Errol’s Sketchbook: Ap Li Chau Typhoon Shelter, Hong Kong.

Back in July 2010 I gave you a glimpse of a sketch from my sketchbook, A Personal Journey Through Sketching: The Sketcher’s Art. It was from page 67, a sketch of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter. As a follow up here is the sketch from page 87 followed by the photo of the view I sketched for friends and visitors whom are not aware of my published sketchbook.

“The view from Aberdeen Waterfront Promenade across the Ap Li Chau typhoon shelter bay towards Aberdeen is interesting and colourful; ships, boats, and vessels of all sizes and shapes dominate the waterway. Ferries cross the bay constantly, the sounds of their engines filling the air. It was a nostalgic moment to commit to memory. I found a seat, sipped my coffee and took a look at the bay considering how best to “frame” the scene. It was a complex scene to sketch.

I used the cluster of boats nearby as a starting point and – to set the vanishing points – positioned them to the left of the page. I was then able to add the other boats until they cascaded across the width of my sketchbook. They were added individually and decreased in size as they got closer to the vanishing point and to the right hand side of the page. Then the other boats behind were sketched – with their roofs, masts, pylons and cables – to respect the vanishing points and horizon of the perspective.

Adding the building outlines in the background completed the “massing” of the composition and – with the profile of the mountain, the shading of the boats, and the reflections in the water – I considered the mission accomplished after more than two hours sketching. I hopped onto a “junk” ferry and headed home.”