How? Here’s a round up of the all the gigs and interesting events that landed on my plate..errr in my stocking last month. First up was a..
Portrait commission
A lovely lady who is a regular at Tiong Bahru Bakery where I visit every Sunday approached me mid-sketch and asked for my card. Next day, in the mail comes a request to draw postcard sized portraits of her two cute little sons and her two cute little nephews which she’d then give out as Christmas presents to her husband and her sister.
Here’s my take on her youngest son Marcel who was such a treat to draw!
The next treat in the sock was a chance to be…
In the Changi Calendar
Singapore’s Changi Airport had the noble idea of making their 2017 calendar using hand drawn sketches of the airport. They wished to collaborate with the Urban Sketchers Singapore, a local community of artists and I along with a big gang of sketchers got to scope out the airport, find all the interesting sights and draw our hearts out for one day.
The outcome is as noble as the idea! A unique piece of artwork represents each month. I was honoured to have not one but two sketches selected, representing August and December. Well thank you, Santa! Here are some pictures:
The Changi Airport’s calendar for the year 2017
This is my original sketch of the Butterfly Garden located inside Changi Airport’s Terminal 3. I sketched this using dip pen and ink.
Here’s a page from the calendar. If you even happen to find yourself in Terminal 3 at Changi Airport, do visit the Butterfly Garden. It’s spectacular!
Artist at work! Sometimes the butterflies, which were massive in size, would land on my hands and stay awhile as I sketched. Without their unwavering support this collaboration wouldn’t have been possible.
This is the original sketch I made of the shopping street at Terminal 3. I used dip pen and ink.
Each artist whose work got selected received a calendar in the post which came with a hand written note. Such a nice touch!
Then right after Christmas I got…
Featured on WordPress Discover
which was one of the highlights of last year because overnight my art and my stories reached a much wider audience. I received heart warming messages from bloggers all over who wrote to tell me how much they appreciated what I did. One lady said after reading my blog she wants to start carrying a sketchbook instead of a camera to document her life!
And that meant a great deal to me because the truth is whether there’s a murmur of approbation every time we send our art into the world or not, we continue to fulfil our need to create, which most of the time is solely for the artist’s own pleasure (Oscar Wilde in his 1891 essay The Soul of a Man under Socialism, said “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known”) but when this creation matters to someone other than the creator, moves them, encourages them, inspires them in a tiny way even, then I feel what we’ve achieved has much greater value. Also it seems like a less selfish act to be engaged in with a fair ‘sense of purpose’ creeping its way into the equation.
Coming back to what the feature was about, here’s a screenshot of my quote in WordPress Discover’s series on New Year’s Resolutions where they asked selected WordPress bloggers: What’s in store for you – and your site – in 2017?
WordPress Discover’s Glimpse into 2017 is a 3 part series and there are many interesting and thought provoking entries. You can read the first part here, the second part here and the third part here.
And this brings me to the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, a time I spent with my parents in India on my much awaited once-a-year home trip, about which I will write in a separate post and share the sketches I made during my visit. Until then, here’s a quick one I did at the airport while waiting for my flight to India.
Fellow passengers waiting to board the Air India flight from Singapore to Kolkata
Lastly and most importantly, before signing off, I’d like to wish all my readers who’ve grown exponentially from 54 until recently to 534 now, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! A warm welcome to each one of you and thank you for choosing to follow my blog and showing your appreciation in the form of likes and extremely encouraging messages.
Thank you!
A Vignettist 