Reconstructing the Front View of An Old Pawn Shop 重畫晉源押

"Chun Yuen" Pawn Shop was the oldest pawn shop in Hong Kong. It was built more than two hundred years old using traditional green bricks and large cut-out slabs of rocks. The shop was huge when compared with many pawn shops in Hong Kong, signifying that Yuen Long Old Town was once an important economy in this area of Hong Kong. It ceased to operate after the second world war and the shop has since remained closed.

Since the front door is facing a narrow alley, drawing the front view of the entire building is not easy. The front view drawing is based on photos I took there.

晉源押是香港現存最古老的當鋪，至今已有二百多年歷史。晉源押的規模頗大，但二次大戰完結後結束營業，現時重門深鎖。晉源押以青磚建造，用麻石作基層。現已被古物古蹟辦事處列為一級歷史建築。

晉源押面向小巷，店面正面都是根據實地拍的照片重構畫出來的。

Stray Cats Keeping Warm 地盤貓取暖

Two cats keeping warm together on a piece of foam board at a construction site in Wan Chai. 天寒地凍，地盤貓縮在發泡膠上取暖。

34th World Wide Sketchcrawl: Burning Offerings to Gods 二帝廟前祈福

It was a nice experience to sketchcrawl around Yuen Long Old Town, a place that we could still see a number of traditional brick-bulit houses and temples. In the sketch, a man was preparing offerings to be burned at the burner. Written on the burner was three traditional Chinese characters, representing the three gods, god of good fortune, god of prosperity and god of longevity.

元朗舊墟內保留了一定數量青磚建的老屋和廟宇。此二帝廟前的大火爐上寫上福祿壽三字, 好讓村民前來祈福。

Quick Sketch in Stanley 赤柱速畫

I went to Stanley with a group of school kids today. During a fifteen-minute break, I did a very quick sketch of this Tin Hau Temple. (Temple of the Goddess of the Sea)

今日同一班學生跑到赤柱。小休時拿出畫簿速畫天后廟。

The Dolce & Gabanna Protest in Hong Kong D&G 門口萬人影相活動

D&G 門口萬人影相活動
用當日影的相組合而畫成！

I went to this protest against Dolce & Gabanna Hong Kong on 8 January. This sketch is based on the photos I took on site. Thousands of furious Hongkongnese participated. Below is a note written by a local critic in order to explain what is actually happening in Hong Kong.

Outrageous racism of D&G shop and the Tsimshatsui mall in Kong Kong, reported by the popular and daring Apple Daily of Hong Kong. The D&G (Dolce & Gabbana) shop in Hong Kong didn't allow Hongkongers to take photos in the public area in the street outside the shop. Camera was covered by the security guard. The guard in the mall told the reporter that local Hong Kong residents are not welcome to visit as they only expect luxury goods buyers from the communist governed mainland China to come. Tourists from communist China are obviously allowed to take photos in the public street area outside the shop. Lawyers told the press that this is infringement of public access and human rights. The reporter came to test the shop and the mall in Tsimshatsui, as a follow-up action of readers' complaints.

If you are not luxury goods buyers from Communist China, or if you are not prepared to buy as rampantly as the communist buyers do, please think twice before you come to visit Hong Kong, which is now a place contaminated with communist racism, greed and bad manners of luxury outlets. We Hongkongers regret to tell you this, but as our SAR Hong Kong government is dwarfed by the communist Chinese government in Peking (Beijing), who claim to be the most powerful nation next to the USA, we can only treat you well when Hong Kong regains its autonomy. Thank you for your time in reading this, and we feel sorry for it. (drafted by Chan Wan, cultural critic of Hong Kong)

Huge Banyan Tree Swallowing an Abandoned School 錦田樹屋

Kam Tin Tree House is a huge Banyan tree (Ficus microcarpa) that has been growing for more than a hundred years at the site of an abandoned village school in the Yuen Long District. The arial roots of the tree grew along the beams, pillars and walls of the abandoned school. Through time the whole school is "swallowed" completely by the tree as the arial roots slowly thickened into hundreds of supporting trunks. The entwining trunks are really a sight to behold! Truly a living sculpture!

據說錦田樹屋原是書齋, 書齋荒廢後，旁邊的榕樹慢慢長大，氣根沿書齋的牆壁和橫樑擴張，終於變成今天的樣子。