Wang-Trakrai Waterfall

We just came back from a one night camping trip to Wang-Tra-Krai waterfall park, 100 miles northeast of Bangkok. It is one of the nearest mountain we can go from Bangkok. We stayed in a simple but decent cabin with a simple equipped kitchen. So Tone and I got to cook our own breakfast this morning and I got to sketch them. I did bring along a big sketchbook for Iris for her to draw as you shall see one of her drawing.

#1 trees -- a plein air of the stream and the mountain backdrop in the evening last light, watercolor


#2 treat -- When we arrived to our cabin, they put a simple glass bowl with wild yellow flowers in the room to greet us, watercolor & Stabilo brown pen


#3 breakfast -- This was what we cooked. Poor Tone had to wait a few minutes for me to sketch before he could eat, color pencils


#4 public space -- Done by Iris to depict our rental cabin with our car parked near by, the right most were Tone and I busy cooking. The middle green face was Iris. Color pencils.



Here are some highlights of the trip:

Paint out -- Klong Bang Luang

Y esterday I went out for 3 hours with my plein air group to another Bangkok canal community, called Klong-Bang-Luang. So here are the two plein airs were done using Holbein watercolor paints on 9x11 inch Bockingford 140lb CP block.

Aj.Chumpol is the owner of the canal-side gallery/cafe that let us hang out to paint. He has put a tremendous effort to rally the local people think of how the preserve the old Thai way of life along the canal but yet sustainable for the modern economy. Some of the nowadays passing by long-tail boats are bringing foreign tourists to see the canal-traditional life. Sometimes, these boats stop at Aj.Chumpol's gallery and buy his paintings or postcards, to give him sustainable income. Some houses also are converted to a charming canal cafe, which sell Thai handy crafts. Now all the houses can also be accessed from the road on the back, so to keep the community to actively use waterway and boats are quite an effort of sustainable preservation of traditional Thai life.

Plein air ending 2009

Dec 31st, and Jan 1st are national holiday in Thailand. So today my plein air/sketching friends got together and we roamed another area along Chao Praya River to celebrating our end of year 2009 sketching. We had a great fun, this time there were seven people in our group in the morning with two new friends: an eye doctor & a furniture designer. One more member joined later in the afternoon. I was very lucky today as one of the young friend, Khun Nest, an architecture student had helped carried my painting bag. He kindly told me that he know I have already been carrying a six-month baby. So my outdoor painting trip, which involved quite some walking had went much more comfortable than I expected. I truly thankful for his kindness.

We gathered around 8:30 and had some breakfast at Taksin bridge along Chao Praya river, then we started our day at Bang-Rak Chinese Shrine I got one painting done before one of senior shrine care taker arrived with a negative message to our painting group.... May be only in Thailand.. that location care takers do not welcome painters. A similar thing had happened to our group before at the other Chinese shrine. Around 10:30 we walked along Charoenkrung road to the near by Yannawa Thai temple. This time things went smoothly and around 12:30 we had a group lunch at the near by chicken-rice food shop. It is simple but great, especially, I never have any painting friends who would go paint out with me in Thailand for years until this year that I got to know them. I love my Wetcanvas friends but the face-to-face interaction with other artist friends do enrich my painting experience tremendously. Later in the after noon, we got in the express boat for a short hop to Kalawar church to end the painting day at around 3:30 pm. I had a great fun and could not think of a better way to spend the last day of 2009.

Happy New Year 2010 -- May 2010 be a better painting year for you !!!.

Mahachai -- Paint out

All of the sketches are about 7x9 inch watercolor, some combine with ink. The first sketch of a man with a bike on the train was done with watercolor pencils and ink.

Our small sketch group went out by a train from Wong-Wien-Yai station last Saturday, heading 1 hour south to a famous fishing industry town, Mahachai. We were amazed even as we get off the train.. of how close the Mahachai merchants people live their life close to the train track. The train end right at the heart of Mahachai market, a place where an active mixed of vegetables, fruits, seafood, and fishing supplies. I could stop and paint right out from the train track but the space might be the problem because the market was so dense. So I took some photos, and we all walk about 300 meters along Tha-Chine river to a riverside restaurant and settle there to paint from 10:00 am til noon. We ended up with a great seafood lunch and the restaurant owner seemed happy to see our sketch results. My two river scenes are the result of this place. Then around 1 pm, K.Piboon, one of our sketcher who used to live there, took us in his car surveying the opposite island called, Tha-Chalom, seeing more boats, and life along the river which is a few miles away from the Gulf of Thailand. Then K.Piboon took us to the heart of the "Ka-Za-Khao" fishing village, a few hundred yards by the sea. The fishing village was a small community on the little waterway just off from the Gulf of Thailand. My last two works show the fish boats and fisherman shack that harbor in a small water way a little few yards from the ocean. It was a fun pack paint out day.

Paint out -- Klong Suan Market

Well today is my lucky day to get to join a few painter friends at KlongSuan Old time market. It locate about 60 Km. south east of where I live. The market is the 100 year old community along the Klong, or Thai canal. The canal, the shops, and also the food are awesome. I did the noodle shop ink sketch after we finished our delicious lunch there.

Plumeria en Plein Air

Finally, I packed my painting gear and drove to this tree in the neighborhood and did a plein air watercolor of it on my 11x15 inch watercolor board.

Floating market

This is a 4x5 inch watercolor (KOI travel set) plein air done while I was sitting in a cafe along side the Damneonsaduak canal in Rachaburi province. This floating market is the first tourist attraction floating market renowned for more than 50 years. This is the first time in my life that I visit this place !!!





Tone, Iris, our nanny and I left Bangkok early this morning heading south 50 miles from Bangkok. All of us never seen the real floating market before, so this is truly remarkable. The energy is so unbelievable. Once we arrived we rent one hour taxi boat to go thru the market and we stopped for fifteen minutes at the coconut sugar house, where they show us how to convert coconut's sap into coconut sugar. Then we drove 8 more miles to the Nativity of Our Lady Cathedral and I did another quick plein air sketch. It is unbelievable that in this orchard land away from Bangkok, 120 years ago there were priests from China who received funding from Paris and Rome, and built this majestic cathedral along the river here. We were in awe when we see the inside.

Transquality court

This is the Transquality Court, a zen garden by the beach at the Hyatt Hua Hin, Thailand. We went there for my Univ. seminar. I found the place in the evening so I try to catch the last light of the day in this plein air. This is about 9x12 inch NuPastel. I can sit at this place forever. The next morning I took a yoga class there. I felt so happy.

Plein Aire of House 50/2

I did this plein aire from my neighbor's flower tree. I spent about 30 min. painting it on 11x14 inch Strathmore 400 series pad. We have a similar tree in our yard but it has not bloomed for the past two years. At least I am glad to see this blooming one from my neighbor.

Note for plein aire friends, I use my almost forgotten Soltrek easel today. I have a hard time try to work its telescopic legs. I think their leg latching mechanism sucks. I bought it in 2001, long time ago I hope the company has fixed the problem now. Otherwise, you should look into something else for portable easel. This thing costed me almost $500... ouche.

Home Orchid Plein Air

This is a watercolor ATC done for Wetcanvas art exchange project. We have been fortunate that in our humble garden the orchirds take turn to bloom.

Home Grown...Orchids

Our yellow&red orchids have bloomed recently. We are grateful to have them in our humble garden. I am sure they love us so they take turn to bloom despite I do not give them special orchid fertilizer. I don't want to let their beauty go un-notice, so today I did a plein air little art card from it.

This weekend Iris had a high fever and a cold so we also been very busy taking care of her. However, I still manage to squeeze in some short sessions to sketch and do small art cards while she was sleeping. She seems to get a bit better now. Here are some of the works done during this weekend. Enjoy.

Plein air at the Evason

These are two small plein air watercolor about 5x7 inch, done at the Evason Hua Hin's main guest gazabo. I feel I did not do their justice and I have problems with what should be kept and what should be left out. I am glad I get to do plein air never the less.

Plein Air in the Park

I am back to feeling well again. I remember I swear when I was sick that I would walk/run 100K this year or bike 200K after I recover. So far I did walk 2K and bike 3K. I am so thankful for good health.

This weekend we headed out to the park for a change. I did some waterlily studies. The park surprised us with wonderful beds of cannas and holly-hock in perfectbloom. It did them pleinair with Conte crayon. I was very happy to sit on the grass hill overlook those flowers in the cool morning sun. Life is good.

The holly-hock & orange cannas are 8x11 inch in Conte crayon.



The waterlily are also 8x11 inch in Conte crayon. I think the blue top part of the water lily was a mistake so that was my learning lesson to sketch first.