Just a day

When to Registry of Companies at Tanjung Pagar , International Plaza to do some stuff of my company, as long as I go that area, I must eat the mutton curry from "Nan Nan Curry" at the 5th floor food court that link to Amara Hotel!When to IT Show 2008 at Suntec City, quite crowded, I intend to buy a Mp3 player; after looking a round, found that too many choices, can’t made decision which one to buy. Good branded Mp3 player mostly can play up Mp4 music but is higher price, I found one unknown branded was much more function that any good branded, but do not know how long it can be long lasted. Met Mc Guire of A Lucas Events doing his promotion show!After a meaty lunch, I should have a more vegetables dinner! So I choose to eat the Korean food “Bibimbak”.

Some of my caricature drawing

This was part of my drawings, seems I draw lots of girls, yup; I enjoy to drawing girls; because I am a guy, haa haa! Otherwise I gave people an impression that I belonging to “brokeback mountain” type, haahaa!

Caricature drawing

Drawing caricature for public was not an easy job. It was different from dinner and dance or those special occasion parties or events. The public was come from all levels of educated people, means not everyone appreciates or know your art, whether you are an junior art student or you are a senior professor with doctorate/ master degree in art etc, the person being drawn in public events could give you a bad comment without thinking who you are, unless you are an Caucasian, a very foreigner looks artists, then they will treat you in a different way, this is the real world in Singapore.

I like the Malay guests, in my caricature artist life, they are the best, because they always respect you, respect your art, local Chinese, other than those nice peoples, they will give bad comment you on the spot in front of you regardless they are well educated or not; at least this is common in Singapore as my personal experience.

Basically, any local caricaturist sure will experience the same thing before; they cannot deny it, not because my skill but is the artistic taste level of the person being drawn. Those caricaturists who laugh at me for this, they actually insulting themselves, because they can’t avoid the same thing as what it happened to me; my 16 years experiences in the event industry confirmed this.

A senior art lecture said I can’t even draw side view caricature after he viewed my event; ops! I am not narrowing minded as him, because majority guest do not know how their side view looks like, they can’t accept the side view caricature. I searched many caricaturists’ website, few artist do it in side view.

I do not do any “special effect” for the guest being drawn (like pull the face long or wide) because most of the people cannot accept it. Other caricaturists who laugh at me, end up also do the drawing without add in “special effect”, because of the pressure from the guests. This is not western country, people can’t really accept they caricature being drawn in a surprise way.

Singapore Stock Market

Ah! Today’s FSTI index plunged down 85 points! Market was no good today….
I had been observing the stock market since last year, I also invested some stock at that time, and thought may earn some money through investment. I took some related courses, and believed I can better analyze the charts, but seem I am wrong! Invest in stock, is about how much money you can afford and also the technique, the emotional control of yourself, nothing due with art. I had loose all my $ after many times tried. Now I became “observer” (which can only looks at the market and can’t do any investment) haaha!

Artist, yup, I am an artist, unsuccessful to be an investor. Haaha!

Taxis service still need to improve!

Up to today, I still would not give a better mark for the taxis service in Singapore. Although the government recently have came out certain rules to improve it, but still hard to get cab during certain hours; compared with few months earlier, the waiting time of the cab was slightly better, but how much it improved? I would say few % improved only, frankly. It still need long time to wait for cab during peak hours and in certain hours.

Seems like cab driver still hiding or ignore the people who wanted to take cab down the road side. It was surprised still can read some new from the papers the lots cab driver claim that they are hardly get passenger nowadays, what’s wrong with all this?

Riverside, Clarke Quay

Singapore government was working very hard to get the country better and better, the Singapore flyer had been opened last month since 14 Feb Valentine day, Formula One racing will be opening at coming September, and next year that will be Youth Olympic down here. The government working hard now to improve many things, one of the improvements was making the night entertainment better.

I passing by Riverside and Clarke Quay, they said the operation hours will be extend longer till morning or maybe operate in 24hours I guess.
Clarke Quay

A Rainny day

Rainny day
I was quite sometime did not go Orchard for busking (doing caricature and silhouette cutting at the street). Basically, since last two years, the weather was changed a lot; if I am not wrong, 60% of time in year 2006 was raining, and 20% of time was having hazel due to Indonesia’s forest fire, in year 2007, most of the time was raining as well.

As street artist rules down here, we can’t work under the building’s shelter, because it belonging to private property; most of us work at an open space, maybe the most was under the tree or in the underpass.

As a caricaturist, I cannot do my drawing in the underpass which “raining-proof”, because it will be attract lots publics surrounding the place when I am drawing a customer; the crowd will jammed the whole underpass.

During my 4 years as street artist live (since 2004) I had learned how to watch the sky to decide if it will be rain during my working day, that means doing street art is very depending on the weather.

Singapore is a tropical country, was raining often. I realized that it will be raining down here after the earthquake happened in Indonesia every time.

Nowadays, the weather in Singapore seems like if not a rainy day, it will be having sunny day for a week or more, the weather became heat, otherwise if will keep raining for 3 or more days mostly.

I am fan of Fafi now!

I found Fafi's related website on the net after the report about her work for M.A.C in the newspaper few days ago. I found her work was great!Fafi, you are great and sexy!Wish one day I can have such photo with my models (like the picture below, Fafi having photographed with her models)! Haahaa!

The Pier & Robertson Walk

Do an event at Mohammed Sultan Road for Valentine special event, at The Pier. I was thinking that the place as my impression that I had viewed in few years ago, and surprisingly, it was having a big change!

Mohammed Sultan Road, not much different, but, walk further up, reached The Pier; the place behind this building was Robertson Walk, it was a very nice place I never noticed before! Ouch! I call myself an Entertainer, thought I was fail! Haahaa! Still got lots thing to learn and explore!

I really love this place so much! It was really nice and so Romantic especially in this Valentine!Romantic! Romantic musicians!The Pier & Robertson Walk, just along the river, the night scene was very beautiful as well!

Caricature at Sentosa Cove, ONE’15 Marina Club

Did caricature pre-event for SUTL 40anniversarry dinner and dance at ONE’15 Marina Club at Sentosa Cove. The guests were nicely dressed in difference costume based on their own theme as they like. It was very interesting to attend such part, many nice dresses and nice costume, of course having lots beautiful girls! Haahaa! All the guests was highly motivated, playful and friendly. I guess there should be about 40 plus tables (10perseon per table) in thei dinner! Big company’s dinner and dance!Before I go to Sentosa, I passing by Vivo City, found the latest lcon and graphic design of one of the famous branded cosmetics M.A.C. It was really nice, it was the drawing style I love! The character of the girls in the drawing is similar to what I always like to hightlight in my caricature!

Da Vinci Code?

I took this photo when I passing by Payer Lebar MRT station, the Singpost Building. This fountain looks like the scene in the movie of "Da Vinci Code" :)

A1 size Caricature

Did a caricature based on the order in A1 size. I seldom draw a single person caricature in such a big size but I did drawn figure drawing in A1 or slightly bigger. Some people believed caricature drawing must done in marker pen, to me it doesn’t matter, as long as I complete the artwork which tried my best effort. My favorite media was crayon pencils, charcoal, chalk pastels. Any wet based color media was no so easy for my, unless I really have the mood to do it in a really free and long undisturbed time, but seems I hardly having such time presently. Haa haa!In United States having lots best caricaturist, US is a very big country, Singapore is a very small country compared to it, hence the market was very small, moreover, there was limited space for the development of caricature drawing. I do caricature drawing besides my hobby, for surviving as well, in my experiences, most of the client preferred looks like type, they cannot accept those drawing that pull their face in a real caricature like what we seen on the newspapers or magazines; these was the majority demands.

My competitors keep comment to their clients that my caricature was portrait instead of caricature, yet when they did the drawing for their clients; it was still in a portrait based! When there was small market, when more and more people came to join this trait, lost people will trying to talk bad behind each other, too bad! Some new comer claimed that they are the longest caricaturist in this industry, I just let them be. Because I believed everyone got their own style, they should challenge themselves instead of just to win. A real artist doing art is to make his/her art better and better in a higher level, those who doing art because just wanted to win, is a worker that just doing painting but do not understand art at all.

He is The Legend!

Passing by Orchard underpass that link to Marriot Hotel and Tangs Shopping Centre, saw this Street Artist who doing his singing performance. He is the longest busking artist (street artist) at this point since this underpass built! He is the first street artist in Singapore! He is the Legend! As an entertainer, I salute him!Basically, this underpass is the one of most crowded underpass in Singapore, other then people passing by, there were lots of other busker (street artist) like balloonist doing their stuffs there as well. Lots leaflet givers also like to be giving leaflet at this underpass.. I guess nowadays was more then 10 street artist who plat music and sing down the street and in the underpass.

City Square Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Yesterday sent my parents back to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, at the same time; I went JB City Square wto have a quick shopping which just next to the custom house exit to Singapore. I was too long stay in Singapore and did not go anywhere, now I found a big different in this shopping centre!
JB City Square was huge, I would say the area could be as big as Vivo City in Singapore (just personal feeling).The corridors of every floor were very big! I never ever find any shopping in Singapore having such big comfortable corridor! Maybe Singapore’s property was very high hence every space have to be fully made used. I never ever been Hong Kong, can’t compare it with Singapore but at least I found it here.Ah! Found a Singapore Tourism Promotion booth here!Almost every floor you can find restaurants, eating places, coffee stalls, not like most Singapore’s shopping mall, the food and beverages places were nicely arranged only I at the top floor or ground floor of the shopping mall.

I agreed such tactic that made the shopper “being forced to passing by every floor” then can reach their eating place but personally feel more interesting to see every floor got eating place could be more humanized, more comfortable, more freedom.

Imagine while you sit down and enjoying your food, you still can have your “eye shopping”! Instead of just seeing the whole floor was crowded with people who queuing for their food or viewing only food stalls.
Dinner and Dance/ Party/ Event entrance? Nope! It is an entrance to another portion of the shopping mall, the youngster’s area! Down there was selling lots youngster’s stuffs, something like Singapore’s Bugis Street, but much much more than that! Because this portion having more restaurants and eating places! That’s a lot more for the shopper to explore!I was very enjoying shopping inside City Square Johor Bahru but not enjoying the scene outside, which is the road next to it, the road to the custom house to Singapore because this road was always having traffic jam, especially on public holiday.Interesting motorcycles parking area just nest to the road.