The Temple of Angkor Wat
Posted: August 18, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 9 CommentsBefore I went to Cambodia I had looked at many Google images of Angkor Wat — the largest of the temples in the Angkor complex, and according to trusty Wikipedia, possibly the largest religious monument in the world. But there are no images that prepare you for the beauty of the place. My gasp was audible. They say you have to witness it at sunrise but the weather was rainy and overcast every morning so I missed that experience. In many ways, though, I think the heavy sky added to the atmosphere of the place. I tried to paint on my first visit but the rain was unrelenting, even in a sheltered spot, so I made my way back there on my last day in Siem Reap, hoping to get in one last sketch from across the moat. It turned out to be a great spot to draw from (I found a few of my sketcher friends there as well) but our outing was cut short by the advances of a particularly agressive monkey nearby (possibly the same one who earlier in the day had grabbed and chugged a full bottle of India Ink from another sketcher in our group). We had to pack up our supplies really quickly to keep the monkey from getting them, but my sketch was done by that time.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
You are genius with water!
LikeLike
It was an easy reflection Jean. The water was really still in the moat.
LikeLike
Oh the water! Marvelous!
LikeLike
Thanks so much.
LikeLike
Are the colors tiny people? This takes my breath away!
LikeLike
Yes, those are all the people going to visit the temple. Very colourful!
LikeLike
Angkor Wat is stunning–I visited a few years ago, and in particular marveled at the sight of tree growth intertwined with the ancient temple buildings. I love your decision here of including muddy reflective foreground and emphasizing the breadth of the scene.
LikeLike
It is stunning. Each of the three temples I visited was stunning in its own way, each of them very different and beautiful for sketching, except for the heat.
LikeLike
[…] Urban Sketching blogs remember the coverage from people like Suhita Shirodkar, Stephanie Bower and Shari Blaukopf. At the symposium I’d been teaching about sketching people at high speed. But […]
LikeLike