Went on a brief weekend getaway to Jakarta and spontaneously organized a sketching workshop. Despite the impromptu nature and lack of advertising, we had an excellent turnout. A special shout-out to my Indo Buckeye friends for their generous help and support—Andre, Dino, James, Donald, Jeff, and Hongy—for making my time in Jakarta memorable.
Three days before my flight to Jakarta, I had a dinner gathering with my Indo Buckeye friends. Dino, in particular, expressed concern about my late-night arrival and insisted on arranging his driver to pick me up at the airport.
I didn't bring much with me and this sketch was completed just with waterbrushes at Changi Airport.
While speed sketching at the boarding gate, a Nigerian struck up a conversation with me. I couldn't help but notice the heightened security measures whenever I fly to Indonesia.
Jakarta is less than an hour away from Singapore and I spent my birthday on the plane.
Arrived at JKT Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. Google translated my message to communicate with Dino's driver. Google worked
I stayed at Liberty Hotel and it was quite near Sudirman train station
James happened to know the owner of Liberty Hotel and they were so nice and allowed me to use their meeting room to conduct my workshop there.
It was an opportunity to put our theories into practical use, resulting in a super fun session. During this time, I had the pleasure of meeting more Buckeyes and connecting with Michelle, who follows me on Instagram and coincidentally attended Otis College of Art, where I also studied.
Demostration time
We all went to Ohio State. I guess, this is tradition :) Thankful for all the support from the Buckeyes. Go Bucks !!!!!
Meeting Hongky, an architect for one of Jakarta's largest developers, was a highlight. With his guidance, we ascended one of the city's tallest buildings. Special thanks to Donald for coordinating our meetup—it's a small world, and our networks interconnect.
In my excitement to paint, I dove into the sketch without much planning, resulting in a somewhat lackluster outcome. Nevertheless, it was a super fun experience.
I randomly walked to the PET fish market and right across there, there was this fancy cafe that has a super nice selection of bread and coffee.. Food was good but pricey.
As it was time for me to depart, I enjoyed a picturesque view from the Sudirman Airport train station. Notably different from regular train stations, it's a sleek, card-only facility—clean, safe, and efficient. A quick 40-minute journey to the airport revealed diverse scenes of Jakarta with no traffic hassles.
It took about 40 minutes to get to the airport. No traffic at all and you get to witness the diverse scenes of JKT.
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. I decided to paint without drawing.
Observing the loving couple in the airport. Its nice.
I particularly relish the moment when my brush pen runs low on ink at just the right time. During this trip, I managed to drag mid-tones with a nearly dried-out brush, adding a unique touch to my sketches.