Drawing is an integral part of me, my parents are both professional artists who use all kinds of media (particularly water colour, acrylic, colour pencil and oils), so for the longest time when I was young I thought that everyone was able to draw and loved it as much as we do. We live in a beautiful estate in Singapore (or rather, they do, and I'm there when back on holiday) with rolling hills and colonial houses, and our apartment doubles as a kind of gallery for our work- it's all light and air and the walls are covered in amazing, beautiful, fine art. People just love it- everyone describes it as an oasis and raves about the art.

My parents love getting visitors so this is a plug for them- if you're in S'pore and want to see/buy some great pictures in a gorgeous setting, call and arrange a visit! Their site is inspri-artprints.com

Back to me now..To understand the structure of a building, or the atmosphere and culture of a city, I really need to draw it! If I've been practising hard enough, visual imagery flows efficiently through my system- it doesn't take long to look at something, before I grasp the spatial relationships (angles, shading, the weight distribution of objects, their positions) intuitively and can represent them on paper with almost a minimum of conscious processing.

Many of the sketches uploaded here were done very quickly, within minutes. The more elaborate ones can take over 3 or 4 hours (it always feels like far less)- depending mostly on time and weather. A lot of my drawings from China, for instance, were done in the freezing cold, when my tolerance levels for frigidity were still relatively high. After I moved to the UK, my thresholds plunged, which is why a lot of my 'UK' pictures are just copies of other people's art, which I did while standing indoors in galleries.

I usually draw standing up- it makes me go faster and I feel more dynamic. I also always draw on site, not from photos. Passersby often sneak a peek, especially at tourist sites thronging with appreciative visitors, or in places with warm, inquisitive people. Somehow people tend to lose their inhibitions when they're out sightseeing, on vacation. It's great to get instant feedback (nearly all of it positive) and have people to talk to, despite being rooted to the spot. Thanks everyone, I love talking to you all so keep it up! A caveat- when I'm 'warming up' (typically with the first scene of the day), that's when I can't bear to have anyone around watching. Thereafter, it's fine.

I adore buildings, partly because they stay still, but mostly due to the abundance of precisely interconnected lines and shapes. They force me to improve on accuracy. If anything goes out of proportion or looks wobbly, the eye detects it immediately.

After a trip, I often dig up photos of the buildings on the internet, taken from very similar angles to those in my drawings. Some attractive and relevant shots are listed under 'Related Links.'

Lastly, if you like my pictures and/or have critical feedback...email me! scintillatingxing at gmail dot com. (If your opinions are on the positive side then you're a possible candidate for my mutual admiration society and should definitely get in touch.)