Alvin Mark's Blog - Behind the Art

Sunday, April 30, 2017

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

Monday, April 10, 2017

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!)

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

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

Thursday, March 9, 2017

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

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

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

Monday, March 6, 2017

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!

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Strada Easel 31-day Challenge Jan 2017

I just completed a 31-day challenge in the month of January organised by Strada - an easel company. The idea of the challenge is to post a painting from life every single day and hashtag the word stradaeasel on every post. I also added day 1, day 2, day 3... to help both organisers and viewers follow and track each day's upload.

A bit about the last 31 days. Some days were real tough. I had to balance a full day's worth of work load and that extra bit for the challenge. The last few days which coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations were the most trying. It is a time where all businesses cease to operate. It is also important to visit and spend time with family and close friends, and along with the regular day-to-day work that I do, sleep had to suffer. But a challenge is a challenge, and that's why it's called a challenge. :)

Here on this post, I present the paintings' time lapses. Except for the days I did live figure and portraits in a shared and very tight space.

Thank you Strada for organising this challenge. Thank you for all of you from the bottom of my heart who followed my 31-day challenge daily and made comments, it did cheer me on. :D Do share which one/s are your favourite/s too.

Day 1 - Balinese Door

https://youtu.be/iqg4d_75zn8

Day 2 - Paddy Field, Bali

https://youtu.be/2S8Cn7EqN4c

Day 3 - Cold Brew still life

https://youtu.be/776JGaPaevc

Day 4 - Chin Mee Chin
https://youtu.be/DX75RVMVdTA

Day 5a - Figure Study, Day 5b - Foot study

Day 6 - Nonya Kueh 3

https://youtu.be/aK4rb7uJrBg

Day 7 - The Ice Cream Vendor

https://youtu.be/E43kVk6PeUE