Chinese New Year at Nan Hua

The Worldwide Sketchcrawl where urban sketchers around the world planned to sketch their city's Chinese New Year celebrations was on Saturday 28 January. Johannesburg had at least three CNY celebrations in different venues - one that night in 'Old Chinatown' in Commissioner St in the city; one the following day at the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple near a town called Bronkhorstspruit, about an hour and a half's drive from Joburg - the one we decided to go to as a place we'd always wanted to visit; and another a week later in 'New Chinatown' in Cyrildene, east of the city. So we missed the official Crawl, but our spirit was with everybody (and as someone said, it's still the 28th somewhere!)

Our carload of five sketchers arrived just too late for the opening ceremony with Dancing Dragon, firecrackers, and other spectacles - I thought there'd be more but that was it. We gathered at the entrance - an encouragingly large group of us - just in time to see the dragon being folded away into its trailer. The first pen I grabbed out my bag flew to catch those few moments before it disappeared, and I think it's my favourite sketch of the day!

The many temples and shrines around the arena were beautiful subjects, and I had a go, but attempting the intricacies of those was going to take too long, so I tried some sketching shorthand with squiggly lines and loose washes. I wanted to capture some of the people - two sweet little girls in their New Year best, their big brother escaped before I got him on paper.

There were loads of food stalls lining the passages around the centre courtyard, and even more people trying to buy it... I didn't try hauling out a sketchbook and pen in the crush, but managed to get hold of a spring roll and settled to sketch one of the picnic groups with greasy fingers.

The Wishing Tree, where you have your name inscribed in Chinese calligraphy on a ribbon with a medallion attached, and throw it up into the tree while you make a wish. If the ribbon sticks there, your wish will come true during this Year of the Red Rooster. I didn't risk it! Nan Hua is a huge place and apparently we missed lots more interesting sights and events, but that was about all I could manage in the heat and crowds before the long drive home.

Sketchcrawling Norwood

I'm very behind in posting the last couple of weeks efforts! These are from the 51st Worldwide SketchCrawl on the 23rd April, when a good gathering of ten of us turned up in Norwood (we crawled there three years ago too). Like many of the older suburbs, its fortunes go up and down, but the main street, Grant Ave, is dotted with lovely shops and restaurants who were all very welcoming and supportive of us. We were given free rein at Vovo Telo café & bakery inside The Factory where beautiful jazz accompanied us as we started sketching, and allowed into Crafters the roof bar which hadn't opened yet - very windy up there so sketching was, well, sketchy.

Then down the road to The Lamp Post antique and vintage shop, which has moved since our 2013 visit, where Jenny the owner and her lovely staff had tea and cake and comfy sofas to greet us. And ended up at the Tattoo Parlour with some very macho bikes parked outside, and caught the tattooist on his phone having a smoke break.

 I really wanted to get through a variety of subjects so except for the rooftop didn't add colour to these scenes until later - not strict urban sketching practice I know, but I just can't figure out how to get so much done in just a few hours! Gave me a chance too to think about how much colour and where, but I still overdid it on the café and the antique shop.

Braamfontein Cemetery

Our sketchers group went to the historic Braamfontein Cemetery on our last Saturday outing - a place I've driven past hundreds of times, vaguely wondering what was behind the dilapidated fences. Doing some research, I was astounded by the number of significant events and people in Johannesburg that are commemorated here. 

It's divided into sections, including an Anglo-Boer War section, Jewish, Muslim and Chinese sections, firemen & policemen, priests & nuns, and the School of Mines section holding 12000 miners - now represented by a green field and a single huge granite cube which guards the remains of Enoch Sontonga, who wrote our national anthem 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' - as well as many other graves of early Johannesburgers. Also a Dynamite Memorial for when a train, loaded with dynamite for the mines stood in the hot sun and exploded in 1896, destroying 1500 houses and killing hundreds of people, horses and donkeys.

One very moving grave was that of 24 year old Chow Kwai For, who registered under a new law requiring racial registration, unaware that the Chinese community was refusing to do so as a protest against it (he spoke a different dialect and hadn't understood). When he realised what he had done he committed suicide. His letter of apology is engraved on his headstone in Chinese. Sadly looking a bit derelict as are many, but still with a bunch of dried flowers placed before it.

We - and especially me, I seem to be a magnet for them - had been plagued by mosquitoes the whole morning and at this final stop in a remote and neglected part of the cemetery (not sure what section it represented) I found the mother-lode. Trying to draw as fast as possible while squirming and swatting at mozzies made for some interesting linework. Though I quite like the result, I wouldn't recommend it as a sketching technique!

SketchCrawl in Melville

...And crawling to non-existent internet speeds here, so an overdue post about the 50th Worldwide Sketchcrawl on 23 January. We met in Melville, a suburb we've sketched quite often because of its quaint shops and bohemian population. 

I started at the corner clothes shop where some sketchers were doing a bit more catching up than sketching for a while; then popped into the tattoo parlour who surprised me with caricatures by one of the artists in return for my efforts; indulged in a delicious iced coffee at the IT café while sketching the restaurant opposite, with pavement bead artist traders on the corner; then we all ended up at 27 Boxes, which I've sketched before but don't seem to have posted on this blog... it is up on Urban Sketchers here.
We were lucky enough to have our wrap-up meeting coincide with a young jazz band's performance at the little outdoor arena, giving us more sketching fodder as well as a treat for the ears - a very talented group, some of whom were just off to Cape Town to start on their musical studies and careers.

Even though a few of our regular Joburg Sketchers couldn't make it, so great to have a good turnout of ten! Yay!

Stormy Day in Fordsburg

I'm cutting and pasting this post from the Urban Sketchers website, catching up a bit on posting here on my once again neglected blog - only Feb and life is already too busy!:
For the 46th WorldWide Sketchcrawl on Saturday 31 Jan our group went to the historic suburb of Fordsburg on the outskirts of Johannesburg. We met outside this building on Mint Rd and discovered that there was a bustling market getting into gear behind us. Some self-designated car guards and a vendor selling clothes hangers - everyone trying to make a rand or two for the day...

 Before we could get going on the market, there were rumblings of thunder and some fat drops of rain, warning us to get under cover, so we took advantage of the kind offer of an artist, Hermann Niebuhr, who has a studio in the area to use his balcony to sketch from. We got there just in time before there was one of several deluges. (Sorry about the quality of the images, my scanner is was out of action.) Below are Marlene and John - with the luxury of chairs and a table - sketching the view.

And the sketchers huddling under the tin roof along the balcony - we still got pretty wet with some interesting droplet effects on some of the sketches.

SketchCrawl #44 at Hillfox

For the 44th World Wide SketchCrawl I wracked my brains to think of a warm place for our Joburg Sketchers to go and crawl around. Though our winter skies are generally clear blue and cloudless, dry iciness creeps and whistles into every corner. After a small poll, we decided to go to the Hillfox Value Centre, a rather ugly and sprawling shopping complex, but which houses a huge Food Lover's Market and the B&B markets.

 After starting with coffee at the F.L.M. to warm up and to welcome a couple of newcomers, we moved over to the B&B which was looking a little empty and forlorn of crowds - cleverer people had stayed at home under a duvet or near a fireplace. At least we had good views of the stalls that we chose to sketch, without too many bodies blocking our way. A couple of our group were told they weren't allowed to sketch by officious officials, I suppose they had little else to do without customers to harass.

  I went for the more colourful options I could spot in the gloom - first the hookah stand and then onto Clive, with his incredible array of beaded creatures and plants. I only fitted about half of his wares into my sketch, and those (surely frozen) fingers just kept working away at more.

  This warehouse-like basement was no warmer than a Joburg back street in the shade so we headed back to F.L.M. for lunch, where once again I forgot to do the photos of sketchers and their morning's work, you can see them here on our Facebook page. After lunch some of us hung around the bakery section, a place that always calls to me, sketching the wares a better option than eating them, if only I'd remember that. I then crawled, shivering, back to my car which, having been standing for a few hours in the sun was deliciously warm so I did a quick last sketch - cars, shopper, car guard -  before heading home.

Joburg City Centre

Our small sketching group was invited to go and sketch in the city by a group of artists who are holding an exhibition called Joburg Joburg, which aims to engage its immediate surroundings and to promote the renewal of the city centre.

We have ventured to the edges of the city in Newtown a few times, but never really braved the inner streets until now. I started on one of Joburg's oldest buildings, Victory House, while we waited for everyone to arrive (finding architecture as difficult as ever!) - quite a crowd of nine when joined by some of the participating artists. We then walked along to Ghandi Square, which was fairly quiet on a Saturday morning, but a few shoppers and people waiting for buses.

We then tried to go to our next destination outside the City Hall, but found the roads closed and access denied as they were shooting "dangerous scenes" for the new Avengers movie! We did hear a huge crash while we were sketching nearby in the Library Gardens, where political and church meetings, ladies selling religious tracts and boys on skateboards were all on the go.

For the first time, the progression of a sketch of mine of a food vendor's stall was being videoed by a young photographer from Pretoria, when the owner of the stall came over, irate that we were focusing on his enterprise (we had asked someone who we thought was the owner) ...another first for me... so we had to reluctantly give up on that, after spending so long setting up angles and supports.

I sketched the skateboarders instead, who didn't mind at all! More sketches and photos of the day here....

The Lamp Post

Thank you for all the well wishes! I'm happy to report that the pain in the neck is getting much better - numbness in my fingers will take a little longer. Sketching is fortunately one thing that isn't too hard to do, unlike hanging up washing (yay) and gardening! So I joined our group for the 39th SketchCrawl on Saturday, in the quaint suburb of Norwood. We had a great turnout, and the Lamp Post, a lovely shop full of interesting stuff and curiosities, was very welcoming, letting us 'crawl' all over it, inside and out, and providing lovely soup and sandwiches at lunchtime on a chilly autumn day.

I drew the outside of the shop, before increasing traffic blocked my view, and some raindrops drove me under cover. Two ladies at their food stall were not at all keen on being sketched, and emphatically turned their backs. While the newspaper man was very happy to be my subject as he wove amongst passing cars and trucks - turning to the old doll's pram in between glimpses of him.
You can see the other Joburger's sketches and a few photos here on Facebook and here on the Sketchcrawl site.

Prints for sale, and back at the Dam

Urban Sketchers has a new online store where you can buy prints of sketches from around the world, including these two of mine. All the art in the store raises funds in support of the USk blog and the upcoming symposium in Barcelona - which I was planning and looking forward to going to until my daughter announced her wedding date for a week later. Ah well, exchanging one happy event for another, not a bad prospect!
I chose these sketches as typical scenes in Johannesburg, very familiar to me. The jacaranda sketch I described in this blog post last November. The top one I did a couple of years ago, at Emmarentia Dam near my home. These basket ladies sit outside the entrance to the 'Dog Park' where we often go walking. If business is quiet they pick up their wares and walk around trying to find customers, keeping an eye out for security guards, as trading in the park is illegal. I sketched these three coming towards me from a distance - the furthest figure in my sketch actually being the woman in front, by the time they were up close I was scribbling down the one bringing up the rear.

On our last Joburg Sketchers sketch date we also went to 'the dam', the venue for our very first meeting back in August 2010 - still only four of us since a few of our regular sketchers have departed Jhb for more picturesque surroundings. But we make do with what we have, so once again applied ourselves to the geese, the pecked-bare red earth, the trees and the people...

Joburg Carnival

A few of us sketchers still in Joburg over the holidays went into town to sketch the old year out on Monday at the annual Joburg Carnival. Groups of inner city residents, with the help of local artists and art students, make floats, dress up and parade through the streets. The procession got to our designated meeting place nearly an hour sooner than I thought they would. I was a bit early, so dashed over to where they were coming down the next street towards Nelson Mandela Bridge and scribbled off a couple of quick impressions. Luckily the parade ended nearby in Newtown, where we caught up with it and carried on sketching as the groups competed for best costumes, floats and performances. Onlookers crowded around some of the sketchers, fascinated, but blocking their view, and ran off to tell the subjects they were being drawn, who then came over to have a look. Quite chaotic, but lots of fun.


I took too many sketching implements and couldn't decide which to use - so a bit of a mixture here. I must learn to restrict my choices.

This and other possible New Year resolutions to follow, but in the meantime, I wish all my friends, followers and passers-by, all the very best for a happy, healthy, love and art filled 2013!

New Chinatown

For the 37th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, Joburg Sketchers went to 'New' Chinatown - old Chinatown in the city centre has fallen into dilapidation, but in the suburb of Cyrildene, a busy, thriving community has sprung up over the last few years. Fantastically fresh vegetables spill out onto the pavements, grown in the gardens of the surrounding houses - and tea shops, restaurants, fishmongers, hairdressers, Chinese massage and therapy studios, supermarkets full of strange, unidentifiable products, so much to draw. A good turnout of seven, we started on the veggie shop near our meeting point, then trickled up the road finding other viewpoints. We met up for lunch at 'Northern Chinese Restaurant', a humble looking place, but with delicious, plentiful and very reasonable food. We should have kept it for last - we all ate far too much, sketching after that was a bit slow and most of us felt the need to go home for a little nap soon after.

NeighbourGoods Market

 For the 36th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, four of our group went to the NeighbourGoods Market in Braamfontein, where Joburgers go in their hundreds every Saturday to buy from: (off their website) 'local farmers, fine-food purveyors, organic merchants, bakers and distributors, grocers, mongers, butchers, artisan producers, celebrated local chefs, and micro enterprises'.

 A freezing cold front blew in that morning, so I started sketching from the relative shelter of a canvas awning - the hat and accessories stall inside, then turned on my chair to draw the hardy souls outside on the rooftop balcony overlooking Braamfontein.

 Downstairs to join the others, Anni, Marlene and Alan for a delicious lunch and to carry on sketching - the two girls above, and the one in the bright jacket below, took photos of my sketches of them - thankfully quite happy with their portrayals!

 The queue for this paella began forming as the two cooks started a new batch, and waited patiently until it was ready. It was all gone within minutes -  must have been good!

 This tall, slim woman in her black and white skirt caught my eye as she stood in front of the tall, slim cake stands full of black and white wrapped cupcakes.

Which I couldn't resist buying two of (Red Velvet and Bar-One - yum!) to take home for my last sketch of the day, before sharing them with my son - my husband's will power standing firm as mine crumbled!