Watercolor Sketch: Aberdeen Floating Village, Jumbo Restaurant & Sampans

My watercolor sketch travelogue continues in Hong Kong with one from a floating platform next to the Jumbo restaurant in the Aberdeen Harbor.  I was very fortunate to make friends with a few artists while living there.  My friend Gladys and I would try to go out once a week to sketch.  The day we scheduled to go was a gloomy day in December but we went for it anyway.  We headed down to the Aberdeen marina and took a sampan over to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.

Our Sampan Driver

This was an experience in itself just crossing the harbor.  Like many things in Hong Kong there are a number of ways to go about doing something.  Lining the harbor are private sampans for which we had many offers of taking us over for 50 -100 hundred Hong Kong dollars, or as Gladys would say, honkies.  She is a local. :-).   This equates to about $6-$12 US dollars. These are nice if you want a 30 minute tour of the harbor, but we just wanted a one way jaunt to the Jumbo.   If you are a tourist, you may think this is the only way to go.  However, I had the advantage of being with Gladys, who knew a way around this!  If you know where to look there is a public sampan you can take to the other side for around .25 cents US!  What was even more amazing you can scan your Octopus Card, Hong Kong’s, public transportation card, for the fare.  A mix of modern technology with the old world.

Boat dwellings in Aberdeen Harbor

The Aberdeen Harbor and the Aberdeen Floating Village has been and still is home to Hong Kong’s boat dwellers, descendants of which were said to have arrived in Hong Kong around the 7th-9th century.  If you would like to immerse yourself in a traditional Hong Kong experience this is a great place to visit.

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Another popular attraction which was our destination was the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.  Established in 1976, it is one of the renowned tourist attractions in Hong Kong.  In the  lobby is a photo gallery of the who’s who of the many people who have visited over the years:  Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and William Holden during the filming of “Love Isa Many- Splendored Thing,”  and the “World of Suzie Wong,” to name a few.

Sightseeing Sampan

Gladys and I settled our selves on a service platform behind the restaurant to paint boats in the harbor.  It was actually great to sketch on a grayer day. A great exercise in mixing grayed color.   It started to lightly drizzle so we cut the day short and headed over to the Aberdeen Marina Club, in a sampan of course,  for some hot Jasmine tea, and an incredible Dim Sum lunch!  A perfect sketch day with a great friend!

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Watercolor Sketch: The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong & Feng Shui

In Hong Kong, I loved just up the hill from the Hong Kong Zoological Gardens and Botanical gardens.  Both just a 5-10 minute walk from my apartment building.    Living in one of the most populated and bustling cities on earth, I was amazed at how many opportunities there were to connect with and be in natural environments.  I walked through and enjoyed these gardens often, as did many locals and expats. I had my watercolor kit with me one day and decided to do a sketch of the Bank of China building.  One, because it was designed by architect I.M. Pei who also did the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris and I like his work. Two, because it is such an iconic building in the city.

The Bank of China Building designed by I.M. Pei, image via wikipedia

There was some controversy surrounding this building, at the time it was built.  It is the only major building in the city to have bypassed the normal practice in Hong Kong of consulting with feng shui masters on it’s design prior to construction.  According to feng shui principles it’s triangles, sharp angular features, and many “x” shapes have negative symbolism.

The HSBC building designed by Norman Foster, image via Wikimedia Commons

When another iconic building in the Hong Kong landscape was built, the HSBC bank building, designed by famed British architect Norman Foster, metal rods were installed on the top pointing directly at the Bank of China building to protect it, by deflecting the negative energy right back to Bank of China.  Take that Bank of China!  Hmmm, that sounds like a good idea.  I’d like to have something like that to deflect negative energy.

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Watercolor Sketch Wong Tai Sin Temple, Hong Kong

This watercolor sketch is of one of the roof ornaments at the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong.  Wong Tai Sin is one the largest and most famoustemples in Hong Kong. A Taoist temple named after Wong Chuping, itis known for it’s fortune telling.  Supposedly the fortune sticks here are very accurate.  Worshippers kneel before the altar shaking a bamboo container holding slender sticks of wood, similar to those coffee stirring sticks at Starbucks only a bit bigger. There can be as many as 50 or more worshippers doing this at once and there can be quite a  commotion from all the shaking and chanting. When one falls out, the stick is exchanged for a piece of paper by the sooth sayer at the temple, bearing the same number as the stick.  The sooth sayer then interprets the fortune for the worshiper.  Some temples like this one have many stalls, with fortune tellers or sooth sayers which are open for consultation for anyone seeking guidance.

 Roof Detail at Wong Tai Sin

Worshippers at Wong Tai Sin

Wong Tai Sin's Chinese Temple Architecture

The temple has extensive gardens in the back including a replica of the Nine Dragons Wall from the Forbidden City in Beijing.  What is really odd is the juxtaposition of the temple and gardens surrounded by the towering Hong Kong apartment buildings.

Detail of Apartment Buildings Surrounding Wong Tai Sin

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Kyoto Tanuki

Anyone who has traveled and lived in Japan can’t help but be intrigued by the Tanuki, the Japanese Raccoon Dog! This animal is a subspecies of the raccoon dog native to Japan.   An artist's version in ceramic statuary is mostly seen outside of Japanese bars and cafes, to symbolize wealth and prosperity, because of some Japanese word play associated with a certain anatomical feature! (See number five below.)   Folklore legend of the Tanukiportrays this creature as a mischievous prankster with shape shifting abilities that can take on a human form.

The legend of the Tanuki has eight special traits that bring on good fortune:

1.  A hat to protect against trouble or bad weather
2.   Big eyes to make good decisions
3.   A sake bottle that represents virtue
4.   A big tail that provides steadiness and strength
5.   An over-sized scrotum that symbolizes financial luck
6.   A promissory note that represents trust or confidence
7.   A big belly that symbolizes bold and calm decision-making
8.   A friendly smile

While traveling in Kyoto, I visited a workshop that made ceramic Tanukis.  They can be as tiny as 3 inches and as tall as 6 feet.  All varieties and sizes were nestled in the bamboo wooded area around the workshop, this particular guy caught my eye and was the inspiration for this painting.

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Watercolor Sketch: Chedi Beach, Phuket Thailand

Today I’m sharing another watercolor sketch done on the Chedi Beach in Phuket Thailand.  This one was done sitting on the beach chair after a delicious lunch of the freshest, tastiest,  Thai food imaginable.

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Movie Review: Leonie

Leonie is the story of Leonie Gilmour who was a writer and  the editorial assistant to poet Yone Noguchi.  She became his wife and had a son, artist, sculpture, and designer Isamu Noguchi.  Set in the early 20th century the film chronicles her life meeting Yone, the trials and tribulations of marrying him, the time she lived with her mother in Pasadena California, and her eventual move to Japan to reunite with her philandering husband, and the birth of her daughter, Ailes Gilmour.  (Yone Noguchi is not Ailes' father.)

I was anxious to see this film. When it was released in the theater, it only played in one theater that was 2 hours from my house!  I couldn’t believe a city as large as Orlando couldn’t support this movie in at least one theatre. We noticed it was available on iTunes so we rented it last weekend.

I’m always drawn to anything relating to Japanese culture, and for those who have studied Interior Design, they are probably familiar with the lighting and furniture designed by Noguchi.  From the movie trailer I expected the film to cover the life of Isamu a bit more, however the movie is titled Leonie and is really more of her life story than his.  The latter part of the film does touch on her support of the artistic endeavors of her son. She made him design their house in Japan when he was 10,  and upon her insistence, he left medical school to pursue his life as an artist.

 Noguchi Table via Herman Millers web site.

I wasn’t blown away by the film but did enjoy it. It does portray Leonie as a strong independent free spirit.    Anytime I learn something and enjoy the production design, sets, and scenery I’m happy.  I also enjoyed the performance of Emily Mortimer as Leonie.

I was intrigued to do more research on Leonie, Isaumu and Ailes after watching the film.  I never knew that Isamu graduated from La Porte High School in Indiana, my home state.  And Ailes after graduating high school went on to study dance and performing arts and was one of the first dancers to join Martha Graham’s first professional dance troupe.

 Noguchi Lamp available via Noguchi Museum's web site's shop

If you are interested in Noguchi, Japanese Culture, and period films, I would recommend seeing Leonie.  There is also a wonderful web site, www.noguchi.org, which is the site for the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, accessible by public transport from Manhattan.  Many of Noguchi's products, lamps, furniture and objects can be ordered through the museum shop on line.

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Watercolor Sketch and Painting, Chinese Shoes

There is a street near the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road in Hong Kong called Cat Street.  Although it’s touted as a street to find antiques, and some of the actual shops do sell antiques.  The stalls along the street are mostly things made for tourists that appear to be antiques.  That being said it is still fun to wander, and look and shop because there is a lot of cool stuff there.  But remember, if you do buy anything bargaining for the best price, or what you are willing to pay is imperative!  Sometimes what you are willing to pay is still a big profit for the sellers!  But, you walk away happy with your treasure and the seller is happy they made a sale.

One seller has a bunch of embroidered shoes.  Since I love textiles andthe beautiful colors of these shoes,  I went one day to do a plein air sketch of some of them lying in a basket.  As I was doing the sketch I knew I wanted to develop this idea further.  I took photos and used them, and my sketch as reference for a larger painting.

Chinese Shoes, Watercolor on Archival Paper, 15" x 11", 38 cm x 28 cm

This is the larger painting, Chinese Shoes,  that was exhibited in a summer exhibition at Brushstrokes Gallery, in Hong Kong from an invitation from artist, and my good friend, Isabelle Lim.

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Watercolor Sketch Chedi Beach, Phuket Thailand

One of the things I loved living in Hong Kong, was you are centrally located to travel all over Asia.  The airport is a breeze to get to from Central with the Airport Express train which departs from the IFC tower.  You can even check your bags at the train terminal so you don’t have to do it at the airport!  We went on a long weekend holiday to Phuket Thailand.  My previous trip to Thailand was during the design phase of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, visiting Bangkok and Chang Mai for research.  It was wonderful to see the beautiful beaches in the South.  This sketch was done on the beach.  There was a family that set up in an outdoor kitchen to serve lunch to the guests at the nearby hotel.  The food was scrumptious.  One of their little boys came over and talked to me while I was painting.  He was so intrigued he kept touching the paint as I was putting it down.  I have a little souvenir of his fingerprint on the sketch!

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Watercolor Sketch, Kawadoko: Dessert Above the Kibune River, Japan

This is such a simple sketch but has such fond meaning and memories for me.  When visiting Kyoto. My daughter and I took a day trip to the northern mountains to the villages of Kurama and Kibune.  Fist we took the train to Kurama and enjoyed time in a traditional japanese onsen, a public bathing house, fed by hot springs.  We were the only non Japanese there but we felt right at home soaking in the outdoor tub under the forest canopy.  There are a number of rituals one must partake in before entering the tub.  Since language was a definite barrier here, we relied on what we had seen in the Miyazaki film, My NeighborTotoro, which is one of our favorites, for clues to the preparation before entering the big bath!

Forest from Kurama to Kibune

After a relaxing soak we continued on into the forest to hike the trail to Kibune.  The walk took several hours but was not strenuous.  The forest was magical.  There are a number of small temples and shrines to take a rest and reflect on the beauty of this place.  We reached Kibune in the late afternoon and scoped out the restaurants and made reservations for dinner.  Kibune is a small village nestled right in the forest along the Kibune River.  In the summer the restaurants place covered platforms above the river for dining and it flows beneath you as you dine Japanese style inches above the water.  This is knows as kawadoko.

Restaurant platforms above the Kibune River-Kawadoko

One of our courses during our kaiseki meal

After visiting the Kibune Shrine we settled into our spot for dinner.  We were served a kaiseki meal, which is a multi course meal of a variety of Japanese delicacies.  Between courses we could lean over to the side of the platform and dip our feet into the cool rushing water below, nice after a day of hiking!  When we were served dessert, this simple piece of melon, I did this watercolor sketch.  The whole day was such an amazing experience.  I will never forget it and I have my sketch to take me right back there!

Lanterns above a dining area

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Watercolor Sketch, Kyoto Treat

My daughter and I had walked the Path of Philosophy, from the Ginkaku-Ji Temple to the Eikan-do and Nanzen-ji Temples, and stopped at an outdoor cafe for a green tea soft serve ice cream.  I adore green tea and anything made with matcha, (the powdered form of green tea).  Where I have had green tea ice cream at Japanese restaurants in the States, it is rare to find it soft serve.  I’m embarrassed to say, or maybe not, that I had one of these cones every single day I was in Kyoto.  As I was sketching at the table, the owner of the cafe came out and presented me with one of her name cards, which I attached in my book.  This one had to be quick before it melted all over my daughter's hand!

Path of Philosophy during cherry blossom viewing season, Kyoto Japan

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