The details don't make the scene

Before I went on my Perth vacation, I had a private tour of a late nineteenth century house, undergoing restoration. It's called the House of Tan Yeok Nee, which used to be an Anglican Church and also the headquarters for The Salvation Army in Singapore at one time. Prof Yeo Kang Sua, who is involved in the restoration and super passionate about restoration, brought a few of us from the Urban Sketchers Singapore group in to draw it.

The house had lots of intricate details (See the video clip below), so even the thought of drawing a scene from the inside of the house felt daunting. I brought along acrylic paints and my old Moleskine sketchbook with old sketches in them. I painted over an old sketch I didn't like anymore, and this is how it turned out: 

While I can't say it's a great acrylic painting (I don't paint enough to call myself very experienced with acrylic), and it's also a little wonky, I personally think it works and I like it:)

A few things I remember thinking while I was painting:

1. It doesn't have to be an amazing piece. I'm totally ok if it comes out amazing or a mess.

2. I'm just going to have fun and see what comes out of it. I'm here to relax and have fun, after all. 

3. Don't worry about the details (even though there are lots of small details everywhere in the house.) The details don't make the scene. The big shapes of light and dark do. Just capture the big shapes first, then go smaller. Go from big picture to small details. 

4. Just give an impression that there are small ornate details. But don't need to define them.

I do like how all those textures came out in the end. And they suited that old world charm the house had. The textures were a bonus because I wasn't even trying to create them, nor was I thinking about creating those textures. The acrylic paint combined with some pencil rubbing over created it organically. Oh and I used white charcoal to get small white chalk-like details, but only toward the end. Here are some close-ups:

Here is a short video clip of the tour.