Smoggy Shanghai, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
I was in Shanghai for two weeks, working. I managed to do a few sketches.
Great art deco movie theatre
Piece of retro architecture in the bazaars outside the old town. ‘Ye Olde Cathay’ – style
Sketched from the Bund on my first day. The Jetsons-looking tower is the Pearl of the Orient Radio Tower.
Snow-capped mystery car, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
The mystery about this car is not its model or why would somebody let this much snow accumulate on their vehicle.
What’s mysterious is that it seems to have been driving around without disturbing the snow bank on top of it. The street under it has been cleared of snow and it has even left fresh tire tracks.
The solution is of course that the city has moved the car before the snow ploughs came, and has then returned it to its parking spot. Probably that also explains the mysterious markings on the snow…
Leppävaara train station -20C, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
It’s been exceptionally cold here in Helsinki this winter. I drew this from the safety of a warm train.
Drawn from my office window. Downtown Helsinki can be seen in the distance, over the frozen sea.
It’s the second exceptionally cold and snowy winter in a row in Helsinki. There’s actually more snow here than in Lapland.
With temperatures below zero since November, the only sketching I’ve been doing is from my window.
For the next month or so, the sun manages just barely to climb over the horizon.
Functionalist Buildings in Kallio, Helsinki, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
Kallio (the rock, as it’s built on one of the rare hills in Helsinki) is a traditionally working class neighbourhood. The buildings range from Art Deco to 70s pre-fab. Most are in a pared-down modernist style.
Art Nouveau apartment buildings, Helsinki, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
Corner of Bulevardi and Fredrikinkatu.
It’s getting cold, so this might be my last outdoor sketch of the year. If the weather stays sunny and I get myself a pair of fingerless gloves I might squeeze off a few more.
Sketchbook Stockholm 2010-10-07, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
The view from our hotel window, on Sturegatan.
It was a great and sunny fall day, so I stopped to draw the view. The next day we visited the East Asian museum to see the Terracotta Warriors, and the best new Swedish art show at the Museum of Modern Art, both located on this island
Beautiful sunset on the old town, seen from the courtyard of the East Asian Museum.
We stopped at this hip café while walking around in Södermalm, a young and artistic neighbourhood.
Alberga Manor, Espoo – the Sugar Castle, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
I often pass through the grounds of this pink manor house on my way to work. As the weather was nice I decided to draw it.
There has been a manor on this site since 1620. This latest incarnation was built in 1876. I don’t know if this neo-renaissance building bears any resemblance to the original. It’s also known as ‘Sugar Castle’ as its owner Feodor Kiseleff made his wealth trading sugar, and wood from sugar crates was used in its construction.
The Old Church, Helsinki, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
This wooden church was built in 1826 to serve as a temporary structure while the older cathedral was demolished and a new stone church was built to replace it.
The architect was Carl Ludvig Engel. He was responsible for most of the neo-classical buildings in the historical centre of Helsinki.
It’s almost impossible to draw this church from the front in the summer because of the big trees. It’s the same “Plague park” as here and here.
Mille Croquis 