August 17, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Something different

On the weekend I went to a talk by Jill Grant of Kimino YES, the sort of fabric store where the goods are had to resist. Apart from discussing some very interesting pieces of fabric that she brought along, Jill also showed us some of her own collection of Japanese textiles and related objects.

A Saga nishiki loom, with paper warp and silk weft

There was a Saga nishiki loom with its lacquer and gilt paper warp and silk weft. The paper warp is glued to the loom and woven with a highly twisted silk thread. (You can read more about Saga nishiki at Wormspit’s blog here). The loom also had an interesting folded paper heddle used to control the threads when weaving.

A view of the paper heddle

Here is a closer view of the warp, the lighter section at the bottom is where the silk thread has already been woven through the paper.

Closer view of the painted paper warp

As you might well understand, this type of delicate work is used mainly for objects such as purses and brooches, that don’t require washing.

It turned out that Jill and I also share an interest in Japanese propaganda clothing – items with motifs such as aeroplanes and warships commonly made and worn during the 1930’s and 1940’s. The example Jill had was an exquisitely woven spun paper (shifu) and silk obi. In this case the paper is white and the thick silk blue, in a pattern of planes and clouds. The double cloth weaving technique means that each side shows the reverse colour to the other.

Paper and silk ‘propaganda’ obi

The reverse side.

Paper and silk obi, mid-twentieth century

Jill speculated that this was probably worn by the wife or close female relative of a Japanese pilot. I was excited to see such a beautiful piece of work. Thanks Jill.

August 13, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

… meanwhile back at the ranch

So here we are back home after our fantastic holiday and the question is how to keep up the drawing momentum and not forget the lessons we learned at the Urban Sketchers symposium. OK we all know the answer, just keep drawing!

Last Sunday we took off down to the edge of Lake Burley-Griffin to draw in the warm winter sunshine. I selected the High Court, with the flags of the world in front and just a bit of the fairly-recently opened NGA Contemporary gallery.

NGA Contemporary and the High Court, watercolour and brush pen, 9 August 2015

Drawing landscapes is what I like doing, drawing people is my weak spot. Now it’s back to the cafes with a purpose. I aim to make at least one and preferably several sketches, each time I’m having my coffee. I’ve also realised that our pub trivia venue is a good place to capture faces and figures as people tend to sit still, or at least still-er while the quiz is underway. There’s only one ‘ax-murderer’ in this lot – I must be learning something!

Some faces at last week’s pub quiz, pen and ink and brush pen, 11 August 2015

We also came back from Singapore groaning under the weight of new art supplies. Not only were the symposium sponsors extremely generous (thanks to Moleskine, Leuchtturm, Creatacolor, Caran D’Ache, Pen Up, Shop Oryx, ShinHanart, Super5, Stillman & Birn, Art Friend, Worther, Arters, Straits Arts, Bynd Artisan and Laloran); we bought lots of supplies at Art Friend and the small but beautifully formed Straits Arts (so much cheaper than in Australia); and we also scored some great prizes in the mega raffle. To add to the haul I also received a very delayed parcel of art supplies from a local supplier in my mail when I got home!

One of our purchases in Singapore was lots of empty half-pans (only to find another 50 in my parcel on my return!). My partner has also been on the lookout for some small metal tins, to make some very compact watercolour sets, (Altoids not being commonly around in Australia). Anyway, we found these tins in Bangkok and they are just right for 9 half pans. At 5 cms x 7.5 cms they are very compact. Given that one of the prizes my partner scored was a set of 32 tubes of watercolour paint we have almost endless colour options to choose from.

Home made compact watercolour set

August 12, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

On the street in Chinatown

We loved the quirkiness of our new hotel, not to mention the free wifi. But what turned out to be one of its greatest assets was the bar area at the front of the hotel which was open to the street. We could sit here and sketch in comfort with a cup of coffee or a glass of something stronger by our side. It was also a great place to meet people, including the three other sketchers who had been in Singapore at the Symposium, and were staying at the hotel as well.

The phone box outside our hotel, 29 July, watercolour, pen and ink

In the lanes around the hotel were many vendors selling just about everything from coffins to fresh fruit.

Apple stalls in Thanon Mangkon, Chainatown, Bangkok, 29 July 2015, watercolour, brush pen and ink

I’m not sure of how the street stall system works in Bangkok, but people clearly had their ‘regular’ position. This was the vendor selling roast chestnuts out the front of the hotel.

The roast chestnut stall, Chinatown, Yaowarat St, Bangkok, 30 July 2015

I really loved being able to just sit and enjoy watching the people passing on the street and on Friday night the joint was really jumping. It was also raining heavily so while the kitchen was under cover,

Kitchen under the umbrellas, Chinatown Bangkok

the wait staff just had to improvise!

Quick and easy rain hats, Chinatown style! Bangkok

August 10, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Arriving in Bangkok

After a fantastic time in Singapore we flew the short distance to Bangkok, for our first stay in Thailand. First stop was the luxurious Metropolitan Hotel, where we had our special treat of a package that included dinner at David Thompson’s Nahm restaurant. We also enjoyed the large pool from where I sketched the view looking towards the restaurant and the lush gardens bordering the property. We even saw a squirrel running along the powerline as we lay back on the pool deck.

Looking towards Nahm restaurant from the pool deck, Metropolitan Hotel Bangkok

We also enjoyed breakfast which I had to sketch quickly before devouring. The colour came later on.

Breakfast at Glow, Waffles with mango and passionfruit curd

And I had to do it all again the next morning!

Breakfast at Glow, Pumpkin and buckwheat pancakes with papaya nectar and orange and cashew nut paste

But all this luxe living had to come to an end. We moved to a smaller boutique hotel in Chinatown, appropriately named Shanghai Mansion. The hotel evokes 1930’s in Shanghai and was wonderfully atmospheric and a great location to enjoy the other aspect of Bangkok that we had come to explore, which was it’s street food and street life.

August 7, 2015 by Leonie Andrews

Sketchwalking, Singapore Style

I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about workshops at the USk Singapore 2015 Symposium, but perhaps the most fun thing we did at the symposium were the sketchwalks. Our Canberra Sketchers Group is still in its infancy, so getting 10 people along to a sketchwalk is a good outing. Imagine how amazing it feels when a whole street is full of sketchers. I don’t know how many people actually came on the registration day sketchwalk, here are just some of the sketchers in Purvis St. And there were two other groups in other nearby streets!

How many sketchers can you fit in one small street?

While the sketchwalks are fun, they are also taken seriously, as an opportunity to get to know a new location.

Heads down and working hard! Purvis St, Singapore

We were lucky that the restaurants that lined the street hadn’t opened yet, because we sketchers commandeered all the available seating, as well as the footpaths and anywhere else we could find.

Here is what I drew on that first day (BTW the drawings of houses at the top of the left-hand page and the patterns on the bottom of the right-hand page are washi tape I purchased at the Singapore Art Museum shop).

Drawings of the roof lines and building decorations in Purvis St Singapore, 22 July 2015, watercolour and pen and ink

There were other opportunities to join similar sketchwalks, which we did on the afternoons of day 2 and day 3 of the Symposium. But the biggest of them all was the sketchwalk on the final day of the symposium. The official count was 106 participants.

The sketchwalk on the lawns of the Singapore Management University, 25 July 2015

It was a grand finish to three days of amazing teaching and connection with sketchers from around the world. But what thrilled me was the impact those three days had made on my work. I could never had imagined that my final sketchwalk drawing would look like this.

My drawing at the final sketchwalk, brush pen, ink and watercolour, 25 July 2015

A huge thank you to all the organisers, sponsors and the Singapore USk group. All I can say is ‘do yourself a favour’ and get yourself along to the 2016 USk Symposium in Manchester.

leonieandrews

Month / August 2015