The Yellow Cafe at Balestier
by Belinda Low
Title
The Yellow Cafe at Balestier
Artist
Belinda Low
Medium
Painting - Acrylic On Wall
Description
FEATURED in the following FAA groups :
Graffiti
No Place Like Home
Your Story of Art
Impressionists of the 21st Century
Bedroom Art Gallery
Just Perfect
Out of the Ordinary - 1 A Day
Vivid Beautiful Art
A Woman's Touch
This is the main centre wall which is Van Gogh inspired with a local twist. Old buildings of the Sim Kwong Ho shophouses at 292-312 Balestier Road, with their beautiful art deco are still there. They are located at the junction of Kim Keat Road. The other end are the shophouses at the Pegu Road junction.
These are but a few landmarks where the old character and charm still remains.
Extracted from Wikipedia:
The precinct was named after Joseph Balestier, the then colony's first American consul from 1837 to 1852 and the owner of a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) sugar plantation called Balestier Plain, which failed and was put up for sale. Balestier was in Singapore between 1834 and 1852 and was a botanist and agriculturist. The area was named after him as it was where his plantation was located. As new settlers populated Balestier Road from the late 19th century, they established villages and grew crops such as taro was grown. Balestier hired a number of immigrants on his estates.[1][2] Chinese and Indian workers laboured these crops. After Balestier’s departure, his land was acquired by the authorities and leased out to Chinese farmers. Another portion was turned into a burial site for paupers and lepers. During the 19th century, many prisoners from India were sent to Singapore, where they were employed as labourers and builders. After serving their term, many of these convicts remained in Singapore as traders, artisans or skilled craftsmen. With a large diversity of people, different skills, culture, technics and practices were shared and exchange within Balestier.[3]
Below extracted from. https://www.roots.sg/visit/trails/balestier-heritage-trail-historical-landmarks-of-balestier
Shophouses started to appear along Balestier Road in the early 1900s to serve the area’s
growing number of residents. They were probably built by enterprising merchants who sold
provisions and other goods to residents, while residing in quarters upstairs with their families.
The shophouse is an architectural form that once dominated Singapore’s urban landscape.
Its origins lie in a Town Planning Committee headed by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1822 which
stipulated that houses in the town must have a uniform facade and “a verandah of a certain
depth, open at all times as a continued and covered passage on each side of the street”.
This passage is popularly known as the fivefoot way (although in practice, most five-foot
ways are wider than five feet).
Many traditional shophouses still line Balestier Road. Perhaps the most exquisite examples of
this architectural form in the precinct are the Sim Kwong Ho shophouses. Located at the junction of Balestier Road and Kim Keat Road, these shophouses became known as the Sim Kwong Ho shophouses after the Chinese characters on their corner facade. They were built in 1926 by Sim Cheng Neo, a lady who also owned
Shophouses along Balestier Road at the Pegu Road junction, 1982
From the Lee Kip Lin Collection. All rights reserved. Lee Kip Lin and National Library Board, Singapore 2009.
Shophouses along Balestier Road at the Kim Keat
Road junction, 1982
From the Lee Kip Lin Collection. All rights reserved.
Lee Kip Lin and National Library Board, Singapore 2009.
The Sim Kwong Ho shophouses were designed by the architectural firm of Westerhout and
Oman in a richly ornamented style known as Chinese Baroque or Singapore Eclectic. Popular
in the 1920s, this style combined European architectural elements with local motifs. For
instance, the exterior walls are adorned with plaster stucco work of animals such as bats
(a symbol of fortune and happiness) and peacocks while elaborate floral wreaths and
festoons (garlands) are placed above Frenchstyle windows.
Uploaded
August 16th, 2020
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Comments (18)
Anne Gifford
What a wonderful, hugely imaginative painting! There is so much of interest to look at, and I enjoyed reading about the buildings and history within. like/f
Belinda Low replied:
Thank you v much, Anne, for your descriptive comments. Yes the idea is for the patron to sit there and interact with the work while he is there.
Marcia Colelli
Very beautiful depiction of this wonderful peaceful street scene with nice perspective and colors. L
Belinda Low
Gratitude to Stephanie Zelaya for the acceptance and feature in her 'Vivid Beautiful Art' group!
Belinda Low
BIG THANKS to Brooks Garten Hauschild for the feature in her awesome 'A Woman's Touch' group!
Anne Gifford
Your paintings are exceptional. This one travels from ultra realism in the foreground, to an almost abstract road leading back into the distance, I love the contrast. like/f
Belinda Low
Grateful Thanks to Jenny Revitz-Soper for the feature in her great "NO PLACE LIKE HOME' Group!
Belinda Low
BIG Thanks to Julie Grimshaw for the feature in her wonderful "Your Story of Art" Group!
Belinda Low
Honored to be featured in Julie Todd-Cundiff's awesome "Impressionists of the 21st Century" group!