Friday, December 17, 2010

China Sketches

I took a trip to China with a great group of people this last October. A little behind in my posting...okay a lot behind! We were there for three weeks and followed part of the Silk Road from Beijing to Shanghai. It was quite a trip.
We did a quick walk around the Olympic Venue in Beijing and then on to the Great Wall. I admit I didn't climb very high but it was amazing. The locks are placed on a chain on the wall by lovers. Many of them are engraved and don't have a key hole. Now, that's commitment.
These are some antique hairpins, a sketch of Heavenly Lake and a building from the ancient city of Jiaohe. While I was doing the building a Chinese tour came by and took lots of photos with me and gave me "Thumbs up".
This is me sketching Heavenly Lake. I actually got to sit and sketch for a few minutes. Most of the time we were on the move and going in one way and out another so sketching was a challenge.

There is a large well irrigation system in Turpan. These were objects on display in Karez. The bird sketch is a fresco in the Astana Tomb. There were four different birds but I only managed to capture one of them.


Robert Bateman Sketchbook 6" x 9"
Pen and Watercolor

8 comments:

Shirley said...

These are a lovely way to remember your trip - and just the quick painting of small things grouped on the page are so interesting. Kudos for you, sketching while you walk with a group.

Alex said...

Lovely sketches! =) I think with these you made a memorable trip unforgettable

Sasa Saastamoinen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sasa Saastamoinen said...

Great that you had time to sketch during your trip, I love the results, very fresh!

Sasa Saastamoinen said...

Great that you had time to sketch during your trip, I love the results, very fresh!

alissaduke said...

Great pages and a wonderful way for you to remember your holiday and to share ot with others ! Priceless

Unknown said...

You got a remarkable amount of sketching done given your group was always on the move! I've taken a few vacations with the intention to sketch the whole time, only to come home with nothing!

Your pages are wonderful and I imagine you'll love revisiting this trip again and again!

Anonymous said...

Lovely sketches and so much better than photos to remember a trip as epic as this. I love the locks on the chain. Such a beautiful idea.