The brief is simple: draw the city/environment that surrounds you; that you live in, that you visit, that you perhaps, have overlooked. It can be a bustling city centre, an alleyway, a temple or a church… so long as it is done on location; any medium and any tool is far game, so long as it is your representation.
A Walk with the Sketchers at Kampong Glam
by Ian
Tools of the (Sketching) Trade
A Passion Transcending Boundaries
by Elena
Based on our observations, as well as going through the various tags on their blogspot (USK SINGAPORE) Most sketchers employed a mixture of the aforementioned tools/mediums. The more popular mixed media sketches involved the pairing of watercolour ink with watercolour washes. Line sketches using pens and pencils were more used as well.
The sketchers also influence one another with their unique drawing techniques and preferences. This was especially seen when we tagged along on the 10th of November – Kampong Glam Sketchwalk with Kian Kiean & Asnee. We noticed several of the sketchers using personally carved twigs to apply mark to paper. A few questions later and it was revealed to be a current craze that involved nothing more than finding a twig and carving it with a penknife. Nature’s pen/pencil made easy with a little bit of craftsmanship and interest on one’s part.
(We asked our interviewees – Andrew, Paul, Shan and Kiah Kiean – about their preferred medium and tools. Hear what they have to say on the audio files. Andrew even taught us how to create our own bamboo pen, with easy to follow instructions.)
Listen to the artists themselves speak about the tools they use:
With no limitations to the kinds of tools and the medium with which to render their images, it is little wonder that the draughts men and women for the day used a variety of them. A quick list (do note that this is by no means a full comprehensive one) includes:
1. Bamboo dip pens
2. Brush pens
3. Felt pens
4. Fountain pens
5. Ink
6. Ink and watercolour washes
7. Markers
8. Waterbrush/paint brushes
9. Watercolour
10. Graphite/pencil
11. Acrylic/oil paint
12. Twigs
So what should a first time sketcher bring should he or she want to join Urban Sketchers Singapore on a sketchwalk or two? When asked about their preferences, most of the sketchers cited “travel convenience” as what influences the tools/mediums used. Certainly when one moves around, from one location to another within the area where the sketchers worked within, compact is the way to go. Pens and pencils, watercolour sets are favoured for their ease of transport. However, this does not stop some sketchers from laying out watercolour sets alongside inks for a mixture of mediums, effectively occupying a small coffee table as their makeshift “worktable” when their eyes are set on a particular building or scene.
Other reasons cited include “style” and “interest”, wherein the choice of tools/mediums comes as a result of the drawing or painting style the sketcher seeks to develop or explore for that particular session.
Should you join Urban Sketchers Singapore on their weekly sketchwalk, expect to meet all and sundry, Singapore’s humidity, curious stares and no demands on you as an artist/artist-to-be. No style is above another nor is a particular tool more niche and hence, more special than another. It all boils down on the individual’s preferences and drawing style. Be it meticulous line drawings with ink, the tedium and patience of oil paintings or the vibrant markings with watercolour washes and/or paint, the choices of present sketchers can only serve as examples by numbers.
The best tool/medium an interested sketcher can have… is interest.
It is really nice to have a like-minded companion to enjoy a hobby with. What more an entire global network of such!
Urban Sketchers is one such platform whereby illustrators from all walks of life come together to share their drawings literally one sketch at a time. Not only do they share stories behind these drawings and places, techniques are also exchanged without restraint and therefore providing a comfortable environment for the hobbyist artist to thrive. On top of that, because this online community have expanded internationally, sketchers may find themselves amongst other fellow sketchers from countries other than their home country when they travel. Instantly, their passion connects them and their drawings know no boundaries.
At one recent Sketch Walk in Singapore, I had the opportunity to speak with Kiah Kiean from Penang for whom the spontaneous drawing session saw a huge turnout of more than 40 people. The Urban Sketchers in Singapore were told they had a special guest that weekend hailing from Penang and despite the late notice on Facebook, many gathered at the familiar heritage site Kampong Glam in Singapore and started sketching early that morning. When we arrived, Kiah Kiean was almost done with his second drawing. We speak to him briefly regarding his thoughts about joining this transnational organization of Urban Sketchers while we settled at his next drawing spot.
“The most important thing is sharing among each other,” explains Kiah Kiean as he hurriedly started sketching on another pre-cut watercolour paper sheet that he had prepared before hand. With a stick which he had created as a drawing tool, he dips it into a container of Chinese ink and with confident strokes, marks out various lines on his paper.
“The most important thing is sharing among each other,” explains Kiah Kiean as he hurriedly started sketching on another pre-cut watercolour paper sheet that he had prepared before hand. With a stick which he had created as a drawing tool, he dips it into a container of Chinese ink and with confident strokes, marks out various lines on his paper.
Kiah Kiean is currently a Graphic Designer although he was previously trained in Architecture. He is also the Urban Sketchers correspondent from Malaysia and one of the main founders of the Urban Sketches Malaysia in 2011.
Before that, the group was known as the Penang Sketchers and it was only when Kiah Kiean found out about the Urban Sketchers on Google 4 years ago that they renamed their group in affiliation with the Urban Sketchers. Since then, he has drawn with Urban Sketchers in Bali and Taipei and this time, it is his first time joining the Singapore group to sketch.
Being part of this larger community allows us to “have fun and meet people” and this is evident as we observed how Kiah Kiean interacts with the Singapore Urban Sketchers. It was almost like a gathering of long-lost relatives brought back together by their passion in drawing.
photographed by Nico
We took a walk with the Singapore Urbansketchers on another casual sketchwalk and followed them down the streets of Kampong Glam and captured them in action. The sketchers travel light and come prepared with portable stools, hats, bottled water, and the tools of their trade. As they wander around Kampong Glam, they stop to capture moments on paper, each a personal interpretation of the sights and sounds.
After our first trip with Urban Sketchers Singapore, we wanted to provide more coverage on certain aspects of one of the largest sketching communities in Singapore. Here are some articles written about our experiences sketching, being with the sketchers, as well as more about an overseas correspondent and the tools/mediums they employ.
New Kid on the Block
by Jiahui
I never had too much of an urge to whip out a sketch book and draw in public because the people who stare scares me a little, and everybody is a judge. So it was really inspiring when we tagged along for the Kampong Glam sketch walk to see people from all sorts of backgrounds and artistic abilities just taking time to draw. Everyone was really friendly, and I was blown away by the sketches; I mean, some aren’t even artist by trade, but you really can’t tell looking at their works. We walk around, and talked so some of the artist, and it was fantastic because they were so humble and willing to share. At the end of the walk, there was a show and tell, where they shared what they drew that day. And that is when it really hit me, that unlike school (even an art school), this is a platform to draw whatever you want to, at your own pace. There isn’t a grade, there isn’t pressure to perform, and there is so much to learn from these passionate people who aren’t teachers, but perhaps, have so much more to share.
So this is my attempt, its not much, but I will work on it, and hug a sketchbook wherever I go from now on :)
