Details, I love details

Whenever I need to have 'me-time', I draw because that is the time when I am just totally at peace with myself and the world. The more engrossed I am, the darker my drawings become. It is as if every stroke, every pen mark represents the intensity of my thoughts that are all concentrated on the subject that I happen to be drawing. Unlike the drawings of people walking around where there was no time to go into details and my thoughts were fleeting, touch-and-go like, this drawing is more intense because the subject is a photo of flowers. It is static and it had my attention for as long as I was willing to spend time studying its form and appearance.

Photo of the Kopsia singapurensis in 'Gardenwise' (Jul 2009 issue) publication of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Sketching exercises

From a vantage point in a building I saw many people walking in the street below. From a distance, I was able to single out interesting subjects and capture the form in the fleeting seconds as each moved across my view, towards or away from me. Singaporeans walk pretty fast especially the younger ones. I decided that my sketches had to be done speedily and should only capture the key characteristic of each person in simple strokes. I also made it a point to sketch only women because I find them more interesting - different hairdos, clothes, handbags etc.

At the end, it was a fun activity for me. I enjoyed the challenge of capturing the images in brief strokes before they disappear from my life in a matter of moments.