Sham Shui Po Tenement Buildings 深水埗密集舊唐樓

I spent a few hours with a sketch friend at the top floor of the Pei Ho Street Municipal Building.  It offers spectacular view of the old tenement buildings in the Sham Shui Po district.  

今日下午與畫友前往深水埗北河街市政大廈頂樓速寫。 望向窗外，盡是深水埗密集舊唐樓。

Sham Shui Po Fabric Market (Yen Chow Street) 深水埗布市場 「棚仔」

Sham Shui Po Fabric Market is such a place in Hong Kong where customers can browse through very different fabrics for different purposes all in one place.   It's also a tourist attraction in its own right.  A place for tourists who are really interested in local Hong Kong. Tearing it down for a few blocks of residential high-rises is an act of stupidity!  

深水埗布市場俗稱「棚仔」，市場內布疋重重疊起，穿梭布疋窄巷，有如置身另一空間。「棚仔」布疋繁多，應有盡有，顧客不必四處奔走，想買嘅都盡在此處。今日行入「棚仔」速寫見到不少外地遊客到訪，可見「棚仔」嘅魅力。我只可以講，拆「棚仔」後起幾幢住宅大廈，實在愚不可及。

Fabric Stall in Sham Shui Po 基隆街布舖

It was really quiet on Sundays in this part of Sham Shui Po as most metal ware and fabric shops are closed. I was sitting in front of the only open fabric stall in the street. His colourful rolls of fabric made good subject to sketch! The owner was really interested and came forward to look at my sketch and he was rather pleased that I made him look so young. 

Ki Lung Street

Sham Shui Po

星期日基隆街大部份布舖休息，街道格外寧靜。我坐在唯一開檔嘅布舖前作畫。布舖一卷卷七彩嘅布料同冷清嘅街道相映成趣。布舖老闆好奇，行過來看並高興我張佢畫得好年輕。

Sketching Tai Nam Street 大南街寫生

A large group of sketchers assembled in Sham Shui Po today and sketched the neighborhood of Apliu Street.  Attracted to the old building, (the one on the left of my sketch) I settled in the junction of Pak Ho Street and Tai Nam Street and sketched the street scene.

今日一大班畫友齊集鴨寮街一帶作畫。行到大南街北河街交界見到此舊樓 (圖最左面）就坐低畫佢同街景。

Fruit Store at Night 晚上的興記生果

The sketch was done in a haste at night as the shop started to close when I just started. The gates were already closed and the lights out when I was half-done. 

It's a very funny and "famous" fruit store as the very long and big shop slogan says "EVERY EARTHLING knows that Hing Kee's fruit is the cheapest and the most delicious."

開始畫時，興記準備收檔。畫到半路，閘關燈滅，唯有靠咕！

無敵！「地球人都知道興記生果平靚正」你知唔知?

Magistrate's Court Turned Into an Art School 法院變藝術學院

The North Kowloon Magistracy was built in 1960 and it had served the Kowloon district of Hong Kong for 44 years before it was closed and later converted into the Hong Kong campus of Savannah College of Art and Design. The building was one of the few surviving examples of neo-classical and stripped classicism architecture in Hong Kong, therefore making it an important historic building in Hong Kong.

北九龍裁判法院建於1960年並服務九龍區四十四年至2005年關閉。2009年，美國薩凡納藝術設計學院投得此建築物的使用權並成立香港分部。北九龍裁判法院屬西方新古典式多層建築，香港現全此風格的建築物已所剩無幾, 是香港重要的歷史建築物。

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。

Sketching After Eating at a Huge Canteen 深水埗北河街街市熟食中心

A few days ago, I went to a cooked food centre located in a multi-storey government building in the Sham Shui Po district. The district is one of the older and poorer districts in Hong Kong and the cheaper food here is very popular among the communities. The centre is a huge square dinning hall with many food stores lining the three sides of the hall. We ordered our food and started sketching.   
幾天前同朋友一同遊走深水埗。餓時走上深水埗熟食中心。吃完奶油多同飲完奶茶就開始畫畫

Initial line drawing done on site.

現場畫的線稿。

Street Market at Poplar Street

Street Market at Poplar Street, Prince Edward (Sham Shui Po), Hong Kong

Two recent sketches

The left one was done at Sau Wa Fong, a quiet alley in the otherwise very busy Wan Chai district.  The sketch on the right is done at Poplar Street, Prince Edward, in front of a street egg seller.  The irregular street stalls there are always interesting to look at.