We spent a week hiking in the temperate rainforests of the Cameron Highlands. Here is a quiet corner of the village of Tanah Rata.
landscape
Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station
Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
We spent a month backpacking around Singapore and Malaysia. Despite all the excitement, I took the time to do a few sketches…
Here’s one of the wonderfully chaotic architecture of downtoen Kuala Lumpur. That’s Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in the foreground.
Shanghai sketches
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 and more snow
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.
Long shadows at noon. Sketchbook Helsinki 2010-11-26
For the next month or so, the sun manages just barely to climb over the horizon.
Sketchbook Helsinki 2010-11-09
Sketchbook Helsinki 2010 11 09, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
Phone doodle.
To see the changes in the landscape due to road building, compare with this drawing of the same scene from nine moths ago:
Functionalist Buildings in Kallio, Helsinki
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
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.
Travel Sketchbook – Stockholm
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.
The Old Church, Helsinki
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.
