Voyage autour de ma chambre

Wayang Golek, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

The few positive things about a sinus infection are:
1) Catching up on your reading.
2) Being so bored you start drawing everything around you.

Wooden villa in Haaga, Helsinki

Wooden villa in Haaga, Helsinki, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

The whole neighbourhood used to be nothing but villas until they started to build pre-fab apartment blocks in the 50s.

Tioman Island. The sea seen from the backyard at Nazri’s Place

Tioman Island. The sea seen from the backyard at Nazri’s Place, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

Here is a view of the beach at Kampung Air Batang on Tioman island, to the east of mainland Malaysia.

We spent almost a week snorkling the wonderful reefs but of course did no underwater sketches.

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

We spent a week hiking in the temperate rainforests of the Cameron Highlands. Here is a quiet corner of the village of Tanah Rata.

Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station

Kuala Lumpur, seen from Chinatown towards the old railway station, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

We spent a month backpacking around Singapore and Malaysia. Despite all the excitement, I took the time to do a few sketches…

Here’s one of the wonderfully chaotic architecture of downtoen Kuala Lumpur. That’s Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in the foreground.

Shanghai sketches

Smoggy Shanghai, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

I was in Shanghai for two weeks, working. I managed to do a few sketches.

Great art deco movie theatre

Piece of retro architecture in the bazaars outside the old town. ‘Ye Olde Cathay’ – style

Sketched from the Bund on my first day. The Jetsons-looking tower is the Pearl of the Orient Radio Tower.

Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea

 

Luminous fogbank sliding in from the sea, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

In the spring when the sea melts, we sometimes see very bright fog clouds.
This one rolled in very fast, stayed for a few minutes then retreated.

Seen from my office window in Espoo, looking over the bay towards Helsinki.

Snow-capped mystery car

Snow-capped mystery car, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

The mystery about this car is not its model or why would somebody let this much snow accumulate on their vehicle.

What’s mysterious is that it seems to have been driving around without disturbing the snow bank on top of it. The street under it has been cleared of snow and it has even left fresh tire tracks.

The solution is of course that the city has moved the car before the snow ploughs came, and has then returned it to its parking spot. Probably that also explains the mysterious markings on the snow…

Leppävaara train station -20C

 

Leppävaara train station -20C, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

It’s been exceptionally cold here in Helsinki this winter. I drew this from the safety of a warm train.

 

Drawn from my office window. Downtown Helsinki can be seen in the distance, over the frozen sea.

 

Snow and more snow

Snow and more snow, originally uploaded by Brin d’Acier.

It’s the second exceptionally cold and snowy winter in a row in Helsinki. There’s actually more snow here than in Lapland.

With temperatures below zero since November, the only sketching I’ve been doing is from my window.