I have always been fascinated by shophouses in Singapore. The country is changing so quickly and many of these buildings are disappearing. I see sketching as a great way to preserve these memories in my own ways. Unlike photography, I can express my sentiments about the place through the lines I draw and the colours that I use. My first sketches of shophouses were awkward but I kept practicing and soon I was able to make street scenes out of them.
Fast forward to 2021, I started the weekly Singapore shopfront challenge on Instagram and Facebook to share photographs and drawings of shophouses in Singapore. My goal is to provide reference photographs for people who want to get better at drawing and have them join me in the endeavour to preserve these buildings in drawings.
The idea for the workshop “Let’s Draw a Shopfront!” was born after I realised that drawing of the front of a shophouse (aka shopfront) is simple to do and thought that it would make a great starting point for people who are interested to draw urban scenes but intimidated by architecture and buildings.
In the workshop I will demonstrate how to draw and paint a shopfront using a mixture of mediums and provide guidance to complete a shopfront drawing together. I have also prepared art materials for everyone to bring home after the workshop to continue their practice.
Join me to draw some shopfronts at Overjoyed 10:30am-1:30pm on 20 March! Link here.
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