The La Kopi Booth debuts at SABF2017

The 4th annual Singapore Art Book Fair happened on 27 - 30 April 2017. It brought some 30 over publishers and independent artists from around the region to showcase their art and books in this 3.3 day event. 

As with any event that I have been given ample time to prepare, I decided on a local coffeeshop theme for the booth this time around because of my latest book sketchbook - La Kopi. 

Believe it or not, the booth was conceptualised at the last Singapore Art Book Fair in 2016 at the Art Science Museum. It took me 5 full days to build the working structure - meaning I could put items on the shelves and have it not collapse. :) It comes with an LCD display for my timelapse work, old traditional signboard and a couple of geckos called Chi and Chak. The reason why I invested the time in this booth is because:

1) It's my booth, I want to be proud of it.

 2) I'm a hardcore Disney theme parks fan.

(I was once designated as an Imagineer by my former company Singapore Press Holdings 

because I used to do creative experiments like these and more during my tenure there.)

3) It's my 4D portfolio: Yes, sight, sound and smell of coffee! :)

4) I want fairgoers to smile... especially if they journeyed long to get there.

5) I want to encourage people to take the time to make things with their hands.

6) I realised that I needed a place to vent all my creative energy, 

because... yes, I am still looking for a studio space to paint. 

Thank you to the event director, the organisers, the A-team at BooksActually who were so so helpful, my chauffeurs, Doreen and Silas, who gave me and my shop a ride to the fair and back!  I am thankful!!  I am also grateful to meet so many creative people during the fair. And my awesome neighbour, Fable, who took care of my booth during my toilet and lunch breaks. 

Next up: I'm looking forward to the sale of La Kopi to the masses. :) 

Stay very tuned! 

7, Lock Road, Gillman Barracks

La Kopi - a traditional old shop signboard for my booth

3/4 view of the booth

Behind the scenes

Sketching the busy crowd during the pockets of timeout I had

Presenting... my latest sketchbook!!!

Smiles from happy customers are confirmation of a job well done! :) 

Philip Garcia - my instructor who re-introduced me to 

figure drawing at animation school - paid the booth a visit. 

The gang from Brunners Coffeeshop came to show their support...

thanks guys! This is one of the tapestries I was selling from my 

Society 6 page. We look like a soccer team!

As with all blog posts, I end with a little neat video:

Setting up the La Kopi Booth

La Kopi is available online: https://www.booksactuallyshop.com/products/la-kopi

Coffee Art To Go

For those of you who didn't make it to the Singapore Art Book Fair 2017, here are a list of coffee art items from the fair that is up for grabs. Whenever you purchase these pieces, it just means giving more time for the artist to get creative.

Presenting La Kopi - published by Math Paper Press, 

this is my first sketchbook publication about this little red dot. 

Specifically coffee in Singapore.  

SGD 29.00

Puzzle  (A4 size)

SGD 20.00

phone covers 

(in collaboration with Society 6)

society6.com/alvinmark

USD 35.00

Coffee Mug 11oz

(in collaboration with Society 6)

society6.com/alvinmark

Metal travel mugs

(in collaboration with Society 6)

society6.com/alvinmark

15oz at USD 24.00

Iced Jem Biscuits

 Free for visitors to my booth 41-B

(You won't miss the booth!)

A Moving Activity

Recently, a bunch of us artists who are part of the Commute Sketchers founding group from Singapore collaborated with one of the main transportation companies in Singapore - SBS Transit, to have our sketches displayed in several MRT stations and bus interchanges. Heading the group is Erwin Lian of the Perfect Sketchbook success, and all of these sketches are done live while commuting in public.  Thank you SBS Transit for getting our work out there for the public to see. 

An actual wall with our works at one of the bus interchanges

I first started actively sketching on trains during a trip to Yokohama, Japan, for an Animation Festival. That was at the beginning of 2010 during my animation diploma days.  And because I was there during the winter season, I enjoyed sketching commuters in their winter wear, something I don't get to see much in tropical Singapore. It allowed me to focus on volumes as the
gear they wore were of the bulky sort.

The main reason why I sketch while on the go because as a traditional painter, there's always this monotonous and echoey voice that keeps playing like a broken record player in my head that says, "Keep drawing all the time... ." And since I'm in a space with (free) models, why not? I'd like to think of it as using my time wisely. Back in Singapore while on the trains, I love sketching people standing up. Also scenes that I often don't see everyday: cosplayers riding the train, babies in prams, travelers with huge luggages on their way to the airport, etc. 

One of the thrills while sketching commuters is to sketch them without seeing you do it. In the last 6 years or so of commute sketching, I may have been caught about 4 times. You just get better at being a ninja over time and practice. 

If your daily commute is long and if you're interested in picking up this activity, head over to my youtube link https://youtu.be/NzibLiGFzwE for a quick video intro to Commute Sketching. 

Word even got outside of Singapore about our moving activity



Related topics: 

The Art of Subway Sketching

http://alvinmarktan.blogspot.sg/2013/12/the-art-of-subway-sketching.html


The Short Pose

http://alvinmarktan.blogspot.sg/2014/10/the-short-pose.html