the weekend

i like to look in on the kids when i wake up early in the morning; this is sean asleep with his "rabbity" - soft toy i made years ago with three old socks - a maroon one for the body and two blue ones for the ears. the other doodles are ideas for a garden project.

datum KL

most of the DNA family went to Datum 2009; held at the KL Convention Centre next door to the Petronas Twin Towers. I nipped outside after lunch to stroll around the KLCC park, which was quite shaded despite the midday sun. i knew the twin towers would be a challenge to sketch, so i decided to capture the essence only instead of trying to depict it accurately.

little black book

It was hot at Tiananmen; the members of our tour group are all wilted from the Beijing sun. This study tour was organised by the Malaysian Institute of Architects (Sarawak Chapter) - so most of the people here are architects, not many sketch though - digital photography seems to have put a stop to that!




the forbidden city, beijing

temple of heaven. I steal away to the side and sketch quickly, the others wander around and snap photos. 15 minutes later they all gather on the opposite end of the courtyard and the tour guide signals for me to follow. i finish one sketch and Sam takes a dozen photographs.





These are a series of quick sketches, each taking about 15 minutes and small in size 5x4-8 inches. I used a black ball point - i enjoy the freedom to start on a new page quickly - to move the pen in any direction. To capture the moment; sometimes creating an outline first to come back to later add final touches.
I take this little sketch book with me most of the time, it has travelled with me from Beijing to KL.

looking and sketching

not doing much on the weekend - yet determined to add another page to the sketch book. so while the three Ss shopped at The Spring. I sat at Starbucks and drew the man at the next table.
not much but still .. one page closer to a new sketch book

Travel sketches - Beijing Part 1

A rapid sketch of the Birds Nest Stadium
coloured in with KOI watercolour field set and a bit of chinese ink. I recall Hubert stopping me mid-sketch and asked 'give us a look' in Hokkien, he seemed genuinely curious so I obliged.



The Temple of Heaven, Beijing.
this is where the ancient Chinese Emperors go to communicate with their gods.

travel sketches - beijing part 2

beneath the reflection pool

inside the dome of the national theatre




housing in downtown Beijing

detail of bay window

These are scenes of the Great Wall of China at Badaling. I used a re-fillable fountain pen brush i bought in Beijing.

KL trip

waiting at the Johor train station, for a 5 hour trip to KL
its 7 a.m. and we all not quite awake yet.

sean got more transformer figurines; over tea time - we staged a battle between two of them.

at the SS3 pasar malam, the queque to buy assam laksa is long.
and you have to take a number

sean likes to sketch too; sometimes i get him to draw a plan of the space he's in.

scene from a coffee shop - these guys have just arrived after their evening prayers and are waiting for a live telecast of Man U vs Liverpool to start.

lake titiwangsa at night

enroute to Kuching, we decided to arrive earlier so we could sit and read at the airport

travel sketches - penang

The Penang clock tower, near Fort Cornwallis
built largely from timber, donated by a Chinese businessman.
The local tourism centre is round the corner - where we got a map for the historical section of Penang.

Leong San Tong (Khoo Kongsi)


entrance to the Khoo Kongsi

travel sketches - singapore

sam and sara waiting for the train


shop houses at Joo Chiat


detail of restored shop house


I like the shadow and light on old colonial facades, but at times lack the patience to finish the entire elevation.

travel sketches - Sri lanka

Galle Face Hotel, Colombo

at home in kuching

sara eating lunch with freddie sleeping behind her



sara sleeping amongst coat-hangers



sean



sara



jadie



grandma's old house on jalan tabuan