Sketching the Blue House 畫藍屋

I went to Stone Nullah Street today to sketch this charming old building again.  The four-storey building was built in 1922 and is one of the few remaining pre-war tenement buildings with large balconies.  One of the shop spaces on the ground level is now converted into a small museum named "Hong Kong House of Stories"  dedicated to preserving old local culture.

The website of "Hong Kong House of Stories":  houseofstories.sjs.org.hk

寒流下與畫友走到灣仔石水渠街再畫藍屋。四層高的藍屋建於1922年，是香港餘下小數有大騎樓的戰前唐樓。地下其中一個舖位現為「香港故事館」，展覽香港街坊老文化等等。

「香港故事館」網頁： houseofstories.sjs.org.hk

Wall Tree at Pound Lane 磅巷石牆樹

This wall tree (Ficus microcarpa) thrives on this old masonry wall in Pound Lane.  However, its future is uncertain as the government is proposing to build the second escalator along Pound Lane linking Queen's Road and the Midlevels.

此石牆樹 （細葉榕）緊緊地抓住磅巷的一石牆。闊大的樹蔭為路人遮陰。可是政府如建造第二條行人電梯，石牆樹恐怕劫數難逃。

Rehearsing L'elisir d'amore 愛情靈藥彩排中

A group of dedicated singers are busy rehearsing the chorus numbers for the upcoming opera "L'elisir d'amore" to be staged at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre next March.

Mister Softee 富豪雪糕車

Mister Softee, the red and blue ice cream truck and its Blue Danube jingle have already become the collective memory of many Hongkongers.  Started operation in the seventies, Mister Softee currently owns 14 ice cream vans, running around Hong Kong.

富豪雪糕車、 藍色的多瑙河、香脆甜筒軟雪糕、果仁甜筒、蓮花杯、還有珍寶橙冰，陪伴多少香港人一起成長!

Walking in the Rain 西貢下雨天

The cool weather and constant rain deter tourists from coming to Sai Kung.  What a quiet Sunday!

清涼下雨的星期日，西貢市格外寧靜。

Sun-Dried Tangerine Skins and Wall Tree 果皮與石牆樹

Two workers taking care of the sun-dried tangerine skins.  A small banyan tree is quietly sitting on the roof of one of the wholesaler stores with its aerial roots tightly grasping the front wall of the building.

長興欄舖頂的小榕樹景點與果欄員工正在處理地上的果皮。

Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market 油麻地果欄一角

The complex of Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market was built in the 1920s and it wasn't solely a market for distributing fruits.  Poultry and vegetables wholesalers also shared the complex here until well after the 60s, fruit wholesalers gradually took up all the slots in the complex.

In the sketch, a fellow sketcher standing in front of me sketching the opposite direction.

果欄建於1913年，以前是九龍水果批發市場，「果欄」是珠三角一帶對水果批發市場的俗稱。經營的商鋪初期只以草棚搭成，直到1920年代至1930年代，香港政府才開始批地讓欄商興建固定樓房，多幢一、二層高的磚石建築逐漸組成今貌，至今尚可見到不少具戰前特色的裝潢。最初渡船街、窩打老道一帶賣雞、鴨等家禽，東莞街賣菜，而後面是九龍魚市場，果欄的面積比現在小得多，只佔新填地街一帶，而果欄並非只賣生果，主要是賣蔬菜，只有如「福和果菜欄」、「秀和欄」和「大益欄」等幾個大型的果菜欄，在六七暴動前兩三年，雞欄和菜欄搬遷至長沙灣後，才全部變成果欄。戰後建成的石龍街一帶果欄，由於當時檔主共同聘用同一間建築公司，所以於1952年建成的16個果欄外觀十分相似，地面前端是上落貨物區，欄內存放較遲交收的生果，而樓上多數是用作焗蕉的蕉房或雪房，近年才加裝升降機方便存放生果。果欄被古物諮詢委員會於2009年12月18日評定為香港二級歷史建築。
油麻地果欄長期以來都是香港和九龍市區的水果批發集散地，果欄中設有約200個水果攤檔，每天凌晨一時至五時都會進行水果批發、競投、交易、轉運等工作，每天約合共銷售50,000 箱水果，約60%的水果進口自中國大陸，其餘的則主要來自美國和東南亞。

資料來原：維基百科
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/油麻地果欄

37th International SketchCrawl Hong Kong: Sketching Tramway at Chun Yeung Street 春秧街電車軌

We spent a fine warm afternoon in Chun Yeung Street sketching the tramway and the surrounding cityscape!   Chun Yeung Street is a fine street that retains the flavour of old Hong Kong in which you can see crowded street stalls lining up on both sides of the single lane tramway.

北角春秧街人來人往，單線電車路穿過擠擁的露天街市，兩旁的舊樓，充滿舊日香港蓬渤的氣息。

37th International SketchCrawl Hong Kong: Meeting by the Tram Lane in Chun Yeung Street 春秧街電車路邊小聚

A group of urban sketchers gathered today at Chun Yeung Street this afternoon for a long-awaited sketch session.  Two of us chit-chatted under a tree next to the tramway.

今日一班畫友會聚春秧街畫過痛快！其中兩位小休時於樹下閒談。

At the Foot of Lion Rock (Defending Hong Kong against National Education) 獅子山下 （反國民教育 保衛香江）

Oil on Canvas

The Joint Declaration signed by Britain and China is ignored by China literally and the "One Country Two Systems" which guarantees Hong Kong's Autonomy is under serious threat! Every day we see the increasing influence from the Communist Party of China, interfering with Hong Kong's affairs. We also see how the Hong Kong Government and the chief executive (governor), which is not elected by Hongkongese, forcefully implements "national education" which focuses on praising the Communist Party in China, against the will of most Hongkongese. More than 90000 Hongkongese took to the street to protest a month ago and just now, a group of secondary school (high school) students are staging a hunger strike outside the Hong Kong Government Offices, to protest against the implementation of national education.

I hope such painting will give empowerment to the people who love Hong Kong!

1 September 2012

Woman represents mothers and parents
Child represents Hong Kong's next generation
Pearl, the Pearl of Orient, Hong Kong
Sword, protection, justice
Dragon, authentic traditional Chinese culture vs Communist culture in China
Banyan Tree (Ficus microcarpa), Local traditions, home and vitality
Lion Rock, prominent mountain in Hong Kong symbolises Hong Kong values
Red Beast, You Know Who from the north

油彩畫布
畫了一日！有感而發!

女士 : 家長/母親
小孩 : 我們的下一代
名珠 : 香港
寶劍 : 保護/公義
龍 : 中華正統
細葉榕 : 植根本土/生命力
獅子山 : 香港價值
赤獸 : 自己估!

Sketching at Tai Hang Sai Housing Estate 斜陽下的大坑西新邨

I went sketching at Tai Hang Sai late in the afternoon.  In the shade of the building on my left, I started sketching the security post, the old residential buildings and the trees around me.  Tai Hang Sai Housing Estate was built in 1965 by a private developer, with the support of the British-Hong Kong Government to provide the local residents who resided in wooden huts with better housing.

下午走到大坑西新村寫生。大坑西新邨建於1965年。計劃由港英政府以特惠地價資助私人發展商「香港平民屋宇有限公司」興建以幫助原區徙置區受清拆影嚮的居民。

School Mural 音樂牆畫

A mural project that I finished a few days ago.  幾日前完成的牆畫。

Crossing Victoria Harbour on Star Ferry 天星小輪渡維港

Founded in 1888, the Star Ferry has been in operation for more than a century, carrying over 70000 passengers each day across Victoria Harbour.

天星小輪服務香港市民超過一個世紀!  創立於1888, 天星小輪每天接載超過70000乘客橫渡維多利亞港!

Sketching at St John's Cathedral 中環聖約翰座堂

St John's Cathedral is almost as old as Hong Kong.  It is the oldest Anglican church in the Far East and the  oldest ecclesiastical building in Hong Kong.  The first Sunday service was held on Sunday, 11 March 1849, seven years after the establishment of Victoria City (the foundation of modern Hong Kong) by the British. Today, St John's has become an urban sanctuary in the very heart of Central.

中環聖約翰座堂是遠東歷史最悠久的聖公會教堂。教堂首次主日崇拜始於1849三月十一日。聖約翰座堂見證香港由漁港發展成今日的模樣。座落中環心臟，聖約翰座堂已成為中環鬧市的心靈綠州。

Sketching an Old Street in Sai Kung Old Town 西貢舊墟畫舊街

I sat outside Colour Brown yesterday, bought a a cup of coffee and started sketching See Cheung Street, a long winding street in Sai Kung Old Town. By the time I finished, the sky was already pretty dark.

昨日下午走到Colour Brown飲咖啡和畫西貢舊墟市場街，畫完時已經入黑。

Live Sketch of Lotus in Sai Kung 西貢荷花池

Under the very hot weather warning, this is a live sketch of sweat and watercolor !  While I started putting watercolour on the draft, drops of sweat splashed onto the paper and mixed with the color!

皓熱天氣警告下，汗水與水彩混和畫成的荷花！

Sketching near Cheung Chau Beach 長洲東灣村屋

Another extremely hot day!  I sat in front of a village house next to Cheung Chau Beach.  While sketching, I decided not to include the beach changing room behind it which blocks the sea.

畫這長洲村屋時，我在畫紙上拆去村屋後面遮擋東灣海景的更衣室，令藍色的海景穿過牌坊。

Sketching at Kubrick Bookshop Cafe 睇新宇宙威龍前畫油麻地 Kubrick

Before watching Total Recall at Yau Ma Tei Broadway Cinema, I sat down in Kubrick next to the cinema for dinner. By the time I finished, there's still more than an hour to go so I decided to sketch.

今晚與友人到油麻地百老匯睇新宇宙威龍。開場前到隔鄰的 Kubrick 食晚飯。食完時間尚早於是就畫了此sketch!

Sketching Rooftops in Sham Shui Po 北河街畫天台

Under the very hot weather warning, I went up to the air-conditioned top floor of the Pei Ho Street Municipal Services Building in Sham Shui Po to sketch.  The municipal services building is surrounded by old tenement buildings on all sides.  Their rooftops form a strange world which is totally different from the buzzing life on the street level.  Under the scorching sun, the old rooftops are all quiet and yet captivating in their own special way.

酷熱天氣警告下，我同畫友登上冷氣十足的北河街街市市政大廈頂樓寫生。市政大廈四面皆唐樓。酷熱天氣下，高低起伏的唐樓屋頂異常寧靜，構成一個奇異的城市空間。

A sketch at a sixty-year-old cafe in Yau Ma Tei 紅豆冰傍畫美都

Mido Cafe has been in business in the Yau Ma Tei district since 1950.  It's a true old-Hong-Kong style cafe not only preserves most of the old furniture and interior design, but also the building itself.

坐在木卡位，邊飲紅豆冰邊畫美都餐室。

美都餐室1950年開業，是香港所剩無幾的舊式餐室。美都餐室不單止保留了店內的家私間格，餐室所在的三層高唐樓亦是它吸引人之處。

Anti-Communist's National Education Protest at Hong Kong Government Offices 反中共洗腦國民教育大遊行

More than ninety thousand Hongkongese took to the street today to protest against the implementation of Communist's National Education in Hong Kong.

According to the National Education curriculum resource handbook,  the one-party system in Communist China is a superior system, much better than the multi-party system in the U.S.A. and many democratic countries.  In the handbook, the Communist Party of China is also described as a political entity which is advanced, selfless and always working for its people.

According to a poll carried out by the University of Hong Kong, 52% of the public polled said National Education should be stopped and only 12% said it should be implemented.  In another poll carried out by the Hong Kong Teacher Association, 70% of Hong Kong teachers are against the implementation of  national education and 67% of Hong Kong teachers worry that such subject would become a political brainwashing machine.

Many locals believe the implementation of National Education is a political intervention masterminded by the Beijing Communist Government in an attempt to control Hong Kong's education system and to brainwash the young ones in Hong Kong.

超過九萬香港人走上街上命令擱置國民教育科。香港大學民調指出52%香港人認為須擱置國民教育科，讚成的只12%。香港教育協會調查亦指出70%教師反對在中小學加入必修的德育及國民教育科，67%的教師擔心新學科成為「洗腦教育」，政治凌駕於教育理念。

國情專題教學手冊中歌頌中共為進步無私的執政集團並批評以美國為首等西方國家的多黨輪替制令人民當災。

Quick Sketch at the Academy of Visual Arts 浸大視覺藝術院走廊上速畫

 

The Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University is currently housed in a group of historical buildings formerly used by the British Army, which is located in a secluded forested area near Choi Hung. A great place for art creation but sadly the site is going to be returned to the Government for other use. Students there are actively lobbying for staying and I think they should! 

And I wanted to sketch slowly but the mosquitoes wouldn't let me!

浸大視覺藝術院位於前英軍基地，環境青幽，是創作藝術好地方。可惜校舍快交還政府。浸大視藝學生對此地情有獨鍾，現正積極遊說校方同政府停止搬遷。


還有，本想慢畫但實在太多蚊！

Old Tree Uprooted by Typhoon Vicente 韋森特過後 大樹連根拔

Severe typhoon Vicente skirted Hong Kong on 23 July and brought widespread damages to Hong Kong.  I visited this large uprooted Banyan Tree along the Sai Kung waterfront the second time after the storm and I do hope it could be replanted soon before it dies.  

韋森特過後,  西貢海傍四處塌樹。今早再到此連根拔起的大榕樹前作畫，留個記錄。希望當局盡快扶正這大樹。

Sketching at Color Brown Coffee Concept Store 一邊飲咖啡一邊畫咖啡

As a tropical storm is heading towards Hong Kong, I retreated indoor inside a popular coffee shop in Sai Kung Old Town.  I settled down in front of a row of coffee baskets, ordered a coffee and started sketching.  The staff was curious and friendly.  We chatted a lot about sketching and coffee.  What a great afternoon under a storm!

熱帶風暴韋森特靠近香港，下午西貢風雲變色！ 我躲進西貢舊墟Color Brown咖啡專門店，邊飲咖啡邊畫畫。店員健談，兩小時天南地北，咖啡繪畫樣樣講！

Sai Kung Grocery Store "Jeh Hoi Gei" 西貢老牌雜貨店謝海記

This grocery store has been in business for decades in Sai Kung Old Town.  The boss, a senior resident here,  always dresses himself formally with a tie.

西貢舊墟老牌雜貨店謝海記。店主每天必定打呔開舖。

Sketches from Hong Kong - 36th World Wide SketchCrawl: Ormsby Street, Tai Hang, Hong Kong 大坑四處畫

Tai Hang is a secluded community near the very crowded Causeway Bay, characterized by its old buildings.  These buildings are well preserved, retaining the original flavor of old Hong Kong.

走進大坑就好像走進老香港！一幢幢完好的唐樓加上各種小店美食，令人回味！

Sketches from Hong Kong - 36th World Wide SketchCrawl: Ormsby Street Street Stall, Hong Kong 大坑四處畫

One of the street stall in Tai Hang.  The boss and his family are all staff and are busy preparing dishes in this street open kitchen while customers sit on stools, tasting Hong Kong style milk tea and waiting for their orders.

大坑炳記！

Quick Sketch of Old Sai Kung Public School 西貢公立學校速畫

A very hot afternoon with occasional summer showers, I took shade at a three-storey building across the road and sketched for an hour.

非常炎熱的下午！ 我走到西貢公立學校對面的蔭涼處，開了接櫈就開始畫！

HK Arts Awards 2011-2012 THE WINNERS!

Thanks again to Meg at HK Art Guide for organizing this to support local art!  I'm honored that I am named the best local visual artist among the five nominees.

Here are the results of the  HK Arts Awards 2011-2012 THE WINNERS!

Best Show

SHAKESPEARE’S WILL- TWICE AS GOOD PRODUCTIONS

Best Musical

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE!- HK SINGERS

Best Cantonese Show

RABBIT HOLE- HK REP

Best Dance Show

SNOW AND THE DEADLY SEVEN- THE VIXENS

Best Charity Show

WHAT A RACK- ACT HONG

Best Theatre for Youth Production

SPRING AWAKENING- YAF

Best Producer/Company

STYLUS THEATRE

Best Original Work

ORIGINAL PLAYS- COFFEE AND CIGARETTES

Best Actor

ADAM HARRIS- VINCENT

Best Actress

JAQULIN GOURLAY GRANT- IRON

Best Supporting Actor

DAVID TOBIN- SNOW AND THE DEADLY SEVEN

Best Supporting Actress

AISLING MCDONNELL- WE WON’T PAY! WE WON’T PAY!

Best Bit Role

MIKE HARLEY- MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Best New Comer

JONATHAN NAZER- C&C AND PRIVATE LIVES

Best Director

GILES BURTON- ADDRESS UNKNOWN

Best Designer

LARA GENOVESE- CALIFORNIA SUITE

Best Stage Manager

KATY FORSE

Best Local Visual Artist

GARY YEUNG

Best Local Band/Musician

HEIDI MAK

Best Re-occurring Audience Member

SATOSHI KYO

Here is the link to the nominees page with links to the nominees websites:  http://hkartguide.blogspot.hk/2012/05/nominees-best-local-artist.html#more

Landscape Painting 風景畫隨畫

The painting was done in an art party.  Though the scene is not depicting a particular location in Hong Kong, the house is painted based on some of the still existing old village houses that can still be found in Hong Kong, mostly in the more remote parts of the New Territories.

地點是虛構！小屋卻是跟據新界買小見小的老村屋來畫的。

Tin Hau Night Market 西貢天后誕夜市

Every year around this time, Sai Kung Town comes alive with the celebration of Tin Hau's birthday (goddess of the sea). This sketch shows two of the many street stalls selling traditional candies next to the bamboo street theatre in Sai Kung Town.

 一年一度西貢天后誕又到。西貢戲棚側的夜市小販售賣各種傳統小食。

Quick Sketch Before Dinner 餐前速寫

This sketch was done hastily while I was waiting for a friend at the cafe of the Tsim Sha Tsui YMCA Hostel. 

餐前等朋友時速畫餐桌上的餐牌杯碟.

A Sixty-Year-Old Hong Kong Style Cafe 海安咖啡

An afternoon well spent! The cafe has been serving Sheung Wan for sixty years! The old wooden furniture, the high ceiling and the local delicacies brought back a lot of memory! Thanks Hoi On Cafe!    紅色木卡位、高高的樓底加上海安獨有的美點，就是一個悠閒的下午!