The Reserved Seat : For the past 2 years, Lester Lee has been sketching the faces of passengers who sit directly opposite him on the train, simply as a personal record of those who journey with him…

OIC: what inspired u and when did u start?
Lester: Frankly, I wasn’t particularly inspired to draw on the train.
One day in the late 2008 when i was on the train home, i attempted to draw the guy opposite me on the reserved seat. And it turns out to bad first sketch. That bugs me a little, so i gave it another try the next time i took the train. So, that’s how it started
OIC: any tips for beginners?
Tips for beginners: Start drawing and keep drawing.
OIC: what do u do when the subject noticed they are being drawn?
Elaborate a funny or embarrassing incident, share some best moments – did u get any pretty girls contact via train stalking?
Lester: Till this point of time, i would wish to think that the subjects do not know they are being drawn. Because personally, i don’t feel at ease having a stranger staring at me, not to mention doing a portrait. Ideally, i feel most comfortable drawing when the subject is unplugged from their environment. I enjoying drawing the old folks a lot, because from my experience, most of them have very low awareness. Best if the passengers are having a nap.
One of the embarrassing incident i remember vividly was this standing foreign looking passenger who noticed what i was doing. He got very excited and lean towards me to have a clearer view of the drawing. Then look at the subject, back to my drawing and then subject again in a very amused manner which made it so obvious to the latter.
The best moments for me is to have a unique subject that has their personality spelled out on their appearance. There was once i got a thumbs up by an old man beside me. Another time a passenger asked me to show it to the girl i drew. Of course i did not(because it was a bad sketch).
OIC: Share some stakeout or stealth techniques
Lester:I usually take the reserved seat to minimise my exposure to passengers. Lastly, when there’s eye contact between the subject and me, its my mediacorp acting skills to conceal the drawing intent.




http://reservedseat.tumblr.com/
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/reservedseat
http://www.rolesta.com