Architect's black-white approach draws praise

Mr Cliff Tan, who is based in London, shaded the colouring contest illustrations with only a black lead pencil.
Mr Cliff Tan, who is based in London, shaded the colouring contest illustrations with only a black lead pencil. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CLIFF TAN

Architect Cliff Tan would get a daily nudge from his mother, 69, to take part in The Straits Times #STayhome #STaysafe Colouring Challenge.

She would send the 32-year-old, who has lived in London for nine years, photographs of the contest details.

"Every day, she would take a picture of the Life page and send it to me on WhatsApp, hinting that I should join," he told The Sunday Times on Friday over the phone.

After three days, he relented.

"She felt that I was very creative and it would be a pity if I did not participate in it," he added.

A year ago, Mr Tan had redesigned the Singapore MRT map, producing a cleaner and more rounded depiction of the train lines. His Facebook post of the revamped map went viral and was praised by the Land Transport Authority.

But the colouring contest was not without its challenges, said Mr Tan, who was one of the winners.

London was in lockdown mode because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and he did not have any colour pencils, crayons or paint. Unfazed, he used a black lead pencil.

"Colour is about light, and by shading them (the illustrations), I bring them to life in black and white. It was much harder than I thought, as I had to imagine where the light was coming from in order to do the shading," he said.

"For instance, Chew's illustration was difficult as it was a comic, and comics have very few shadows. I decided to play up the humour of the strip by making the evil characters look like ghosts with light shining up from below them," he said, referring to Straits Times artist Lee Chee Chew.

One of the judges, Mr Celestino Gulapa, who also did some of the contest illustrations, said: "It was a bold piece of work, using black and white in a colouring contest, and thought-provoking with the amount of details included. Also, the work was very consistent throughout his seven pieces."

Because of the years away from home, "the drawing experience really moved me", Mr Tan said.

"It reminded me so much of home, which I miss.

"Those little things, the chye sim in Celestino Gulapa's drawing, the lady wearing a tudung in Chew's piece, even the two-part green dustbins in Lee Yu Hui's illustration!

"It was thoroughly enjoyable, and has made me realise I am a creative person and should do more artwork."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on May 03, 2020, with the headline Architect's black-white approach draws praise. Subscribe