Thainlin Tay lives on the tropical island of Singapore. The rapid urbanization of a small country like Singapore means old and new architecture coming together in one place. As an avid urban sketcher and artist, Thainlin enjoys going to the city’s older, more historical parts to sketch buildings and places of worship that harken back to when Singapore was a trading port for the old British Empire.

Thainlin’s love for sketching helps him to balance his hectic 30-year-long career as the head of IT for a large professional services company. He picked art back up in 2015 after a long hiatus from it and seeks improvement by learning from mentors and masters in his daily practice.

His on-the-go supplies include fountain pens with permanent ink, a few brushes, watercolors, cotton paper, a collapsible water cup, a lightweight foldable camper’s stool, and bottled water. “I like to keep things light and accessible with minimal fuss, which is also ideal for my overseas travel sketching trips,” he says.