Early Morning Sketches in Singapore

There are a few of reasons for sketching in early morning in Singapore.  One to avoid the heat, two to get to places before it gets too crowded and three it seemed to be the only time to sketch if you are teaching a workshop. You will find a handful of sketchers out doing their first sketch before breakfast.
On one of the first days I went down to the Arab District with Shari Blaukoph and sketched Masjid Sultan  and a nearby alley.

Masjid Sultan in the Arab District, Singapore

The next morning,  I found Liz Steel, Suhita, Frank Ching and Virginia Hein in the hotel lobby so we all walked to Little India to find a place to sketch.  We were intending on sketching one  of the Mosques,  but all of us felt that the one we found it was just a bit too ornate. Walking back to the shops area in Little India, we found an old alley that caught our eye.

Back Alley in Little India, Singapore

The last early morning sketch crawl outing was at Waterloo St. behind our hotel.  I had seen this bright yellow church with green doors which really caught my eye.  So while others ended  up sketching the temples down the block I sketched this church which happened to be the first Methodist church founded in Singapore and now is the home for Objectifs  a Visual Arts Centre in Singapore.

Historic Methodist Church building on the Corner of Waterloo and Middle Road in Singapore

Day at the Alexander Beach at Fidalgo Island

Yesterday I took the day off and spent time with my friend Meg on Fidalgo Island.  We took a walk along the water overlooking Guemes Island and had lunch at her cabin on Alexander Beach.  I was able to get in this sketch at the end of the day.

Back from South East Asia Trip with a lot of Sketches

We have been back just over two weeks from our South East Asia trip to Singapore, Cambodia and Bangkok. What a wonderful experience and each place so different.  We battled stifling humidity and heat to sketch outdoors, met people from all over the world and made new friends.  The experience was one I wouldn't miss (even having to deal with the weather) and moments that will be treasured for the rest of my life.

Because there was so much to see and sketch, in many cases I learned something about traveling sketching...how much time it takes,  how the mediums work in different weather conditions and how you have to adapt to those conditions. 

When you sketch and travel you have to choose between touring and seeing all the sights...or seeing fewer sights and taking time to sketch.  Or you adjust the way you work to get in as many sketches as you can.  I prefer to sketch and watercolor on site from start to finish however that takes a lot of time and you are seated in one location for a period of time.  I had to compromise to get all the sketches in that I wanted.  I found in many cases I only had time to sketch the line portion of my drawing and take a picture to finish the painting off site.

I will be posting groups of sketches at a time and sharing some thoughts and experiences.  So here goes.... The one place I wanted to sketch on this whole trip was the Marina Bay, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, in Singapore.  I had seen sketches done by the local Singapore Urban Sketchers and it had always caught my eye. That was on my bucket list of places to sketch.  We were in Singapore for 8 days so I thought I would have time to sketch there no problem. I only had a couple of days before the symposium and had to spend most of the time prepping at my sketch site.  I did get in an afternoon where we went to the Gardens by the Bay and were able to get a views of Marina Bay from inside the Cloud Dome.
The two sketches from inside the Cloud Dome took a great deal of time.  This is where you decide whether to paint on site or paint off site.  After sketching on site from the bridge I decided the bridge was not the best place to paint for fear of dropping brushes and being in the way. The first sketch was drawn directly in ink on site.  The second sketch being so complex was drawn in pencil on site which took probably an hour. Inking over the pencil sketch and painting was done off site.

View of the Marina Bay Sands and Super Trees from inside the Cloud Dome

 I didn't spend much time in the Flower Dome but did a quick capture of the Baobab trees on location in pencil.  Inking and watercolor was done off site.  I decided to try out the pentel brush pen for the trees for its calligraphic quality.

Baobab Trees in the Flower Dome

At night we sat amongst the Super Tree Grove and watched the light show.  I had planned on painting there so I drew the preliminary bases of the trees in pencil in the sketchbook.  I found the light show to change so quickly that I couldn't get the colors and changes in.  So I took pictures and decided to paint later over my pencil sketch.

Super Tree Grove Light Show at Night

 This is the view I had intended on sketching all along.  But this didn't happen until Saturday morning the last full date in Singapore.  I am glad I got this in.  The Panorama was sketched on site and painted off site.  The close up painting was done on site.

Marina Bay Sands by Architect Moshe Safdie

 Close up of the Lotus Flower which is actually a Art Science Museum adjacent to the Marina Bay Sands