Cardiff Wales conference I went to last July!)

Sketching was well and truly not the focus anymore…but I still used my sketchbook to write all my notes from the great addresses and when I got the chance did a few sketches to illustrate the page. In Cardiff last July, I had free afternoons and was able to wander off for a little processing time and time on my own, but this conference had very little free time, and i really wanted to spend time with people.

But needless to say – I got a fair bit done since I was in the groove. My usual preference for chronology had to go out the window – but instead I enjoyed a few different challenges. I sketched when I could leaving space for notes (and guessed how much space I would need for notes!) or took notes on a blank page  leaving space for sketches (possibly restricting my sketch)

As this is a sketching blog here are a few comments on the sketches…. hoping the res is high enough for reading the notes (please excuse my spelling mistakes and typos… they were the notes I took at the time)


We were staying at a new very quirky resort Lost Paradise – it was unbelievably sketchable! ‘Lost Paradise’ is quite a name for a church conference venue!

It was made up of a number of buildings – each with their own character and unique decorative surfaces. These are sketches from the afternoon before the conference (I think it happened to be Dec 25!) when I had a little time but it was hot and I wanted to go back inside and rest.

A very rushed sketch of the view…. It was quite cute that I got to sketch the view looking back to the hotel I was staying in earlier in the week and to realise that the red roofs I enjoyed adding in the view from that hotel was where I was now.


Just illustrating my pages with bits and pieces when I had the time.


A view of the resort…


The quirkiest room was definitely the one the guest speaker and his wife were staying in! more quick sketches….


Once again the day I sketched the most I was the day I was wearing my purple dress!

On Friday night at the Penang Swimming Club restaurant, we had 30 minutes before dinner would be ready. There was quite a nice view from the balcony and the children were at a loose end…so I started a quick sketch of the view. I really don’t like sketching for entertainment purposes like that- but it is good training to be able to sketch while surrounded by people, talking and asking all the kids (very cute) questions. You can see the crowd in the photos above(including the reflections!)

I had a number of lovely Chinese meals but only on Saturday afternoon did I feel that I was in the mood to attempt sketching one of them. Crazy (as was eating chicken feet!)


Final sketch was on Saturday night… back in Hotel no. 2 for the weekend. Our room didn’t have a good view this time so I went down to the pool deck and sketched the view in fading light while it was blowing a gale…

And finally Monday morning…on the plane heading to Singapore! What an amazing time I had had in Penang!

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