St Francis Street, Wan Chai 灣仔聖佛蘭士街

An A3 size sketch of the vertical cityscape at St Francis Street, Wan Chai.

Sketching the Harbour as Typhoon Rammasun Edges Closer

The lights and shadows of the harbour caught me as I walked out of the book fair in Wan Chai.  As typhoon Rammasun was edging closer, the clouds kept on rolling in, bringing rain and wind and creating spectacular lights and shadows on the harbour and the skyscrapers along the waterfront.

此速寫係離開書展時經過會展走廊時畫的。颱風威馬遜靠近，香港風勢增強，維港上空烏雲伴藍天，形成強烈光影對比。

Huge Rally in HK for Freedom, Universal Suffrage and Autonomy 同心合力 悍衛我城

Joint Sino-British Declaration violated, huge number of Hongkongese took to the street today, filling up streets that span four districts on Hong Kong Island to express their anger at the pro-China puppet Hong Kong government. Angered by the illegal approval at the Legislative Council of the NE New Territories which aims at dissolving the Hong Kong-China Border as well as the issuing of the "White Paper" by China, claiming her full right to govern Hong Kong, people from all walks of life came together today to fight for freedom, universal suffrage and full autonomy. 

立法會強行溶解中港邊界，中共違反中英聯合聲明，眼見香港赤化，我哋群起 悍衛我城

New York Times with video news:

Huge Crowds Turn Out for Pro-Democracy March in Hong Kong, Defying Beijing

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/asia/hong-kong-china-democracy-march.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=WO_HCT_20140701&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_r=2

BBC News:

Hong Kong police arrest democracy protesters at sit-in

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-28122434

Financial Times:
Video News on 7 1 Rally
http://video.ft.com/3653694735001/Hong-Kongers-march-for-democracy/editorschoice

Financial Times:  

Patten attacks China over Hong Kong judiciary remarks

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8a5a7c6-035d-11e4-817f-00144feab7de.html#axzz36Y8TFpCP

The Guardian:

Hong Kong police detain hundreds after mass protests

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/02/hong-kong-police-detain-hundreds-protest

CNN:
Hundreds arrested at sit-in following huge pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/01/world/asia/hong-kong-democracy-protests/index.html?hpt=ias_c1

Amazing Time Lapse Video on the Rally:

The Long-term Causes that led to the Protest (Commentary from entry posted on 17 June 2014)

Since the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China in 1997, the People’s Republic of China has been increasingly interfering with Hong Kong’s internal affairs which violated the “One Country, Two Systems” principle enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration ensuring Hong Kong full autonomy on all internal affairs except defense and diplomacy. For instance, even as of 17 years since the handover, Hongkongese were still unable to elect its “Chief Executive”, an equivalent to the president of a country, as the position is still appointed by a pro-China committee. The Legislative Council is still not fully elected by the Hong Kong general public but largely controlled by pro-China legislators. Every day, a quota of 150 is given to immigrants from the People’s Republic of China and, ironically, as an autonomous state, Hong Kong is deprived of the right to filter or refuse entry of these people. It is an attempt to change Hong Kong’s demography. And, in recent years, deprived of any mechanism to regulate the inflow of visitors from China, Hong Kong have seen a dramatic increase in number of visitors.  In 2013, the total number of visitors had exceeded 54 million people, six times the population of Hong Kong and, among them, 75% came from China. These visitors from China have been buying up daily necessities such as milk powder and smuggling them to China in huge quantities in broad daylight, overloading the public transport systems, driving up rent and effectively shut down local and traditional shops with great cultural significance all around the city in huge numbers. Worst still, the People’s Republic of China has just issued a “White Paper” in June, claiming that China has the right of total governance in Hong Kong, an act that violated the Sino-British Joint Declaration and essentially an attempt to abolish the constitution of Hong Kong.

Two Systems for Two Peoples

The growing identity of Hongkongese as a separate group of people different from that of the Chinese of the People’s Republic of China had never been stronger as China’s aggression escalates. As a matter of fact, Hong Kong had been separated from Mainland China since the British takeover in 1841, which since then developed into a community with its own distinct identity. It was not until 1997 that Hong Kong was handed over to the present People’s Republic of China, without first consulting the Hong Kong public.

Gary Yeung

Special thanks to Richard for editing the text!

Another entry about the NE New Territories Development is reposted on the International Urban Sketchers Website:
http://www.urbansketchers.org/2014/06/hong-kongese-protest-against.html

Old Wan Chai Old Post Office 舊灣仔郵局

It was quite a challenge to sketch this building along Queen's Road East.  The sidewalk was narrow and my view was often blocked by double decker buses and lorries stopping right in front of me as the traffic was heavy.   At one point, I dropped my water brush and it fell onto the road. Fortunately, I was able to retrieve it with my umbrella before it was crushed by the passing vehicles.

It was the oldest post office building in Hong Kong which was built bwtween 1912 and 1913.  It  then went on serving the community until 1992.  The building is now converted into an Environmental Resource Centre.  

畫舊灣仔郵政局都不是太容易。皇后大道東多車，視線不時被巴士貨車阻擋，行人路窄，只能企著畫！

舊灣仔郵政局位於香港香港島灣仔區皇后大道東221號，於1912年至1913年間興建，於1915年3月1日啟用，是香港現存歷史最悠久的郵政局建築。這座建築為香港法定古蹟，由環境保護署於1993年開始作為環境資源中心──環保軒，展示關於環境保護的資料及圖片等。

資料來自維基百科

The Pawn on Johnston Road 莊士敦道和昌大押

I went with a group of very enthusiastic sketchers today and settled sketching under a banyan tree on Johnston Road,  opposite this old tenement building.  This building is now named "the Pawn".  The old building was nicely refurbished.  The old pawn shop housed here has been relocated and now the building houses several high-end restaurants!  Would it be better if the pawn shop could coexist with the restaurants in the same building?

今日天晴，我哋一班畫友一齊走到灣仔莊士敦道一榕樹下畫畫。所畫的舊唐樓已翻新成為品味餐廳。老檔舖和昌大押招牌在但舖已搬走！如果翻新後檔舖可以同餐廳共全不是更好嗎?

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

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。

Abandoned Terrace in the Urban Jungle 船街秘密花園

I went sketching with friends along Ship Street. The street is a long ascending flight of steps. At the end of the street, a photographer happened to pass by and showed us a concealed narrow stairway that leads up to an abandoned terrace which once housed a small school building decades ago. Following him, we climbed the stairs and found that the abandoned terrace is now overgrown with huge banyan trees with their tangling roots wrapping many parts of the terrace's balustrade. Huge tree roots are crawling on the terrace floor! The view was stunning as the skyscrapers down hill were right behind the towering trees.

昨日同畫友們到灣仔船街寫生。走到船街樓梯盡頭，路經的一名龍友帶我們走入一個隱閉於榕樹林的荒廢平台。據龍友說平台原為一所學校，但校舍已拆多年。現在大榕樹群從新塑造此地，另此地成為城市中的秘密花園。

Blue House Now and Then 藍屋古與今

The illustration is done based on a photograph I took of a rusty photo metal plate displayed on site at Stone Nullah Street, Wan Chai.  The rusty photo shows what the street was like at least fifty years ago. The passing bikes, the people and the children walking in the street really brightened up the whole scene.

這張畫喺根據石水渠街頭的一幅老照來畫的。我諗張老照都應該喺四五十年前拍的。當時的石水渠街睇起來比現在熱鬧得多。

Decades passed and this is what is like at Stone Nullah Street, Wan Chai today.  Only the "Blue House" remains and Stone Nullah Street is a much quiter street today.  

時移世易，現在只有藍屋仍然存在！石水渠街亦比舊時靜得多。

The "Blue House" is currently declared a grade I historic building in Hong Kong which means it is of great importance and every effort should be made to preserve it.   However, only buildings or sites declared "monument" will be given legal protection which prevents them from demolition or alteration.

More about "Blue House" at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_House_(Hong_Kong)

The Power of Love Mural 愛の力璧畫

A group of Hong Kong artists got together at Sik On Street, Wan Chai this afternoon and worked on a mural, painting their feelings, thoughts and prayers on the wall.  We did this as a response to those who suffer in the great disaster in Japan and also for those who are in need from around the world. It was really special to see everyone put their responses in circles, not in words but in art.
一群喜愛繪畫表達內心感受的創作人, 以壁畫來支持和鼓勵日本海嘯和世界上遇到困難和逆景的朋友。

Location: Sik On Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Vertical City 1 min 37 secs Central to Wan Chai 垂直都市 一分三十七秒 中環至灣仔

The photos were taken in a traffic jam on a double decker bus between Central and Wan Chai until my camera ran out of battery.

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.