Beijing Sketching School Discovers Giant Bird Nest, etc.

Today we did a self tour of the modern architecture of Beijing.  We began by touring the Olympic grounds and we went inside the Water Cube and Bird's Nest.  We forgot to bring our bathing suits to the Water Cube but we are hoping to get a swim in before we leave.  A few students enjoyed a Segway ride at the Bird's Nest and we also did some sketching.  We were able to see the outside of the CCTV Building which recently finished completion and enjoy a great lunch at the Kro's Nest Pizzeria.  After lunch we toured the Urban Planning of Beijing Building and saw multiple city models and plans.  It was interesting to see Beijing of the past, present, and possible future.  We finished our modern architecture tour with a stop at the National Centre for Performing Arts, also known as The Egg.  We are taking a nice break and will end our evening with some dinner and a view of the nightlife on Lotus Lane.

Today we spent the morning at the Old Summer Palace.  It has ruins of old structures that used to standing.  Instead of the asian style of architecture we have been sketching, these ruins are of European styles.  There were also a series of bridges and ponds which we also sketched.  We followed sketching with lunch.  Lili and Blake call it "a little piece of America" because it contains many fast food chains from America.  We ended the day with studio time and a family dinner at the restaurant down the street.  Our time here in Beijing is nearing to an end and none of us want to go home.

More from the Beijing Sketching School..........

Yesterday we spent the day in the art district.  This area used to be a series of factories and now the art scene uses the spaces to create, display, and sell work.  We began experimenting with fountain pens and water pens along with our usual pencils and markers.  After two hours of sketching, we walked the streets looking in different galleries and shops.  These places contained works from all over the world but most of the work was from Asia.

After our tour of the art district we were given some art demonstrations by two famous Chinese artists, Yánzhījiāng and Zhao Ben Fang.  Yánzhījiāng is a calligraphy artists who specializes in all different styles of writing and Zhao Ben Fang specializes in flowers and animals.  It was great to see these artists write and paint in front of us because we were able to see their process and technique.  After the demonstrations we were able to try our the writing and painting for ourselves.  Check back for the blog on the Forbidden City!

Special Offer! - Enroll in Beijing Sketching School - Receive Free Camelid!

After an hour of driving we made it to the Great Wall of China.  It was a beautiful drive as the city transformed from skyscrapers to mountains.  We took a shorter route along the mountain to get away from some of the tourists.  It took us all about 20 minutes to climb to the top.  Some of the hike was decently flat but a majority of it was either straight up or straight down.  We spent a great deal of time drawing the wall and surrounding scenery.  We all left with sunburn but the sketches look great.  We were all very tired and took a power nap and then did our daily critique.  For dinner we went to the Red Star, a dinner and show restaurant based on the Communists Revolution.  It was really interesting to see all the photos and paintings on the walls.  The acts put on by the waiters and waitresses were also very entertain

ing.  Check back soon for our visit to the art district!  

Sketching School - Beijing Edition

It was much cooler out today then any of the other days we have been here, which  very nice.  Lili says it is always cool the day after a night of rain.  We began our day with a drive to the city center to Jingshan Park.  This park has a few pavilions and overlooks the Forbidden City.  We scattered ourselves around the area and began sketching.  I (Amanda Larner) met a wonderful boy named Thomas.  Even though we couldn't speak to each other he was very intrigued in what we were doing.  I gave him a pencil and paper and he began to draw with us.  He drew the entrance to the Forbidden City and did a wonderful job.  All of us were very inspired by this 6 year old boy who never took an art class before.  Our next stop was lunch on Lotus Lane.  
We split up into two smaller groups and both enjoyed great meals.  We then made our way around Lotus Lane and some of us ventured into some shops while others found a park and were playing ping pong with local residents.  We then made our way back to the house and did a critique of the days work and then had a quick lecture by our host and Norwich alumni, Blake Civiello.  He showed us the drawings used to build the home we were staying in and also told us about his time at Norwich.  We then discussed what it was like in the professional world of architecture.  We ended our day early to catch up on sleep...make sure to check back tomorrow for a visit to the Great Wall of China!