The house in the midst of the forest

Pigment ink sketch. 150mm x 210mm. This was a first sketch from the nucleus of an idea as glimpsed from a small photo which had a ruined stone church. For the composition of the piece, the building is set upon a diminutive promontory for greater visibility and as the centrepiece of this drawing. The foreground would be several trees, thus, creating an illusion of depth. A tree is set in the right behind the building, strengthening that sense of depth.

On techniques and styles

I sometimes utilise the ligne claire technique though I am not a comic book artist or cartoon person. The fact is that I love details and I can go on and on drawing, and overdrawing till I have spoilt the piece!

If I recall, this technique is also known as the 'democracy of lines' but I could be wrong. I can't remember the reference now.

Often, I use a variant of the ligne claire technique as I do use a bit of hatching (but avoiding cross-hatching in general) with no crossing of lines. And I mix it with a bit of pointillism to create textures and an illusion of depth. Likewise, the non-crossing hatches.

It is a method amongst a few that I utilise though it is somewhat old-fashioned these days.

The ruins in the depths

The ruins in the depths. Pigment ink sketch. 150mm x 210mm. A tiny photo of a stone building in the newspaper one day was quite evocative, especially the textures which was reminiscent of the old English houses I had seen in villages when I was hiking amidst the Dales then. From this nucleus of an idea, I had located the ruins of a stone cottage within the depths of a dense forest. Then, I prepared a first sketch.

Here the thematic essence is distilled and re-examined. A variation upon the ruins in the woods, a wilder and more overgrown place. A ruined cottage within a forest.

Meadows

Pigment ink sketch of meadows. 150mm x 210mm. I have always been fascinated by meadows and how they receded in the distance, forever on and on... 

This was a piece done over time on public transport, mainly when I am on the train to Borders or on my way home.

The Lone Tree

Pigment ink with permanent ink wash. Study of a tree and its canopy. Pelikan ink, Uni pigment ink.

Tiong Bahru

Pigment sketch of a building at Seng Poh Road. I drew a few pencil lines to get the proportions right. The perspective was quite straight-forward. The white-washed and mostly featureless building posed somewhat of a challenge.

Wind-swept Isle

Pigment ink sketch. This is repost of a study of a wind-swept isle. I have revisited this theme time and again.

The Silent Tree

Pigment ink with permanent ink wash. Study of a tree and the textures.

The Lost Garden

Pigment ink sketch. 150mm x 210mm. Pencils for outlines and ink after. A swift fast sketch of a lost garden with an overgrown trellis.

A lot of the themes that I examine in my drawings are often of the lost, the forgotten and the ruined in a wilderness. The themes in these studies are often repeated, re-examined and refined.

Welcome, my friend

Dear friend,

I welcome you to my little place in the sun, a place of imagery, some imagined, some observed. This will be my little repository of sketches and drawings.

This will be a place for my finished drawings or more finished drawings, of course, it is debatable what is 'finished'. One can always tinker with one's drawings. For doodles, mistakes, unfinished stuff and other nonsense, there is my main blog, 'The Garden of Forking Paths'. Anyway, I hope my drawings gives you some food for thought.

shyue chou