West Portal, SF

For some reason I can never predict the correct weather in SF ever since moving down south into Silicon Valley. And so I got off the train to a perfect Sunday morning...blanketed by fog and under 15C...with a skirt and only 2 layers

Hiding in the warmth of a local cafe (in West Portal neighbourhood) while carefully identifying which is my tea cup and which is my water jar before every brush dip.

Sketching (stalking the strangers sitting in front of me) at the Stern Grove Festival! Great music and surprisingly, calm wind and bearable temperature thanks to the trees surrounding the stage.

After work duties in Shanghai

 Being sent to Shanghai during one of the not-so-humid/hot and not-so-cold months was a rarity. So I convinced myself to either get up half an hour early, or postpone dinner by half an hour to draw. (last time I only got to draw out of my hotel window because it was a burning hell outside) I did get stomachache and limped my way back to the hotel on one occasion, but it's that special opportunity that a Shanghai-nese actually get to stay near the Bund for an extended period of time. All worth it.

Somewhere on Jinling East Road, through which I basically walk from my hotel to another hotel (20 mins walk away) to catch the shuttle to work. The scenery was so interesting that I was really sad when they arranged additional shuttles to my hotel a week later... Honestly I never got to see any of the shop fronts open (it was too early in the day), but there was a lot of hustle and bustle on the street, parents sending kids to school, people getting to work, lining up for the pharmacy, etc 

The Customs building and former HSBC building. I basically walked a block out of the hotel, poked my head onto the bund, scribbled into my sketchbook, and quickly left. It was Friday of the long weekend, but I still needed to work that Saturday...;A;

I totally overestimated myself when I started working on this one. My brain just didn't have the processing power to process both the demands of my eye-hand coordination, and the dire warnings from my stomach. In the end my stomach lost, so I spent the next hour lying motionless on the sofa

Not quite on location: Studies on film scenes

Not quite on location: Concorde flyover...of course not

I was reworking a previous painting into digital form when I thought...hmmm...empty sky, bet Concorde is going to look good flying across it! And so this happened. 

Setting is based on Napa Valley.

Rain anyone? Graduation season in Philadelphia

 Hopped across the continent to attend a friend's graduation at the University of Pennsylvania

(Newark Airport - 2 days till graduation) Flew out of San Francisco before dawn (maybe after, but it was cloudy and gloomy anyways), so the bright sunset was a refreshing change after a long flight. I was stuck in the airport waiting for the next train (which wouldn't come in 2 hours), so I just pulled out my drawing supplies from my suitcase! Some pilots waiting for their shuttles were throwing some curious looks at me, who was just chilling and drawing on the pavement

Quickly did another one while waiting for my train on the platform. For some reason I always smell burnt plastic when train passes through the tracks...

 (Fisher-Bennett Hall - 1 day till graduation) It started drizzling shortly after breakfast, so I settled in a covered corner outside Starbucks (which is across from the campus) There were tents set up for graduation reception inside the campus, so I couldn't find any good unblocked views of the buildings.

I started another one after lunch, this time finding a bench where I could put my stuff down (my wrist was beyond repair from holding...everything in the morning session) The building (Irvine Auditorium) in the background apparently has a very long history of hosting important performances

Not quite on location: If only San Francisco is a little closer

Based on an actual overpass close to where I live. Just walking by during sunset this evening and thought, it'd be nice if I could see cityscape in the background! In reality though, SF is more than 1 hr drive away, so all I saw was the highway, cars, and little hills...

All shades of green! at Napa Valley, CA

View up a hilly trail in Westwood Hills Park. By the end of the sketch, a caterpillar has found its new home on my water jar...;A;

The view at top of the hill down into the valley. The clouds were quite interesting too (as opposed to usual California cloudless skies)

All the usual winery places are packed with people, so I ended up at this abandoned (I think, since there were twigs everywhere) vineyard near the end of a driveway. Saw quite a few people walking their dogs lol. The grapes are still growing alright though!

Was strolling around downtown Napa and came across this nice scene. Plus I could enjoy my peaceful time kneeling on the grass while listening to the drunk young delinquents shouting in the background and two guys trying in vain to get a drone to fly in the foreground!