cambodia sketching trip 2014
Sorting the catch at Chong Kneas Village (Entry #3/37)
Just like the previous entry, this one's also at Chong Kneas Village. The fishermen were sorting out the fresh catch.
Sunrise at Chong Kneas Floating Village (Entry #2/37)
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That was sketched during sunrise at Chong Kneas, the floating & fishing village at Tonle Sap Lake. The village is probably 30 minutes tuk tuk drive away from Siem Reap's town.
When sketching sunrise, preparation is important so that you don't panic when the sun rises. The sky is going to be gradated, so this is not really the time to practice a gradated wash. You either gradate to a light wash, or you gradate from one colour to another. I should have put in a gradated wash but didn't so this sketch does not really look like a sunrise.
The line work is from a Hero pen. Unfortunately, the ink feathers on the Etcetra sketchbook that I'm using, and the ink flow wasn't terrific on that day. This is the only sketch I drew with the Hero pen.
January is in Cambodia's dry season so water level at the lake is low. A portion of the village is on ground, and the other portion floating.
There are two ways to see the village. One's to see it from land, and the other is from water.
To visit the village on land, you need a US$3 ticket. It's sold at a building before you reach the village. That building is beside an open space for buses to park. Toilet's there also. After buying the ticket, ask your driver to drive all the way past the jetty (smaller building) to the village's gate. Show the ticket to the security guard there.
To see the village from water, you just have to book your boat ride at the jetty. We didn't go for that.
The sketch I drew above is at the end of the village. There are lots of activity if you go there for sunrise. Fishermen would be bringing in and sorting out their catch, loading them onto trucks for transporting them elsewhere. The activity would be gone within two hours after the sun rises from the horizon.
The ride in the early morning for the sunrise is going to be cold. Bring a jacket or scarf.
Drawing tools from the Siem Reap sketching trip (Entry #1/37)
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Here's the updated sketch of the packing list that I posted before my Siem Reap, Cambodia trip. It's just updated with labels.
I had forgotten to include the technical pencil but it turned out that I didn't use that during the trip. There wasn't any time to do any drafting before inking. Most of the sketches that you'll see in the next few days are just drawn with ink straightaway.
The Pilot V7 Tec-point was the most used pen. I refilled it before the trip and it was almost empty after drawing 37 spreads on the Grandluxe Etcetra sketchbook (not recommended).
My initial plan was to use the Hero pen but the ink flow is just not good enough. I only made one sketch with it and gave up.
I did not use much of the waterbrush. It's difficult to make flat even washes. I use it only when I have no other brushes. Many artists like it for the convenience.
The watercolours are the same palette used during my Spain trip. Daniel Smith watercolours. I'm really starting to like them, a lot. Maybe the fondness actually comes from the fact that it's easier to wet the tube colours as compared to the pan colours. Mine's a 10 colour palette.
One pen that got a lot of use is the Pentel pocket brush pen. It ran out of ink and I used it like a dip brush. Works great. I also found out after the trip that you can actually refill the disposable cartridge with those small Rotring ink bottles with tapered tips. The trick to refilling is not to put the bottle's whole tip in. I guess you can save a few dollars from buying the brush pen refills.
I like to keep it simple and light when it comes to packing drawing tools for overseas trip.
