The first thing that strikes me about Tia Boon Sim is her infectious smile. I love her zest for life even at the age of 58. I meet this cheerful lady in Singapore, one afternoon where she tells me what keeps her happy.
Tia is the founder of the Singapore chapter of Urban Sketchers, a non-profit organization based in Seattle (Oregon), that supports a global community of sketchers.
The Singapore chapter (founded a few years ago), incidentally, is one of the most active groups in the region, with sketch artists meeting once a month. The group started out with roughly four people a few years ago, and now attracts close to 50 people each month. The venue, each month is chosen by the group through a unanimous vote. In the past, artists have chosen some wonderful locations to sketch: from Kinokuniya bookstore to Dunlop Street in Little India.
Tia is really talented. You can tell by the confidence she exudes in her artwork. Prior to our meeting, she sits by the Singapore River in Robertson Quay and does a wonderful sketch. It is hard to believe that she completed the entire piece in ink and watercolour, in less than an hour. See below:
She shows me the upturned nib she uses to draw. “The upturned nib allows me to control the lines, she says. “So I can have it thick or thin,” she says.
The passion to lead the Singapore group was driven by her love for sketching. She would often sketch at Club Street in Singapore, while waiting to pick up her youngest son from school, way back in 2007. So, creating this group seemed obvious, and allowed her to bring together fellow sketch artists like her.
She also had the opportunity to travel to different symposiums organized by Urban Sketchers. Last year she visited Barcelona, and one time she had the opportunity to visit Brazil. The Urban Sketchers group sometimes sell their work. One time they had an exhibition at a gallery in Tiong Bahru, Singapore, where all the works were sold out.
While keeping her passion alive, Tia also pursues a full time job at Temasek Polytechnic. She is currently Artist-in-residence with Centre for TransCultural Studies with this educational institution, where she previously taught Interior Design and Environmental Design.
To check out some of her work, see http://tiastudio.blogspot.sg
{Photos by My Red Palette}
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