We spent a week hiking in the temperate rainforests of the Cameron Highlands. Here is a quiet corner of the village of Tanah Rata.
watercolour
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.
Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea
Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
In the spring when the sea melts, we sometimes see very bright fog clouds.
This one rolled in very fast, stayed for a few minutes then retreated.
Seen from my office window in Espoo, looking over the bay towards Helsinki.
Snow-capped mystery car
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…
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.
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 first frost of the year melting into mist in the morning sun
The first frost of the year melting into mist in the morning sun, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.
The title sounds like a bad parody of a Japanese poem, but it’s simply a description of what’s happening in the picture.
A very quick watercolour of the view from my office window, done before starting work.
The clearing in the middle right is a golf course, all frosted over. In the distance you can see a heating plant chimney (it heats up a whole neighbourhood) and the main radio tower in Pasila
Mille Croquis 