A peek into my room

It's difficult to draw on location when lifestyle is fixed as a daily routine in college. As a result, the easiest way to practice real objects drawing is using my room as my subject. This idea has occurred so often; however, the room in dorm contains lots of steel structures (e.g. bed, desk and closet ), which requires persistent patience to keep the details. The whole image gets even complicated when added with soft stuff, like clothes.

To the left, I have found out a way to reduce light exposure by hanging two long poles with blankets.
By doing so, my head is covered at sleep (the rest of the body still exposed to air). I've stayed in the room since sophomore year. On the thought of leaving the room in the future, I think sketching the room is still interesting. After all, you don't take pictures of your room normally.

不睡回籠覺

六點起床後就不爬回去睡了，桌上擺著藥理學實驗共筆，離上課還有一個多小時。
前幾天在圖書館翻書時，從書中吸收了畫桌的想法，忘了為什麼要畫，作者想表達
得好像是從畫自己的書中可以，安靜? 培養自我的空間!!???

樹木的水彩練習

水彩畫從選擇用具到構圖上色，諸多因素均會影響畫作整體呈現的效果，不同的工具、顏料就像煮菜加糖或加鹽的多寡，都會影響菜色的風味。此篇文章主要希望藉由實地操作練習，發現畫作過程中所遇到需考慮注意的細節，並分析風格的異同，習作並不完美，請見諒了!!

構圖工具: 選用B鉛筆(A和B圖)、uni pen 0.3代針筆(C和D圖)
水彩筆: 6號水彩筆
顏料:透明塊狀水彩

水彩畫最常使用到的兩種構圖工具是鉛筆或墨水筆(例如:代針筆)，鉛筆呈現柔和風景畫般愜意的風格，而防水的代針筆筆觸清晰，有塗鴉、創作設計輕快的感覺。這次用鉛筆練習中發現，若是鉛筆構圖時力道太清，上色又太重，會很容易將鉛筆線掩蓋。所以為了保留一定的輪廓狀，這裡是必須要注意線條與色塊的平衡。

A和B圖都是用鉛筆線構圖

接下來要討論上色的方式，水彩畫之不是像小朋友拿彩色筆般塗滿就行了，透過不同的水彩筆、顏料的混合，濕與乾等技法，會呈現出一樣的整體感受。

左圖A是使用單色灰階技法，也就是使用深色系的顏料分析光源後，將陰影處一次畫完，好處是野外寫生時不會因為時間流逝、太陽轉移而造成陰影改變，但是要注意有可能使用過深的顏料造成過黑的情形。

談到陰影，陰影對於一幅畫作是否成功與否是很重要的因素，也就是立體感。事實上，根據光源的冷熱，陰影還能區分為暖色系(紅)和冷色系(藍)

此外，必須要運用不同水彩筆的優點，利用尖頭的水彩筆可以製造出葉子尖尖的外型。

C和D圖都適用代針筆構圖

右圖D使用代針筆並結合單色灰階技法，在構圖時就以重複的線條畫出陰影，且在上色前塗上一層暗色的水彩。而左圖C的陰影部分則是使用了渲染的手法，色塊之間的範圍模糊，其實比較適合遠景樹木的描繪。

各種不同的手法均有不同的風格!!試試看吧~

卡帕多其亞洞穴屋Cappadocia: Safran Cave Hotel

 I love this hotel so much that I want to come back to Cappadocia, Turkey so many times. I remember every night I would sit in the courtyard to enjoy watching sky and feeling cool air. It's like I have this place to my own. Run by a family, the hotel meets you with wonderful furniture, bed and pillows and of course nice bathrooms that I even sketched them.

Omar is an English major who is also an artist, drawing magnificent portraits. His warm smile and sense of humor really gave us an unforgettable memory. We were so fortunate to have dinner with them, an experience so unique that whenever I hear Ramadan again, it occurs to me the memorable night we had together playing tavla and cards.

 Omar, on the left, is an portrait artist.

伊斯坦堡大市集的對比Istanbul: Grand bazzar and the contrast

 What kind of connection you could have with a clerk of a shop? I want to change my relationship with these people. So at the end of my day in Istanbul, I came to visit Grand bazzar again without the aim to buying. So here is what happened? These young clerks gathered around to see me sketching. They were so interested in my sketches and started to talk with me. (They seemed to forget promoting their products!!)    Hakan is one of the clerks.
There are kids on the street earning money by playing the instrument. And tourists and locals passed by.

Fener area. Local people life. Kids playing. 

伊斯坦堡舊猶太與希臘人社區Istanbul: Fener and Balat

My knowledge of Istanbul before I came to Turkey was very limited. One day I read an article about Fener and Balat area and felt attracted by the buildings and nostalgic atmosphere.

Jews and Greeks used to reside in the areas before the population exchange. Now, Turkish people from central Anatolia flocked to Istanbul for work and occupied the buildings. Some of the buildings look a bit run-down. Doors locked down. Spirits down. Colorful as they look, the overal feeling is not so vibrant however.

I wanted to know about Istanbul other than tourist areas such as Sultanahmet, the old town. So I made up my mind to visit Fener and Balat alone. I cherish the chance very much. It helps me to understand Istanbul deeper.  By reading the memoir by Orhan Pamuk, my memory of the area is now connected with the whole book. When I watched the movie, The Edge of Heaven, I was able to capture the what the director and the plot writer want the audience to see.

安卡拉Ankara: Capital City with nice boulevards

After seeing many Turkish towns and cities in central and southeastern Turkey. We made it to Ankara.
My impression of the cities include nice boulevards, shopping malls, and something similar to Taipei.
Overall, it's a modern city with intact infrastructure.

伊斯坦堡藍色清真寺Istanbul: Blue mosque

 I made this sketch with sufficient time that I was able to capture the lines more carefully. It was about the sunset moment, crowds were beginning to gather during Ramadan night. I enjoyed the moment to sit in the middle of the tourist spot but with my own space to hide away.

We visited the interior of blue mosque another day, in the sketch I captured the postures
that Muslim pray. They stand, bow and kneel down with heads touching the ground.
In Tokapi palace, there is a display of Sultans. Apparently every one of them is fat enough.
The guy in the middle was singing( or reading out loud) the Ku'ran in the palace room.
He stopped for me just to see the his portrait sketch. I felt privileged.

伊斯坦堡聖索菲亞大教堂Istanbul: Hagia Sophia

In ancient Roman times, it was once the center of Orthodox Christian world. It became the mosque after the attack of Ottomans. Hagia Sophia is now open to visitor as a museum. 

St. Anthony Church on Istiklal Avenue on the left side of my sketches, it is a basilica and the largest church of Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey.

If you've been to churches or cathedrals in Europe and felt bored, ended up dozing up, I recommend you come visit Hagia Sophia. I've never seen one building structure so unique that combines Jesus and Islam calligraphy at the same time. Hagia Sophia symbolizes the complex history of Istanbul. 

伊斯坦堡新城區Istanbul: Galata tower and the new town

Hello all my friends, I finally managed to upload my sketches successfully. I was hard work. 

Okay! I intended to post my sketches from the very beginning in Istanbul. Due to some technical reasons, I had to choose other sketches. I'd like to talk about Istanbul first. Our hotel is west to Sultanahmet area and close to the sea. So on the first day, we took the train to eminonu( the harbor). 

In new town of European part of Istanbul, Galata tower stands out, picturing the skyline. The buildings beneath and around are so colorful and European style. 

Souvenirs from all my friends.

During each summer, I'm very fortunate to visite a country. 

I prefer to record my travel by sketching. I completed a whole 

sketchbook in Turkey this summer.

Thanks to my friends, I have not only memories from Turkey 

but from each corner of the world. Some sent postcard, 

some gave me magnets for my collection and still others 

offered me a little candies and cookies. 

It's how I remember them!!