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Originally Posted by Anthony Emmolo
You probably remember the old men in the parks and the streets of Taipei and Mainland China playing cards and Chinese chess. They've always been my favorite subjects. There is a playful quality to them, particularly the men of the mainland who roll their tee shirts up to their chests and their pant legs up to this knees on a hot summer day.
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Yes, I saw them. I was lucky to get some snapshots, like the ones below, much less sketches. In that culture, information-gatherers understandably cause a certain amount of discomfort. I was probably permitted photos like these (in Beijing) only out of pre-Olympics tolerance of yet another intrusive tourist. Wouldn't these kinds of scenes have been great to have captured in a sketchbook? Maybe a slight watercolor wash to suggest the ubiquitous blue Maoist dress that the older Beijing population still sports.
Anyway, I have to mention that the guy who really gave me the "sketch bug" is the British artist (and host of many BBC instructional television series) Alwyn Crawshaw. (I happened to see those programs when I was living in Sydney. I don't know that they've been shown in the U.S.) Watching him set up at a horse farm and sketch animals that wouldn't hold a position for more than a few minutes at most was inspiring. And they were very good drawings, no lines wasted. I believe his sketch book is available on Amazon, but I can't check on that right at the moment. "Why not have a go?" he'd always sign off. "It's easier than you think!" He made it look pretty easy -- but that was because he was one who filled sketchbooks.