PURVEYOR: RAYMOND HO'S SKETCH ART

INTRODUCING RAYMOND HO & HIS SKETCH ART

Hi to all readers. Any of you keen to take up “scenery sketch art” as a hobby? If yes, then let me introduce my pal Raymond Hoh, a sexagenarian (age category 60 – 69).

Raymond was in Yunnan Province , China together with me and 12 other friends for holiday in the third week of March when I incidentally discovered his hidden talent. We had just finished lunch at the restaurant nearby the foothill of Lijiang’s Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. While the rest were relaxing with coffee or chit-chatting, Raymond went out to the balcony and sat there, facing the view of the mountain. I went to him to keep him company and then witnessed that he was inking a sketch of the mountain.

Within a jiff of about 10 minutes, the sketch was nicely pieced up. It was awesome, and I was surprised of his “silent” talent which he harboured to himself without talking about it in the past. Quite reluctantly, he agreed to my suggestion that I give him a bit of publicity in my blog. Here are the contents of my interview with him:

*Question: What is the technical term for this kind of sketch art?

Answer: Not sure……I just call it free hand sketching.

*Question: When did you start this hobby?

Answer: About 40 years ago.

*Question: How did you develop an interest in this art?

Answer: After completing my university education, I went hitch hiking in Europe for a year on a very tight budget. I didn’t have spare money to buy postcards to send home. So, I started to sketch scenery sites that I appreciate on white sheets and mail them as postcards to my family. Later, I turned some into greeting cards to my friends. They seemed to like the “hand-made” cards.

*Question: What utensils/equipment do you use?

Answer: Just a fine felt pen plus an album containing blank thick paper.

*Question: What kind of training is necessary to develop this hobby? Did you take up a course? Who was your trainer, if any?

Answer: I didn’t go through any special training or course except attending the art curriculum in primary and secondary schools.

*Question: Did you peruse any reference materials in order to groom yourself in this hobby?

Answer: No. Whenever I come across any scenery which attracts me, I sketch it down quickly.

*Question: So far, have you ever exhibited your works? If not, why not?

Answer: No. Basically, I treat it as a personal pastime and share with friends only if they appreciate this form of expression.

*Question: If other individuals are keen to get some tips from you, are you willing to share? Can they communicate directly with you via your e-mail address? Are you willing to give tuition?

Answer: Sharing via e-mail is alright for me. I don’t have time to give tuition. (His e-mail: raymondhohty@gmail.com)

*Question: How long do you normally take to do a sketch?

Answer: Normally 5 to 10 minutes. At times, I might fit in the minor details, such as leaves of a tree, later at my leisure, based on my memory of the view.

Want to see Raymond’s sketch of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain? Well, here goes…….

Ray in action………