A lil Sketchbook of China

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I have decided to make a collection of sketches done from things I find here in China, I may  develop some of these into more complete illustrations later but in meantime this will be a nice way to document the trip and give me some much needed milage with my sketchwork.

Real KungFu

There is a huge amount of construction going on everywhere we go, the shops stay open under these overhangs made of steel pipe and bamboo thatch. This restaurant is called Real Kung Fu with a pretty obvious theme of Bruce Lee. They sell a healthy version of what we are calling Chinese fast food, everything is steamed, not too bad…

Restaurant

I saw this little place nestled under a giant skyscraper in FuTian,  ” Have a fish “…

Covered Market

Another covered market. you can get your lunch, dried fish, religious paraphernalia and assorted plumbing supplies all at the same time.

Another Covered Market

A little further down the way, Covered market is not really an accurate description, these spaces are normaly open to the air but due to construction they have been shieled with this latice.I actually like it more this way…

Armored Car

Have seen this a few times now, these small armored vans pull up to the banks and bring in loads of RMB. Something you notice quite early on here is the use of cash money over credit or cheques. The chinese deal in hard currency so its not uncommon to see large amounts being exchanged.

News Stand

Another very common scene, small stands newspapers, magazines and assorted odds and ends. The Chinese are extremely fond of the written word, you see people reading everywhere on the street, the bus, the trains I suppose with so many people around its a way to escape the crowd for a bit and have some personal time.

Well thats it for now, I am pretty happy with these sketches so far, its good exercise for my hand eye co ordination. I am hoping in the coming weeks I can find a place nearby to do some sketches by hand maybe in a park, as it is here in LianTang there is no place where I can sit and feel comfortable just drawing. Maybe I will try out the I pad to see if it fits the bill 🙂