Friday 31 January 2014

Singapore: Buddha Tooth Temple sketch

Buddha Tooth Temple sketch

Following a recommendation from a gentleman last weekend, I settled down to sketch the ornate joss tick burner in the Thian Hock Keng temple on Telok Ayer Street. With only a few preparatory lines on the page, I was informed that the temple was closing early to prepare for the New Year celebrations. I packed up and mumbled my way back to the heart of Chinatown where I discovered Eric's Wuerstelstand (see below). 

With a meatloaf sandwich and beer on board, I found a suitably shady spot to sketch the Buddha Tooth Temple. Much scribbling later, a chap from Malaysia who stopped to chat said he’d noticed me when he passed two hours ago - I had no idea I had been there so long. He rummaged around in a flimsy bag to offer me an apple which I accepted with much thanks. I have only been sketching for a few weeks, but the people I meet are so incredibly friendly. I still don’t understand why people want to take photos of me or my sketch book. 

Half an hour later, I noticed that some parts of my body were getting a little crispy from the sun as I was no longer in the shade. I think some sort of hat might be called for in the future.

2 comments:

Jamie Maison said...

I've been wondering for a while now, what does the red square on your sketches say?

Mr. Steve said...

It means Steve 斯蒂夫 (sī dì fu).

I’ve also seen it written as 史蒂夫 (shǐ dì fu) which has a different first character and a slightly different pronunciation.