Outdoor Painting - Kinta Road, Singapore

I was out about painting en plein air again last Sunday with a group of artist friends. This is an old shophouse along Kinta Road, near Little India. Many people crowded around us to watch us paint. Some looked on quietly, some made a few comments amongst themselves in their own language, probably in Tamil which I do not understand... they could criticize, said it's a horrible, or bad mouth me all they want and I won't understand a word! haa!

After watching us for a while, an Indian woman came up to me and asked "Are you guys having a competition?" I was dumbfounded, unsure how to react to her question, so I just smiled and said "No, we're just painting for fun". Then came her next question "Are you an architect?" "no, no... we're just here to paint. It's our hobby".

She nodded and left us... this is just one of the many questions and funny incidents I've encountered over the years when painting en plein air... fun, isn't it?

Well, here's the painting...

Here are some close-up shots of the details...

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome!

Jalan Besar, Singapore

I painted this a few days ago at home. This stretch of road is called Jalan Besar, literally translated as Huge Road in Malay, probably because it was the widest road before Singapore's independence from British rule.

Here' s the painting, a quarter-sheet, painted in 2.5 hours.

Jalan Besar, Singapore (11" x 15")
If you would like to own this painting, click HERE

and here are some of the close-up shots of the painting

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Festival Grand Art Exhibition 2008

I was invited to participate in this group exhibition in conjunction with Singapore's Chinese Cultural Festival 2008. There are many different types of artworks in the show, ranging from traditional chinese brush, calligraphy to 'western' arts like watercolour, oil, sculpture, etc. There were even bonsai plants amongst the display. The exhibition was opened on 29 Feb 2008 and ended on 5 March 2008

Here are some photos taken on the opening day.

... and my boy decided to pay a visit over the weekend.

There was a huge drum outside the exhibition hall, and he definitely had a great fun hitting it.... I think he wants to be the new Kitaro.


Hope you enjoy the photos... :)

Outdoor Painting - Pandan Shipyard, Singapore

Ever since I moved to Singapore in 1998, I have always lived in the Eastern part of the island and worked in offices located in the island's Central Business District and East for the past 10 years. My weekend plein air locations are usually around the city area and well-known landmarks like Chinatown, Little India, Singapore River etc. Hence, the Western part of Singapore is almost like a foreign country to me.

So, I was really glad to find out that my fellow artist friends have planned to paint a shipyard located at the very end of the West coast of Singapore.

Here I was last Sunday at Pandan Shipyard... it was like a breath of fresh air, definitely something different from the usual street scenes and shophouses that I've painted numerous times.Here's a picture of the location, we had to walk under a bridge to get to this spot.



It was a cloudy day and the surrouding under the bridge was quite dark and we had problems seeing our paintings clearly and it was definitely difficult to determine and judge the right colours and tonal values. A few artists decided it was too taxing on the eyes so they did some sketches but I presevered.

Here's the painting...I spent about 3 hours painting it on location and probably another half an hour doing final touch-up at home. Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") painted using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.



I decided to change the colour of one of the boats from blue to red so as to have more varieties and make it more interesting but after I'm done, it seemed too dominant now. I could probably still tone it down a bit but might ruin the transparency I currently have.... I'll probably come back to it a few days later to see if it really needs a fix. What do you think?

... and here are some close-up shots of the painting.



Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Outdoor painting - House on Emerald Hill

Last Sunday, I was back at Emerald Hill, a classy residential area just a stone throw away from Singapore's famous busy shopping district, Orchard Road. The houses here are all built during the pre second world war era with a mixture of European and Asian architecture.

I arrived around 9:30am and the sun is already out. I was here just a few weeks ago but this time I chose another house.

Here's the location pic

I spent around 3 hours to finish this.Half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") painted using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.

Hope you like it. Comments and critiques are welcome as usual.

Outdoor painting - Maude Road, Singapore

I have always started and finished an outdoor painting on the same day, in one sitting, and perhaps touch it up a little bit when I get home. But I have seen some of my artist friends patiently plan, compose and paint their outdoor pieces in two sittings or even three. They would pick a spot, ponder and plan the composition, draw the outline and then start painting. Half way through the painting, it's almost lunch time, so we all pack up and leave. They would then come back to the same spot, same time on another day and complete the painting.

So, that's exactly what I did for this piece. I realized sometimes I am too quick to rush and finish off a painting. So, for this painting, I decided to paint slower and have time to plan and think about my colour, composition and was able to paint more details than my usual outdoorworks..... and I think the result speaks for itself... I just love the rich colours and strong sunlight in this piece.

Here's the location where I'm seated. This is Maude Road, off Jalan Besar in Singapore.

The finished painting.... done over two Sundays... half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21") using Rembradnt, Holbein, Schmincke and M. Graham professional watercolour paints.



... and here are some close-up detail shots





Hope you like it. Critiques and comments are welcome as usual.

Another plein air - Emerald Hill, Singapore

Together with an artist friend, we went to paint plein air again last Sunday

This is another location that I've painted many times. The most recent one which i did more than half a year ago was a quarter sheet plein air and it was snapped up at the first listing on eBay.

The weather was perfect today and the strong sunshine is casting fabulous shadows all over the place, although it may not be visible from the location pic I took using my camera phone below.



Here's the finished painting... half sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham and Holbein Artist Grade watercolour paints.



The foreground is my own use of "artistic license" as I felt the road is too empty, so I added the foliage... not sure if it works well but anyway... guess what?!! A guy who came over to watch us paint, decided to buy both our paintings. This place is beginning to turn into my favourite hunting ground now.... or so I thought...

You see, he was so interested in our paintings but didn't have enough cash with him, so he told us to deliver them to him the next day, and he will have the money to pay us, so we gave him our namecards and left with our paintings. However, he sent me an e-mail the next day...

"Marvin,

I've decided against buying the paintings.

Thanks anyway."

Just like that, our hopes are gone! Looking at his address, he's staying on the top floor (penthouse?) of a posh condominium in town... So, I think financially, he should be very well-off and able to afford the paintings... but who knows? may be the wife said no..... oh well... better luck next time.

Anyway, critiques and comments on the painting are welcome as usual.

Bridging Ties With Watercolours - A Success!

Here are some pictures taken during our exhibition Bridging Ties With Watercolours - Singapore Watercolour Society's 38th Annual Exhibition, which is also the second joint watercolour exhibition between SWS and Penang Water Colour Society (PWCS). It was held from 31 August - 4 September at Ngee Ann Cultural Centre, Singapore.

It was a success as everything went as planned, although we had initial hiccups when we lost the detailed painting information submitted by our Penang counterparts. If you're reading this, thank you Mr Khoo, for calling back to Penang to gather all the important information. We really appreciate your help.

We had a big crowd on the opening day, and we got some rave reviews from friends who attended it.... and I had another good reason to be excited this year too.... you'll understand when you see the pics below... :)

Preparation

Arrival of Guest-of-Honour, Mr Seng Han Thong

Visitors admiring the artworks on display

SWS President, Dr Michael Lim making his opening speech

President of PWCS, Mr Khoo Cheang Jin addressing the audience

Guest-of-Honour, Mr Seng Han Thong officiating the opening of the exhibition

Mr Seng Han Thong touring the exhibition hall,
accompanied by Dr Michael Lim and Mr Ong Kim Seng
(can you spot me at the background? Haa!)

(From L to R) Me, Ms Anne Lim, Mr D.J. Tan, Ong Kim Seng, Dr Michael Lim,
Mr Seng Han Thong, Mr Ho Yee Ping, Mr Khoo Cheang Jin

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and finally... me and my two paintings

Little India, Singapore .... SOLD on the opening day! Yay!!!

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne .... still available :P

You can see more photos of the event in my facebook album

Boat Quay, Singapore River

Boat Quay, Singapore River (11" x 15")
SOLD

This is Boat Quay, along Singapore River which I have painted on many occassions, both from studio and plein air. Scenes like this along Singapore River have always been the favourite painting subjects of Singapore's pioneer watercolourists such as Lim Cheng Hoe, Gog Sing Hooi and T.Y. Choy just to name a few.

Although I didn't have the chance to meet these late artists, I am fortunate enough to hear many great stories about their masterful skills and energy in promoting the art of watercolour to the younger generation. Together with a group of artists, they would gather around Singapore River every Sunday morning without fail. Every view, every angle along Singapore River had been covered by these amazing group of painters.

Today, the traditions of painting plein air on Sunday morning is kept alive by us, members of Singapore Watercolour Society, where we paint all over Singapore. Although I may not be able to do this week in week out now, I will try my best to go out and paint as often as I can as nothing beats the direct observation of the painting subjects, where the results are often fresh and spontaneous... and it's more fun painting together with friends than doing it alone in the studio.

Outdoor Painting - Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore

I went out for plein air painting this morning with a few artist friends. It's been months since I joined them as I've been busy with work and family commitments so it was great to be able to paint en plein air today.

The subject of today's painting is the old shophouses along Mohamed Sultan Road. The area is now famous of its bustling clubbing scene where many of these shophouses are renovated and converted to pubs and nightclubs.

Here's the building I'm painting...


There are renovation workers currently working on dismantling the interiors of the run-down building covered with greens and bushes... one of the workers actually came over to watch us paint, and told me they'll knock down the whole interior of the building but will keep the front facade as this area is marked for heritage preservation. Hopefully, they'll do a good job in keeping this beautiful building.

Mohamed Sultan Road, Singapore (11" x 15")
SOLD

Well, I don't really like this painting as I think I rushed to finish it. There were too many messy lines and I'm to blame for poor planning of colours and execution of paint... especially the shaded areas where it has started to get muddy.... may be the only two things I liked about it is the roofs and the building on the extreme left as it's not in focus and I painted very very loosely.

Oh well, now you've seen a bad painting from me...

Anyway, here are some close-up shots.




Comments and critiques are most welcomed. :-)

Doing OK on eBay...

I had my two wisdom teeth on my left as well a badly decayed tooth - 3 in total - extracted on Tuesday, my left cheek is swelling and it's uncomfortable... but hopefully after it heals, I can enjoy cold drinks and ice-creams again without any pain!

I have been trying to sell my smaller paintings through eBay since a few years back but have not been very successful. I put down my distance away from the USA and Europe where the majority of eBay art buyers are located as one of the main reasons why my eBay business has not been doing well. Another reason could be the subject matters that I paint. Street scenes and landscapes of Singapore, Malaysia and South East Asia may not exactly attract buyers from Western countries.

However, I gave it another shot towards the end of last year and have been listing most of my quarter sheet sized plein air paintings. To my delight and surprise, they are selling well. Almost all my paintings were sold either on the first listing or relist. I wouldn't say they are selling like hot cakes yet, but at least they are moving out of my studio and off to someone else's walls.

So, what makes the difference? Perhaps my painting skill has improved leaps and bounds compared to two or three years ago, which I honestly hope so. Distance may not be a problem after all since a registered article from Singapore could generally reach any distance worldwide within two weeks of mailing... and I now realized there are many people who are mesmerized by the simplicity and beauty of South East Asia.... or may be it's just my persistence that paying off now! :-)

Here are two other paintings that I've just listed on eBay... wish me luck!

Emerald Hill, Singapore (11" x 15")
SOLD

Chew Jetty, Penang (11" x 15")
SOLD

Outdoor Painting - Pahang Street, Singapore

It's a bright sunny Sunday and I went out to paint with my artist friends again. This is another street scene along Pahang Street, off Jalan Sultan in Singapore.

Here's a photo of the location.



So, here's my first painting of Year 2007...
It's a quarter sheet of Fabriano Artistico, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham Artist Watercolour Paints.
I think I spent about 2.5 hours on this painting.

Pahang Street, Singapore (11" x 15")
SOLD

Below are some close-up shots of the painting:




The sky was clear and bright when I started and then it turned cloudy and drizzled for about 5 minutes. Luckily, the sun came out again ... it was a challenge to paint under such changing weather.

Although, the painting turned out fine, I think I didn't portray the sunny day well enough and should have left more white areas untouched to represent the pillars and walls that are brightly-lit by the sun... oh well... I must remember this next time.

Oh... and I nearly dated the painting 2006, instead of 2007... fortunately, I corrected it just in time! LOL :D

Critiques and comments are welcome as usual.

Clarke Quay, Singapore

I haven't been painting much for the past two months as I has been terribly busy at work, involving in some projects that required working over the weekends. So, it was with great pleasure that I was able to get back to painting last Sunday when a few artist friends of mine gathered on the highest level of Liang Court Hotel car park, near Clarke Quay to provide us a beautiful bird's eye view of the scene.



It was difficult to decide on one composition. Most people would naturally compose a landscape/horizontal view given that the main building (Riverside Point) stretches along the river as shown by the picture above. But I tried to be different and by making use of the sharp pointy roof and the tall modern buildings as the backdrop, I decided to use a portrait/vertical composition.

I've also recently bought Schmincke's Translucent Orange and decided to put this glowing colour into good use. You can definitely see its effect on the roof and a more diluted wash on the walls of the building. This gave the main subject a warm treatment, contrasting against the cool blue on the sky and the water.

Here's the painting...

Clarke Quay, Singapore (15" x 11")
SOLD

and here are some close-up shots...




Surprisingly, I've shrinked from full sheet in my home studio, to half sheet during my past plein air sessions... and now I'm painting only small 1/4 sheet... mainly because it's easier to carry around and I find myself having more time to think what would I do next. I still spend the same 2-3 hours for this 1/4 sheet but I don't need to rush myself to finish off the painting, like I do half-sheets, although I love the freedom and brush-movement that I get in painting bigger size.

I always use Fabriano Artistico Rough watercolour paper, painted with W&N, Rembrandt, Schmincke, M.Graham Artist Watercolour Paints.

Comments and Critiques are welcome as usual.

Outdoor Painting - Plumer Road, Singapore

Javier is 4.5 months old now and he likes to put his hands into his mouth... a natural habit of babies but with the saliva and heat, rashes have developed around his cheeks and mouth since Sunday :(

I haven't done any outdoor/plein air painting for about 3 weeks as I have been busy with work where our whole department was required to work over 2 weekends for our company's annual reorganisation project.

Now that it's over, I went out for plein air painting last Sunday with a group of watercolourist friends. We chose this old shophouse at the corner of Plumer Road in Singapore, just a stone throw away from Little India.

I painted this building about a year ago but at a different angle. So, I thought I'd choose another angle to paint this time.... and I think the composition is much more interesting.

This is where I'm seated.

I chose to paint a tighter composition to fill the buliding into 3/4 of the paper,
to give a more intimate closeness between the viewers and the painting.

... and here's the finished painting where I took 3 hours to paint most of it on location, and finished off the detailed bits and pieces at home.

It's half sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21"),painted with Winsor & Newton,
Rembrandt and M.Graham Artists Watercolour Paints

Here are some close-up shots of the painting.

Hope you like it... comments and critiques welcome as usual. :)

At last, I got to paint something....

I've been pretty busy at work for the whole of October especially the last two weeks as I was involved in a project where I had to worked everyday including Saturday and Sunday. I'm glad it's finished now, over...completed! yippee!

Now, what will a mad watercolourist do when he reached home, tired from working his socks off? Well, of course he played with his 4-month old son, rocked him to sleep and then took out his watercolour gears and painted away....

This is done at home - a riverside scene at Boat Quay in Singapore. I've painted this area many times but never at this angle, so I thought I'll give it a try.

It's half-sheet of Fabriano Artistico Rough, using mainly W&N and Rembrandt Artist Paints.

Here's the final painting.



... and here are a few close-up shots.






Comments and critiques welcome as usual.

Well, to thank you for reading up till now...here's Javier looking rather happy...
I think he's trying to say "Daddy, give me that brush!" :D

Durian Season Is Here Again!

Javier is almost 3-month old!! and he can roll over sideways and hold his head up already!!! :-)

I had initially planned to paint around Chinatown with a few artist friends but just as I was about to board the train, my friend (who lives at the western part of Singapore) called and said it has started to rain and called off the plein aire session.

I live at the eastern part and the sky was already covered with dark clouds but still holding on....and since I'm already at the train station, rain or no rain, I decided to paint anyway, but chose another location nearer to the East, hoping that it wouldn't rain in this part of Singapore.

I alighted at Aljunied Station, and walked towards Sims Avenue when I spotted a couple of trucks and workers unloading tons of durians, the king of fruits. ** Durian is a seasonal tropical fruit with torn-like spikes on its shell and the contents are milky, creamy in colour. It smells like vintage wine to those who love it, or rotten eggs to those who hate it. **

Me? I don't hate it (used to hate it when I was a kid), but I don't worship it like some people either... ;-)

Well, looking at the photo below, I guess it's in season now...

The scene - truck loads of DURIANS!!

This is where I'm seated with the almost finished painting.

The painting and my tools

Here's the final result... For some reasons, I wasn't too pleased with this painting. I couldn't pin-point what wasn't right though... it just doesn't feel right....perhaps I'm not used to painting vehicles.

It's half-sheet of Fabriano Artistico (14" x 21"), painted using W&N, Rembrandt and M.Graham Artists Paint. Comments and critique welcome as usual.

SWS 37th Annual Exhibition - Watercolour Splashes

Singapore Watercolour Society held its 37th Annual Exhibition, Watercolour Splashes, recently from 1st to 3rd September 2006.

Although the exhibtion dates are shorter than previous years and given the limited resources we had, I think it should be considered a satisfactory show. However, the disturbing fact remains that some artists chose not to participate in the exhibition and I must admit this doesn't bode well with the long-term progress and development of the society as a whole when there are more and more inactive members. :(

Well, 30 members participated in this year's exhibition and there were over 50 paintings on show. Five paintings were sold at the end although mine wasn't. Don't worry, I'm not disappointed or anything... it would have been nice to sell something, but the art market here especially for traditional watercolour paintings are quite poor in the first place, so I didn't put too much hope into selling mine. :-)


Anyway, here are some photos taken during the opening.

Opening speech by the President of the society, Seah Kam Chuan

The exhibition was officially opened by the
guest-of-honour, Mr D.J. Tan who subsequently
bought two paintings... thanks for supporting
our artists even though he didn't pick mine ;)

Here are the crowds on the opening day...

...and me with one of my paintings (Fullerton Hotel painted earlier this year)

Later this month, I'll be exhibiting two half-sheets in an exhibition in Penang, Malaysia on the 21st September. It's a collaboration between Penang Watercolour Society and Singapore Watercolour Society.... and we plan to have a plein aire/outdoor painting session with members of both societies. It should be fun :)

Outdoor Painting - Craig Road, Singapore

I went out to paint again with a few artist friends. This time at Craig Road, just a stone throw away from the one I did last Sunday. As one of them hasn't completed the painting he started last week, we decided to return to the same area. So who says you have to finish off a plein aire painting on the same day? Some paint fast and loose to complete the painting in three hours (like me :P), some paint slower so it takes them two sessions to finish it. Either way, there is no right or wrong, just personal preference based on one's painting style.

Anyway, here's the photo of the location.
An old shophouse converted into a Japanese restaurant.

Here's a photo of my completed painting on location.

...and this is the finished painting.

You might wonder why I've painted a shaded area on the left whereas there is none on the photo. Well, it was gloomy and drizzling when I arrived, so there was no sunlight whatsoever. Usually this kind of weather is only temporary in Singaproe and the sun will be out once the rain stops.

Therfore, I made the decision there and then to paint a hot and sunny day which is typical of tropical Singapore, hoping the rain will stop soon. So I have to "create" my own sunlight and shadows, and that shaded area is therefore, the result of artistic license on my part. ...and one hour into painting, the sun did come out to play :)... although there wasn't any such shaded area on the left in real life... I think it's a wonderful addition that gives the painting a more dramatic atmosphere and clearly represent the hot and humid Singapore weather.

It took me 3 hours to finish this painting. Painted on Fabriano Artistico (half sheet approx 14" x 21"), using W&N, Rembrandt, M.Graham artist grade watercolour paints.

What do you think? Comment and critique welcome as usual.