graphite

  • Art & Places,  Family travel,  graphite,  Kuala Lumpur,  moleskine,  sculpture,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

    Art & Places: Tugu Negara, KL

    January 26, 2013 /

    Went to Tugu Negara as per suggestion of UnsungHero (UH). Thank you so much for the idea, if not for you, UH, I will be taking my own sweet time to go. Frankly, I have never visit the National Monument simply because it’s here at home.

    I spent the morning to walk around the area with my son, Yassin, before sitting down to sketch the monument.

    Tugu Negara
    Yassin was actually lying on his stomach to be in his comfortable position to draw. Haha.

    tugunegara
    Tugu Negara (National Monument) sketch. I made one round before finding a good angle to draw. Save me the time to draw all 7 statues! Pencil and colorpencil on Moleskine Plain Notebook. 

    The sculpture depicts a group of soldiers, with two slumped at the base and one holding the Malaysian national flag aloft. Each of the bronze figures symbolizes leadership, suffering, unity, vigilance, strength, courage and sacrifice. The granite base of the sculpture bears the old coat of arms of Malaysia, flanked on either side by inscriptions in English in Latin script and Malay in Jawi script: ‘Dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom, May the blessing of Allah be upon them.’

    The monument was designed by sculptor, Felix De Weldon who was also responsible for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia, United States. Completed early 1966, the sculpture stands at 15 meters (49.21 feet) tall and is the world’s tallest bronze free-standing sculpture grouping.

    Yassin at Tugu Negara Malaysia, KL

    And here’s Yassin’s drawing:

    yassin's-drawing-of-tugu
    Yassin said the monument is too hard to draw (left) so he later a soldier with gun (right).

    Reference: Wikipedia – National Monument (Malaysia)

     

     

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  • Art & Places,  Frankfurt,  Germany,  graphite,  moleskine,  prismacolor,  sculpture,  Travel illo,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

    Art & Places: Statue of Minerva, Romerberg, Frankfurt

    January 24, 2013 /

    Here is a statue of Minerva situated in front of timbered houses at Romerberg, Frankfurt.

    minerva
    Pencil and color-pencil on Moleskine plain notebook.

    Minerva  was an ancient Roman goddess of wisdom and reason, of warfare for a good cause, protector of handicrafts, arts, schools and sciences. She was the daughter of Jupiter, the king of the gods.

    Minerva was built from red sandstone by sculptor Friedrich Schierholz  in 1893/94. It was half destroyed in 1944 during the WW2 and again in 1951 by the Romans. Later in 1983, sculptor Fritz Klimsch sculpted an exact copy of the statue. Minerva wears a lion head’s helmet with a crest decorated with a head of a woman (not sure what this means) and feathers.

    She holds a spear on her left hand while the head of Medusa on her right. She is wearing a toga protected with an Aegis, a shield or buckler, on her body. She stands on a column decorated with floral ornaments.

    minerva-photo

    Reference:

    Kunst Im Offenlichen – Minerva Fountain

     

     

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  • Art & Places,  Frankfurt,  Germany,  graphite,  moleskine,  prismacolor,  sculpture,  Travel illo,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

    Art & Places: Statue of Justice, Romerberg, Frankfurt

    January 24, 2013 /

    The statue of the goddess Justitia that graces the Fountain of Justice (Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen) stands proudly at the heart of the Romerberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

    justitia
    Pencil and color-pencil on Moleskine Plain Notebook.

    Previously, in 1610, the sculptor Johann Hocheisen created the fountain and the figure from red sandstone but after the war, Justitia had lost half of her arm (not sure left or right) and the scales went missing. Later in 1887, she was rebuilt in bronze by F. R. Schierholz, funded by a Frankfurt wine merchant.

    Justitia, the Roman goddess of Justice, is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Justitia is depicted with a set of scales suspended from her right hand, upon which she measures the strengths of a case’s support and opposition. Mature, pretty and draped in flowing robes, she is also carrying a sword in her left hand, symbolizing the power of Reason and Justice, which may be wielded either for or against any party.

    The statue is adorned with 4 water nymphs on the corners of its pedestal as symbol of fertility.

    fountain-of-justice

    Reference:
    Wikipedia.org – Lady Justice
    Fountain of Justice
    Historical Frankfurt – Fountain of Justice

     

     

     

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  • graphite,  moleskine,  Penang,  Travel illo

    Art & Places: Pinang Fountain, Georgetown

    January 8, 2013 /

    At the King Edward’s Place roundabout, there is a sculpture of areca-nut palm (or commonly known as betelnut) standing proudly to greet visitors with it’s unique modern look contrary with the historical Jubilee Clock Tower.

    Pinang Fountain
    Pencil on Moleskine. Coloring was done digitally.

    Standing at 4.8 meters in height, the metal sculpture serves as a fountain where a spray of water comes up from inside the sculpture. Named as Pinang Fountain, the sculpture was erected to commemorate Pulau Pinang which translates ‘the Island of Areca-nut Palm’. History has it that when Portuguese traders discovered Pulau Pinang (which was a small uninhabited island back in the 16th century) they named it “Pulo Pinaom” as there were abundance of Arecanut Palm trees found around the island.

     

    Reference:
    http://www.penang-traveltips.com/pinang-fountain.htm
    http://www.visitpenang.gov.my/portal3/about-penang/history.html

     

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