Sketch 22/30 - Gawai

This is a long weekend for us in Sarawak as it is the Harvest Festival or "Gawai Dayak" - I completed this sketch of Iban dancers Gawais ago when I waited for Michael Wong's girls to join me for sketching (lessons) at the waterfront amphitheatre.

Sketch 21/30 - Cafe Torpanranta (Sept 2012)

 On the last morning of our stay in Helsinki, we took the No. 4 tram to the seaside town of Munkkiniemi to visit Aalto's house and Studio. Unfortunately, the studio has shut for the winter - but we discovered this cafe by the sea. Its floor plan is made up of several octagons merged together. One cluster is the kitchen and servery while the free-standing larger one is the main dining space, with the entry in between. When we arrived, the place was almost empty except for a table of seafaring types in yellow jackets and ruddy faces.

From my seat by the window, I could see a large expanse of forest across the water dotted with low apartments buildings and small houses. I imagined my self living in one of them for an hour and caught to tram back to the city.

Sketch 20/30 - Architecture in Amsterdam (2013)

Sketch 19/30 - St. Thomas Cathedral (Oct 2012)

This building is an emotional landmark of my childhood, located at the foot of McDougall Hill facing the Central Padang. As students, we would sometimes walk through the church yard as a shortcut to the bus station. At the time of this sketch, I was with another group of students; my own. I took the design class on a sketching expedition to discover and record our local architectural heritage.

Sketch 18/30 - Rangoon War Memorial

The quotes below is from another war memorial - I have always been moved by it, so I ll share it here.

“Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

Sketch 17/30 - View from Robyn's balcony

This sketch brings back a wonderful memory - we had just met Robyn for breakfast at the Mercato Sant'Ambrogio and we walked back to her apartment near the Duomo. The apartment was a single room with a book shelf dividing the kitchen and bedroom with a small balcony, from which I could look down at the roofs and terraces of the neighbourhood houses. A lovely but typical view of Florence. It was when I looked up that I realised how close I was to Brunelleschi's Duomo - it seemed close enough to touch. To see the details up close; the massive tiled dome in shadow and light, the white marble of the campanile speckled with the little silhouettes of doves. It felt close to heaven.

Sketch 16/30 - St. Joseph's Cathedral

14 sketches away from a full month of posting sketches daily.