Latest news with #sketching
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong dad inspires memories with sketches Sai Ying Pun
What began as Billy Wong Yin-chun's daily commute to Sai Ying Pun with his nine-year-old daughter became an artistic journey when he started sketching parts of the neighbourhood. 'Being a full-time dad made me feel a bit lost, so I started looking for something creative to do. I thought, why not take a sketchbook and draw Sai Ying Pun?' the 47-year-old parent recalled. With pencil, ink pen and watercolour, his artwork depicts old shops like Cheryl's Bakery, where his daughter enjoys jelly cups. Others feature Bonham Road's stone walls and ancient trees, the old mental hospital on High Street, as well as flower shops and Thai grocery stores. Wong had his first exhibition earlier this year at Knock Knock, a bookstore in Sai Ying Pun. 'This is something I wanted to do when I was a child. I never imagined that at this age, in my forties, I'd suddenly be able to fulfil this dream,' said Wong, who previously worked as a graphic designer. The view of a local father Wong has been drawing since childhood, but his first painting of Hong Kong was a gift for his brother – an expansive view from Mount Davis overlooking Victoria Harbour. 'My first sketches were for my younger brother and cousin after they emigrated. I wanted to send them something to remind them of home,' he said. Before starting his current project, Wong was feeling lost after giving up his job to be a full-time father. But now, with his paintings, he has built friendships with other stay-at-home dads and found a new purpose that works with his schedule for taking care of his daughter. Community connections Wong has also connected with local residents who have told him about their memories of Sai Ying Pun. 'One elderly saw my painting of the hospital where he was born; he was deeply touched. He even asked to take a photo of it,' the artist shared. 'I realised that my paintings, which are personal memories, could also become someone else's.' Of all his works, Wong's favourite features the Hong Kong Resource Centre for Heritage. 'It's a beautiful spot, but because it's tucked away and surrounded by trees, not many people notice it. Depending on the time of day and season, the scene changes,' he said. 'It's one of those hidden gems.' Word power depicts: an artistic or descriptive representation of something emigrated: to have moved to another country to live expansive: to cover a wide area fulfil: to achieve a dream or goal Handy phrases hidden gems: valuable things that are not widely known stay-at-home: a parent who takes care of their child or children full-time Quiz time Stop and think: Has a picture or drawing ever brought back an important memory for you? 1. Who did Wong dedicate his first sketches to? 2. Which Hong Kong neighbourhood is Wong highlighting in his current project?
CBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
She's on a mission to draw every pub in London — even if it takes her decades
If you've walked the streets of London in the last five years, you may have spotted Lydia Wood, standing on the sidewalk at her easel, sketching the exterior of a local pub. The British artist is on a mission to draw every single pub in the city, from world-famous hotspots to the lesser-known neighbourhood staples. At a pace of two drawings per week, with upwards of 3,000 pubs in the city, it's a project she suspects will take her at least 10 years — and maybe as many as 20 — to complete. "I think I've done over 300 now," Wood told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I try not to count too often because then I realize how long I've got to go." Levelling the playing field London is famous for its wide array of pubs, and there's no shortage of art celebrating them. But Wood says what's out there doesn't quite capture the true diversity of the city's pub culture. "I feel like I had seen a lot of artworks of the same pubs," Wood said. "You know, really famous pubs, pubs that were in history books, or interesting architecturally." Wood is more interested in the neighbourhood "locals" — places where neighbours get together to drink, eat, watch sports and celebrate life's milestones. "I was also really intrigued by the pubs that ... don't have social media and have a loyal crowd — backstreet boozers that maybe not many people know about," she said. "Not your prettiest pubs, maybe a grumpy landlord — like all of these sort of small details that make up a pub that are not necessarily shouted about, and those personal connections of that particular community." She remembers one of the first pubs she ever drew, called King Charles I near King's Cross Road. "I kind of just set up [and] didn't tell anyone I was there. I kind of wanted to do my drawing, maybe pop in for a drink and then go," she said. "But the locals immediately clocked me." Before she knew it, the pub's workers were bringing her glasses of red wine, on the house, and patrons were ordering prints of her sketch before she'd even finished drawing it. "There was this really amazing, like, welcoming atmosphere, and they were just super proud of their pub," she said. "It's a brilliant pub, as well, and now my print is up in there, which is, like, the cherry on top." A full-time job In fact, Londoners are so proud of their locals that Wood has managed to make a living off this project. She's built a huge fanbase on social media, which she's leveraged into brand partnerships and a potential book deal. She also sells prints of her drawings online for £40 ($74 Cdn), or £380 ($700 Cdn) for an original. She also makes pub calendars. "It's my full-time job," she said. "It has been for a couple of years now and each year sort of keeps growing." If all goes well, she'll have many years of pub sketching ahead of her. Tallies very, and pubs are opening and closing all the time, but an audit by the municipal government last year found there were 3,535 pubs in London in 2023, a number the city says is largely unchanged since 2018 Wood is not taking a particularly meticulous approach, she said. She doesn't have a tidy spreadsheet to track her work. She's not tacking them alphabetically, or moving neighbourhood to neighbourhood. Instead, she follows her whims, going to pubs that her friends and fans recommend, or that pique her interest. And she's covering the Greater London Area. "That's right out to the outskirts," she said. "Places that almost feel like the countryside and not your kind of traditional Soho kind of central London pubs." As she nears the end, she says, she'll "start looking at a list and seeing what I've missed." And when she's finally done?
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
The one change that worked: I started sketching
I've always battled with phone use. I resent how much my sense of being alive in the world – feeling it, doing things, making stuff happen – is affected by my screen time. So a few years ago, I decided to do a sketch every day. I had always wanted to draw, but I was embarrassed about starting out because I was so bad at it. Then I bought a few black notebooks: a small one for my jacket pocket, and larger ones for my bedside and for the kitchen table. As no one would ever see my drawings, I decided I didn't need to care about what anyone thought. One day I grabbed one of the notebooks and a pencil and went out to the Cornish cliffs. I spent 10 minutes hastily drawing some cows and wild ponies. Standing on a cliff, pencil in hand, I felt like an idiot and an impostor, but I had started. It was a happy moment. I had never drawn a pony before but, to my delight, one quick, simple sketch seemed not bad for a beginner. Next, I drew our cat snoozing. Then our dog, Foxy, staking out a mouse in our kitchen. Beside each sketch, I wrote the date and little notes. Having the pencils and sketchbooks within easy reach – in my car or lying around the house – meant these small moments built up. Within weeks what might otherwise have been buried in photos on my mobile phone became a tender profile of my life unfolding on pages. My favourite drawings are often of people. Our daughter, Elizabeth, is usually furious when she realises I'm surreptitiously drawing her. Drawing strangers at airports, in cafes or on the tube is fun. I enjoy the element of danger. Will I get caught? Can I finish the drawing before that person moves on? It helps to pass the time on long journeys instead of spending it on screen. Lots of my sketches are dreadful, but the quickest ones – of people or animals – can have good results because drawing at speed makes my self-consciousness fall away. One unexpected benefit of doing a sketch a day is I spend less time doomscrolling on my phone. Like most people, I am anxious about the state of the world, but drawing slows things down, makes me pay attention to the moment. I lose myself in the act of drawing, and I'm using my hands, which is soothing in itself. Drawing also brings me back to the analogue world. It makes me happier and more patient. Art is known for being therapeutic and transformative, and I've definitely felt the benefits. In two years our daughter will be leaving home. In the future I'll be able to look at those drawing diaries and think, yes, we were together when I did those.
