Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Sketching a Jazzy Evening at JCCAC



Alvin recently got a message from Kylie, the lead singer of La Petite Jazzy Jam, a local jazz ensemble, who would be playing at JCCAC. “We’re playing! Come and draw us!” she said. A message was then promptly sent out to sketchers. Although the event was free, we still needed to notify Kylie about the number of tickets required. Quite a few of us responded with enthusiasm. Concert sketching? Fun! There’s so much to focus on - shiny instruments, musicians deeply engrossed and in the flow, and stage lighting meant dramatic shadows and wild colors - a pleasant departure from our usually natural palettes, and all while being highly entertained too. 

We had a quick dinner at a little restaurant close to JCCAC in Shek Kip Mei, and were joined by visiting sketchers from Manchester, Will and Pat. The evening was one of the first that felt wintery this December, and after a pleasant chat and warm food in our bellies, we trooped across the street to meet Kylie. 

Located at the Black Box Theatre in the basement of JCCAC, the concert that evening would consist of 2 sets. The first was by an amateur smooth jazz group, Smooth Gen, and the next by Kylie’s snazzily named La Petite Jazzy Jam. She welcomed us warmly, then proceeded to brief us on what was to happen that evening, generously inviting us to sit anywhere we chose. Each set would last about 50 minutes, giving us plenty of time to warm up, settle in and get some interesting pieces done.

The bands were to perform on the floor at entrance level. Stadium-style seating rose in rows before them, and we could sit wherever we chose.There were 14 of us in total, and we arrayed ourselves around the theatre, some sitting right behind the musicians, some in the front row, some flanking the band, some higher up for a different vantage point. 

Stools and chairs unfolded, tools were set out, and much squinting happened as the interior was typical of a musical evening and thus quite dimly lit. 'Appropriately atmospheric' would be another way to see things. As performances progressed, some sketchers used their phones to light their sketchbooks while others gamely took a wild stab at color combinations, making the one iPad used that evening shine a touch brighter as a versatile option under such conditions.

After much foot-tapping and head-bobbing along with the music, the evening ended with a Show-and-Tell to share the fruit of our labors. We mingled, chatted and took many, many photos. Both organizers and participants beamed at the outcome. The musicians in particular seemed as thrilled to be the focus of our work, as we were to sketch them. Concert sketching again anyone?



Alvin Wong




Ben Luk


Chickita Kwan

Chloe Ka Kei Yau

Elena Klimova



Guillaume How-Choong

Magi Chen



Noble Wong

Sandy Hau

Ming Lee

Oi Ling



Rob Sketcherman








 Romy Wu



Catherine Chan





Sunday, November 22, 2015

A day in Causeway Bay - Fire Dragon Festival.

A group of our sketchers discovered a restaurant in Causeway Bay, the windows provided an awesome panoramic view of the Victoria Park, the largest park on Hong Kong Island.  We began from the morning to the evening continue to participate at the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Festival nearby.
27th September, 2015























Announcement

***** Announcement *****


We have received many complaints about a group calling themselves 'Hong Kong Urban Sketchers' (HKUS) on Facebook and Meetup. 

https://www.facebook.com/Hong-Kong-Urban-Sketchers-654491014677643/?fref=ts
&
http://www.meetup.com/Hong-Kong-Outdoor-Sketching-Meetup/events/220100410/

Several foreign USk sketchers have also informed us that they could not reach us because they  messaged this group, mistaking it for ours.
We've given 'Hong Kong Urban Sketchers' the benefit of doubt and sent a few friendly messages to the group's host, letting her know we are the official HK affiliate of the globally recognized Urban Sketchers group. Her use of the name 'Urban Sketchers' is obviously confusing to all, and we  even suggested other (great) names she could use. We also invited her and her members to participate in our most recent sketchcrawl so we might get to know one another. (No one showed up.)
We would like to inform everyone  that the name 'Urban Sketchers' can only be used with prior approval by the official Urban Sketchers group and would like to make the following statement:
1. We welcome collaboration with all groups that promote the noble art of sketching and its vibrant community. (But do be more original with your name and don't ride the coattails of others)
2. Hong Kong Urban Sketchers (HKUS) is completely unrelated to Urban Sketchers Hong Kong (USkHK).
3. We sincerely hope that HKUS will remove the name 'Urban Sketchers' to avoid further confusion.

Board of Directors of
Urban Sketchers Hong Kong
21 November 2015

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Sketching Classic Cars 2015


It was the third year Urban Sketchers Hong Kong collaborated with Classic Car Club Hong Kong. Sketching the annual Chater Road Classic Car Show has become one of the most important events of our group.  Every year, we are always the last group of people leaving the road. How can we resist not sketching these beauties until the last minute of the show?

Ben Luk

Catherine Chan

Gary Yeung

Chickita Kwan

Elena Klimova

Elaine Chiu

Chloe Ka Kei Yau

Noble Wong

Magi Chen

Guillaume How-Choong

Grace Tam

Pei Sea

Romy Wu

Sandy Hau