Inktober 2018- Part 2

This week I tried to 'paint' with ink. Still focusing on value study, but I couldn't resist using my paint brushes to have some fun.

The clown fish was drawn with Sailor STORia Lion Light Brown ink. Jane Blundell from Australia recommended the ink but I haven't been able to find a good use of it. When sketching I still go for my black ink.

#inktober2018 Prompts: Clock, Weak, Angular, Swollen, Bottle and Scorched

#inktober2018 Prompts: Breakable and Drain

Reportage- COSWAS (Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters)

A bit of background history: it is legal to be a sex worker in Taiwan, according to our constitution, as long as the business occurs within a designated area set up by the local government. The problem is that not every city has established an area for local sex workers. Back in 1997, the Taipei City Mayor at the time, Chen Shui Bian, closed all the legal brothels. Although a designated area was promised for the sex workers by the government later, it was never set up. Some sex workers changed their career paths, some struggled to find a way out and turned to work illegally on the street. With younger, migrated sex workers joining the competition in the neighbourhood, a few of the senior sexworkers took smuggling jobs from drug dealers. Of course working for drug dealers means dead ends. Now these senior sex workers are arrested and sentenced to jail for 8-15 years.

I learnt about these facts from Zita, who is a volunteer of COSWAS and a strong advocate for this group of senior sex workers. Although there is nothing left to do to change the sentence, I do think the Taipei City government should deliver their promise and set up an area for all sex workers to work legally. I offered to do reportage sketching for COSWAS so they let me tag along on the day they protested at the City Hall.

Not sure if the Mayor caught the news or if he really had his calendar full, he wasn't in the office that day. The lift control panel was modified and no one could have access to the floor where the Mayor's office is. When the protesters of COSWAS managed to gain access to the floor through stairs, they were blocked at the entrance by some officials and police officers. I sketched the conflict while standing on the staircase. Unfortunately, after a lengthy argument the group still couldn't see the Mayor or deliver their request on paper to his office. The Media Liaison Officer, however, did attend the press conference.


It of course was not a fruitful meeting. No one expected it to be. The sex workers who were brave enough to show up that day were just hoping to have their voice heard. The COSWAS advocates for them, but these brave sex workers were also advocating for many women. They don't wish to change their sentence but they hope no other sex workers would have to work illegally for gangsters  just to make ends meet.

Tuesday Sketching- Monga, Taipei

I spent more than an hour working on the first sketch and it turned out terrible! So bad that I don't want to put it up here. I moved to sketch a few fellow sketchers close to me before returning to sketch the scene.

With only 20 minutes left before the throw-down, I decided to put colour blocks on the paper first before drawing the details. The loose drawing turned out better. A fellow sketcher, who is also an art teacher, walked over and gave me some positive feedback. He also suggested me to add something in the centre as the focus point. Therefore a washing line and a fire hydrant were added.

 Taiwanese street scenes is really difficult to capture!

Inktober 2018 - part 1

Inktober2018

I've known about Inktober for a couple of years but never really participated fully. I might have done some doodling and drawings but that was it. This year I wanted to use Inktober as an opportunity to practice value study.

I started one week late because my sister and nephew came to visit me in Taipei. I thought about sketching my nephew while he was playing but it was almost impossible to see a 2-year-old staying in one spot long enough for me to finish the silhouette.

Anyway, using the official prompt list, I have completed my first week of Inktober 2018. My reflection so far? It's not too difficult to draw everyday as I'm not making big drawings and I'm not sticking with urban sketching. But it takes some creative thinking to come up with something that matches the prompt of the day!

Inktober 2018

Tuesday Sketching- 大稻埕

The 'Tuesday Sketching' group met at Da Dao Cheng, Taipei, today. Most people sketched the buildings. I decided to walk down the street a bit to sketch the famous temple: Xia Hai Chenghuang Temple. It's a praying site visited often by young people, especially young single women. In the temple there is a match-making god, whose job is like Cupid. According to the temple's record, every year more than 3000 people found their Mr. or Mrs. Right after they visited the temple.

I omitted quite a lot of buildings and structures in this sketch. I found sketching street scenes in Taipei is quite overwhelming. There are always cars and scooters in the scene; the colours of the buildings are usually a bit dull due to humidity; and there are so many buildings and structures to make the scene complicated. While sharing my reflection with another urban sketcher, who is also an art teacher, he said if I can make a good urban sketch in Taiwan, I will be able to make any street in the world pretty.

I didn't get to participate in the 2018 AsiaWalk but quite a few foreign urban sketchers joined us today after they finished the event in Taichung. Some of them are from Australia! It was nice to chat with them and see their sketches. I also learnt that art supplies such as Handbook sketchbooks are pricey in Australia. Hmm, I have to remember to pack as many art supplies as possible before heading Downunder.

A bit too funky

I was running late for the life drawing session. By the time I arrived at the studio, the session already started. I was quite taken back when seeing the model. She was wearing puffy white mittens and a dog-shaped shoulder bag. I think she was trying to be a cute kitten or something like that- a fairly common imitation seen among young girls in Taiwan and Japan.

I have to say the bag and the pose threw me off a bit. Although I didn't feel so while painting the model, I think the end result looks like a porn poster.

Again I was trying to apply what I learnt from watching Charles Reid's DVD. I put down some colours next to the model's head to show the white mitten. It's a trick I saw in the DVD but James doesn't like the arrangement. He finds the line too distracting. I personally quite like it, although I could have made the value lighter.  Guess this painting isn't gonna see too much day light from now on.

Life drawing is fun

 

Last time I attended a life drawing session at an art supply shop. I wouldn't say the other participants are all amateurs but I was sure there wasn't an art teacher in charge. Today's drawing session was held at a proper art school/studio, where an art teacher teaches, draws and paints, and many students study and draw and paint with him. To be honest, I was a bit nervous before I picked up the pencil. I walked in and saw all these people looking experienced but I didn't even know how to set up the easel! Once I started observing the model, I soon relaxed and forgot about the people around me. I did, however, try to remember what Charles Reid does in the DVD I watched. I couldn't get everything right just like Mr. Reid but I certainly had fun like what he described about life drawing.

Bonus? The host teacher, who happened to set up his easel behind me, gave me some nice feedback. He was surprised to hear that this was only my second life drawing session and I have never had formal training in drawing and painting. Ha, I hope the teacher wasn't just saying it because he would like me to keep going back to his studio :)