Showing posts with label photo journal. Photoshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photo journal. Photoshop. Show all posts

Saturday, February 04, 2012

about my daily life / 日常二三事


常常坐在小房間裡看著很多小角落,越看越有感覺就不禁想要隨手畫下來,這是我冬季的門後風景。

Often when I sit in my little room, I will gaze at the unremarkable corners. The more I look at them, the more I feel they want to say something. Then I can't help doing sketches of them. This is the scenery behind my door in winter. 


今天我訂的浴室三兄弟都到齊了,因為英國版的包裝和台灣買到的不一樣,為了研究視覺效果和字體,我為它們畫了一張團體照‧‧‧左邊兩瓶是新嚐試,我買了專屬不快樂髮質的洗髮精,這用來形容我的頭髮真是生動啊!

Today I got everything I needed for my bathroom time. For the Summer's Eve bottle, the design of the English version is different from that I bought in Taiwan. For this reason, I decided to do a group portrait of the three. The two bottles on the left are completely new for me. I bought the shampoo for "unhappy" hair. Well, I think it's exactly the word to  describe my dry and lifeless hair! 

Thursday, February 02, 2012

the longest distance / 最遠的距離


今天去郵局寄生日禮物給卡洛,行員說:是哪個國家啊?巴拿馬?巴拉圭?我說:帛琉,他回答:沒有這個國家,我說:這個地方雖然小,但是真的存在。他堅持沒有在電腦名單上的國家是寄不到的,怎麼會這樣呢?在我的想像裡不就往那個地方送去就好了嗎?

Today I went to the post office to mail Carol's birthday gift. The clerk asked, "Which country? Panama? Paraguay?" I said, "Palau." He replied, "There is no such country." I answered, "Though it is small, it does exist." He insisted that there is no postal service to countries not listed on the computer. I totally didn't get why it was so because in my imagination, you just send the mail there. What's the problem? 

後來我想出了一個法子,先寄回去台灣再請蔡女士幫我寄去帛琉,行員也覺得這是個好方法。

Later I  figured out a solution. I decided to mail the package back to Taiwan for Mom to send it to Palau from there for me. The clerk agreed that this is a great idea. 

在了不起的英國也有寄不到的信件,而世界上最遙遠的距離就是當你把禮物都準備好了,卻沒有寄到目的地的方法‧‧‧

In the invincible UK, there is mail that can't reach the addressees. And the longest distance in the world is that when you have prepared the gift, you don't know how to send it to the friend whom it is meant for...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sight of the Middle East / 中東味

今天本來是要去西敏寺,但是搭公車的途中又經過很有中東味的地區─Burwood Place,我忍不住提早下車仔細看看。

I had meant to go to Westminster Abbey today, but on my way there, I passed by Burwood Place, which is a very Arabian area. I couldn't help getting off the bus earlier than planned for a closer look.














所有招牌一定都附上阿拉伯文,如果不說這是倫敦,大家一定會猜中東城市吧!

There are Arabian translations on all bulletin boards. If you are not told this is London, you will have the impression of being in a city in the Middle East. 


這兩天氣溫驟降,傳說中最冷的時刻應該是要來了,還好我在Waitrose超市裡的咖啡座找到速寫的好位置,可以免受棟之苦。

There has been a sudden drop in temperatures these two days. I guess the coldest moment is about to come. Fortunately I found a really good spot in the cafe of Waitrose so that I wouldn't be frozen to death drawing out in the open air. 


不喜歡壓頂的建築物,就換成幾朵白雲,這樣看起來多清爽啊!

I don't like the overbearing buildings, so I replaced them with some white clouds. How clean it looks in this way! 


上了色怎麼好像美國某個市郊‧‧‧

After I colored part of the image, it looks like a certain suburban area in the States. 




這些書寫實在太有味道了!

These characters are so idiosyncratic...


這明明是一間華人開的店,賣藝品兼中藥。

This is obviously a shop run by Chinese, selling antiques, artworks, and Chinese herbal medicine. 


也要附上阿拉伯文!這就是得瑞克說的,各區融合不同的文化特色。

Still, you can see the Arabian translation. This is exactly what Derek said, different cultures are mixed together in every part of the city. 


只花了半小時的公車路程,卻像是去了中東一趟。

The bus ride took only half an hour, but it was as if I had taken a trip to the Middle East. 




回家時海德公園紅通通的太陽和我打招呼!

On my way home I was greeted by the all-red sun in Hyde Park!

Friday, January 20, 2012

about loneliness 3 / 關於寂寞 3


在坎貝爾到處可見兩種店─理髮店和炸雞店,雖然也有肯德雞和麥當勞,但這些中東人開的炸雞店採低價策略,一餐不到三磅就可以解決。走在路上看見放學的孩子手拿一包炸雞或薯條,就很像我們吃鹽酥雞。

In Camberwell you can find as many barbershops as fried chicken shops. There are also Kentucky and McDonald's, but these fried chicken shops run by immigrants from the Middle East go for the market strategy of low prices. A meal is available at the price of lower than 3 pounds. I often see kids holding a pack of fried chicken or chips to satisfy their hunger after school. It's the same as what we do with bang bang chicken in Taiwan. 


我選了「雞籠」,不知是我的投射,這家店像海明威寫的,燈光明亮卻好寂寞。

I chose Chicken Coop today. I don't know if it was the projection of my state of mind, but like Hemingway wrote, this shop was clean and well-lighted but so lonely. 

我是一個很少感到寂寞的人,不過最近的我似乎快把我這輩子寂寞的總量用光了。放心,我不會做傻事,只會把這難得的情緒畫下來‧‧‧

I am not someone who easily feels lonely, but lately I have had the feeling that I am going to use up my quota of loneliness in this life. No worries. I won't do silly things. I do think this is good for my drawings though...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

me and ME / 我和我

從上個星期我開始有睡眠問題,月經也兩個月沒來了,這兩週快要和窗外的年輕人對峙。好像在畫外面的世界之前我得先檢視內心的世界。

Since last week I have had sleep problems. The period hasn't come for two months. I am about to start a fight with the young people that always gather outside my windows. It looks like before drawing the outer world I have to look inside first.

和小蕙談過之後,我發現我當學生和工作的人格真的很不同,現在我又回到那個很孤獨的學生身份,儘管我不想,我已經被訓練成要很有戰鬥力,而為了競爭,通常在班上我是沒有很多朋友的,我想該是大人的我和我心裡從小孤單的我和解的時候了。

After having talked with Hui, I realize that my personalities of being a student and a teacher are extremely different. Now I am back into the role of the lonely student. I was trained to be very competitive, which has become such an inveterate part of me. And that means I have to give up being friends with my classmates. Maybe it's time for the adult me to be reconciled with the childhood me now.












Thursday, January 12, 2012

Mingling / 融合

今早一看到娜娜的留言說每天都要先看我的網誌,我便感受到水果日報記者的熱血和壓力,今天的行程要和我的組員一起聽雷鬼樂構思,我其實沒有空檔可以速寫。

This morning when I read Nana's message on my blog saying that she has to read my blog first every day, I felt the passion churning in my stomach, which I assume that most tabloid journalists understand, and meanwhile, pressure. Today I was going to spend a part of the day listening to reggae music with my team members and brainstorming. I didn't have much time for doing a sketch.

我的組員面貌上都是亞洲人,有日本妹妹小桃,英籍香港裔男孩雷蒙和香港妹妹婕蔓,大家都是很低調的樣子,所以我和他們說:選感動你們的歌,帶著熱情做這份功課。很難在他們面前表現我燃燒的內心,我是多麼壓抑啊!

My team members are mostly Asian, with Momo from Japan, Raymond the British Chinese, and Germaine from Hong Kong. Everyone looks low-key, so I told them, "Choose tracks that you feel a passion for, and do the assignment with passion." It was hard to show them my burning heart. I had so much difficulty repressing myself!

我不知道別人的經驗如何,這個角色的工作對我來說應該是很熟悉的,但不知道是換了領域和國家,我有新手的緊張,不過我一邊告訴自己,不懂才能學習。

I don't know what it's like for others, but for me this role as a leader should be familiar. However, with a different field and country, I felt the nervousness of a rookie. Still, I keep reminding myself that only when I don't understand do I learn.


和組員們又去了黑膠唱片行,買了可能是這輩子唯一一張黑膠唱片。

I went to the CD store again with my team members and bought the only vinyl I might buy in my life.


背面有個大驚喜。

A big surprise on the back. 


誰說是帥哥呢?是美麗的筆跡!

Who said that's a handsome guy? It's the beautiful handwriting! 


之後大家趕緊解散回家各自做功課,可是難道我今天就不速寫了嗎?我點子王的稱號不是假的,中午去聽演講的路上我經過數家黑人理髮店,我一直想畫,於是在腦中想了個說法,挑了最大型的一家走進去:

我:你好,我是坎貝爾的學生,我有個功課,要挑一家這街上最有趣的店速寫,我覺得你們的店很棒,我可以坐在角落畫畫嗎?
理髮師一號:是功課嗎?(有點敵意)要多久?
我:一個小時,我會讓我自己隱形,不用擔心。
理髮師一號:老闆不在耶,不過好吧!
待我坐下‧‧‧
理髮店友人一號:要付十磅喔!
我:不是免費嗎?
友人一號:這裡有暖氣,還可以坐下來,當然要付錢!
我:那好吧,我再想想看!
我作勢離開。
友人一號:和你開玩笑的啦!

總之我就開始很愉快地畫圖。

Then everyone went on their way home to prepare the thumbnails and reference materials, but shall I go through today without doing any sketch? I am not called Idea Queen for no reason. In fact, on my way to the practitioner's talk this noon, I passed by several black barbershops on the road, which I'd wanted to draw for a long time. I thought of a perfect excuse and walked in.

Me: Hello, I am a student from Camberwell School of Arts. I have a project, which is to pick the most interesting shop to draw on this road. I am really interested in your barbershop. Is it ok for me to sit in the corner and do a sketch?
Barber No.1: Is it a school project? (He was a little bit hostile.) How long will it take?
Me: One hour. I'll make myself as invisible as possible. No worries.
Barber No. 1: The owner is not around, but ok...
I sat down to take out my sketchbook.
Visitor 1: Well, you have to pay 10 pounds.
Me: Isn't it free?
Visitor 1: There are heaters and you can sit down. Of course you have to pay.
Me: OK, I'll think about it then.
I rose to go.
Visitor 1: I am just kidding...

I thus began drawing happily.

邊畫有人邊湊過來看,但是我想他們都不是很滿意,因為理髮師動來動去的有點難畫,理髮師二號還問我他是不是得保持不動,我說沒關係,之後老闆回來了,沒有對於一個東方女生坐在全是黑人男性店裡大驚小怪。

While I was sketching, people kept coming to take a look, but I figured they weren't satisfied because the barbers moved around, which was not easy to draw. Barber No. 2 even offered to stay still. I said it was alright. Then the owner came back, and I really thanked him for not making a fuss over an Asian woman sitting in an all-black-men barbershop.

接下來的就妙了,他們開始用一種呱呱的非洲方言交談,我很想問,但又不敢太放肆,不過整個氛圍真的是很特別的人生體驗,就像在酒吧裡看到白人最真實的樣子,在黑人理髮廳裡,有一些人是把這個場合當家的。

What happened next was quite amazing. They started to converse in a quacking dialect. I'd like to know what it was, but I didn't want to appear audacious. But it was a rather special life experience. Just as you get to see what the white people are like in pubs, some black people take barbershops as their home.


在一陣人潮來來去去之間,我聽到有人說「畫畫」這兩個字,我沒有抬頭看是何方神聖,不過後來我在畫圖最左的黑人先生,啊,原來是個中國人來賣色情光碟,為了忠實呈現,我也把這個畫進去了。成交之後,中國先生湊過來說:真不錯,中國人吧!這已經是我在五天之內第三次被這樣問,而我的官方回答是:我講中文,但我不是中國人。根據詹姆斯的理論,從對方接下來的回答可以猜出他的年紀喔!果然這位四十多歲的先生接著說:啊,台灣就是中國啦!我繼續畫著,平和但堅定地說:台灣是台灣。他應該感受到我很難搞,摸摸鼻子就走了。

With people coming and going, I heard the word "drawing" in mandarin. I didn't raise my head to see who that was, but while I was drawing the man on the left side looking at something in his hands, it was a Chinese selling porn CDs. To be faithful to the scene, I drew it too. After the deal was made, the Chinese guy approached me saying, "Nice, very precise! (which is not in reality...) Chinese right?" This was already the third time I was taken as Chinese within five days. My official reply was: I speak Mandarin, but I am not Chinese. According to James, you can tell the age of a person based on the words he is going to say. He went on to say, "Ah, Taiwan is China!" I kept drawing without looking at him, but I said in a peaceful but firm tone, "Taiwan is Taiwan." He felt the hardness in my words, so he left asap. 

我有個很大的疑問,明明很多顧客走進來的頭髮很短,看起來並不需要剪,但是這些人還是很注重外表,還會順便修鬍子。

I was puzzled because when a lot of clients walk in, they had really cleanly-cut hair, which doesn't require trimming. However, they pay much attention to their appearance, and apart from hair, they also have their mustaches, beards and sideburns trimmed. 

畫完已經天黑了,明天白天時再去補拍一張蓋比理髮廳的照片!這家店理髮師有橘色制服,理髮椅也是橘色的,老闆很大手筆喔!

When I was done, the sky had turned dark. I'll get a photo of Gabby's tomorrow in the day time. The barbers have orange uniforms and the chairs are orange as well! I can tell that the owner is quite an entrepreneur!

回家時撞見宿舍裡自認為最老的達洛,也是個英文老師來著,我們聊了很多事情,最後他說:再一個月左右你就會感受到最冷的冬季時刻,也許會下雪。我還以為冬天就要結束了,最近不時聽到清脆的鳥叫聲,連半夜三點都聽得到,美好地令人有些不安。

On my way home, I ran into Daryl, who thinks of himself as the oldest in Brooke Hall. He was also an English teacher. We talked about many things, and in the end he said, "In one month, you'll feel the coldest winter. Maybe it'll snow." I thought winter is about to end. Lately I've been hearing really melodious birds' chirping, even at 3 am. It's too beautiful to be true. 

那麼那時我要在雪裡畫畫‧‧‧

Then I'll draw in the snow...


補上蓋比理髮店的照片!

Here is the photo of Gabby's...

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Last day in London / 倫敦,最後一天

人喜歡倒數不是沒有原因的,這樣會有種豁出去的快感。我在想如果我把每天都當做在倫敦的最後一天,眼光可能會不同。

There are reasons why we love to count down because in doing that we feel the sensation of letting go of everything. I am wondering if my vision will be different if I treat every day in London as my last day here.


一早起床先來讀個衛報,想不到居然找到2012年布魯塞爾食物嘉年華的消息,有一大特色就是可以在自然歷史博物館裡面對著恐龍化石用餐,昨天小方和阿楷才秀給我看恐龍書呢!要是這兩個傢伙去得了,睡覺都要大笑!沒關係,阿姨是作插畫的好處就是我可以把他們所有夢想畫出來。

The first thing I did in the morning was reading the Guardian. I came across the news on the 2012 food festival in Brussels. One of the features is that the dinosaur gallery in the Natural History Museum will be transformed into a venue of five senses. It occurred to me that Von and Kai had shown to me pictures of dinosaurs the day before. If they could go and dine there, they wouldn't stop laughing while sleeping. Well, it doesn't matter that they can't because the beauty of having an illustrator aunt is that I can draw all their dreams. 



再來給友人回回信。

Next I wrote back to a very dear friend. 


我就要離開坎貝爾了,居然一張速寫都沒畫,趕快趁著大晴天衝去老師們最愛去的酒吧「隱居者之洞」。

I was about to leave Camberwell, but I didn't even do any sketch of this part of the city. I hurried to the tutors' favorite pub "Hermits Cave" on a sunny day. 


其實英國也挺美的,速寫會讓人學著喜歡一個地方。回家路上遇到印度小弟維拉吉,他翻了我的速寫本說很喜歡,我開心地走回家。

Well, the UK is actually quite beautiful. Sketching makes me learn to like a place. On my way home I ran into Viraj, my young Indian hall mate. He thumbed through my sketchbook saying he likes it. I thus walked home with joy. 


一邊走著我一邊想大家是如何羨慕我,而我得用力地記住這些畫面。

As I strolled along, I thought how much others envy me and tried to remember these images by heart. 




即使這不是最後一天,好像怎麼努力也都還不夠‧‧‧

Even though this is not the last day, any amount of effort doesn't suffice...