Escape to Hong Kong (with Oils)

So after a couple of exciting projects that I kick started 2017 with, it was time to take a short breather before continuing on. I packed my bags and left for Hong Kong to meet my old schoolmates and some new friends from Urban Sketchers Hong Kong.  The cool Spring weather was perfect for painting. Not to mention the good food the have there! Here are some of the highlights:

I seldom post pictures of me painting, but Alison from USKHK, 

took some shots of me working on the streets. Thank you!

I started this one at 12 noon. This, I would never do in Singapore. :)

Hong Kong is filled with street signages and I'm happy to be able to capture a pawnshop sign 

at the Sham Shui Po area.

Thank you USKHK for being warm and friendly, and also for sharing the streets with me.

I ventured to the Aberdeen side of Hong Kong Island. A lot of water on this part of town.

Still at Aberdeen, but later in the evening. What got my attention were the pinks

and that this butcher was right next to the street.

Not often do I get to hangout in high places. So here's chancing the opportunity to paint.

Here's a short doc of my time in Aberdeen, enjoy! 

See my Ink and Watercolour sketches from Hong Kong:

http://alvinmarktan.blogspot.sg/2017/03/escape-to-hong-kong-with-inks.html

For more videos of me painting, go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFsr8TqTVCgXoCx59YvLjFw

Escape to Hong Kong (with INKS)

The first 2 months of 2017 kept me extremely busy. There were the series of vessels to paint for a shipping company, a private wall mural, 2 lion statues and of course the next book I'm working on.  I needed a breather, and also had to catch up with some old friends. And so I packed my bags, painting equipment & an empty stomach and left for Hong Kong. Here are some of the highlights:

After the plane landed, and after checking in, I headed straight to this Noodle House 

called Cart Noodle Expert on 104 Jervois Street. 

Last year (2016), I remembered sketching a butcher right here on Gage Street down by Central. Now, it's gone. 

Just a sketch left to remind me of the place. And this is one of the reason why I sketch.

Hello Toy Story Land! 

See timelapse: https://youtu.be/vgJ_nxDEVLc

OK, so I fell for it. Right after the new Iron Man ride (that was made from the former Star Tours ride), 

I had to eat this at the restaurant. 

This curry fishball stall just outside Sham Shui Po MTR station seems to be very popular! 

Many buildings like this is up for redevelopment in the Sham Shui Po area.

So that makes it a fantastic location to sketch.

Met some of the wonderful people from USK Hong Kong. 

I had plenty of great tips of where to paint from them.

Sketchbook Exchange with Alison Hui. She spent several months in South America doodling.

If you are interested in my book, Ciao Firenze!, it can be found here: 

http://www.alvinmark.com/supportalvinmark.html

I love the food so much, I had it for lunch and dinner... on the same day!! 

Maxim's MX 美心

See my Oil sketches from Hong Kong:

http://alvinmarktan.blogspot.sg/2017/03/escape-to-hong-kong-with-oils.html

For more videos of me painting, go here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFsr8TqTVCgXoCx59YvLjFw

How to make a simple 360 panorama image on FB

I posted a 360 degree sketch of my sketches from Cafe Asia 2017 on my Facebook art page last week (click here to view 360 image), and got some requests to share how it was done. This is what you do if you want the quick and dirty method, without all the backend programming involved.

What you will need to create one of these:

A) Photoshop,

B) a really long sketch (I stitched seven A4 sketches),

and C) Download the template by clicking this.

Method:

1. Open your panoramic sketch on a jpeg file.

2. Open the above mentioned link "360template.jpg".

3. Place your panoramic sketch in the 360template.jpg file.

4. Make sure it's centred, then flatten the file. 

5.  Hit "Save" (not "Save As").

6. Drop image in Facebook and it will automatically detect that the file is a 360 pano image.

Voilà!