Keelung
Keelung is one of the few natural deep water harbors in northern Taiwan. It’s a busy port with a few big container yards and a naval base. The harbor is surrounded by steep hills and the urban area is crammed between these and the water. It has a deserved reputation as a rainy city and a mostly undeserved one as a gritty, down at heel place. With the dramatic landscape and my love of port towns I’ve wanted to draw the city for quite a while. However the extreme linearity of the urban area meant it didn’t really work as a regular bird’s eye map. After I started making the sphere perspective drawings I realized Keelung would work really well in this style
A little look at old Keelung Station, I think one of the nicest built in Taiwan in the early 20th century. The second generation station was perhaps nice when built, but I found it pretty grim when I used it through the 2010's. The new station is looking good, my only issue with it: it was a really awkward shape to draw in this perspective! I noticed that the old signal box was saved and is part of the new station, along with a little part of the old station platform roof.
I really liked this old house hidden down a narrow alley in Keelung. From the seashell decorations I guess the inhabitants were involved in fishing or maritime trade. Sadly it's a bit of a ruin but it's still very grand.
While I was making a few visits to Keelung I paid special attention to the ships in the harbor. Apart from the cruise ships there were some interesting ones. Next to the Customs Office is an old military tugboat from 1942 (ATF 563) that is being preserved. It's surrounded by large vessels belonging to the Taiwan Coastguard. In the background is the Taima Star ferry to Matsu, which I've yet to visit. I've added some of my photos I used as reference material to create the drawing.
I based the cruise ship loosely on the Super Star Aquarius, which was in port on one visit some years ago. I needed a smaller cruise ship as the big ones would overwhelm the drawing. I learned recently that while I was drawing it the ship was scrapped, as the cruise line went bankrupt! When I visited Keelung in 2021 and 2022 there were no cruise ships in port!
The Xu Mansion in Keelung. This abandoned mansion was built in 1930. It is at the edge of the drawing
I’ve made a collection here of places and things I’ve added to the drawing. It continues below the ‘artwork details’ section too!
Different sites in Keelung city
The busy Miaokou Night Market is where I’d eat most times when I visited Keelung. I don’t have a particular favorite here. Fried softshell crab and shumai were always good, as was the oily rice!
Artwork Details
Keelung , 2022 , Fineliner on Paper , 81 x 79 cm
Original drawing: Sold
Available as a limited edition print, fabric hanging at 72 x 72 cm, and a poster at 78 x 78 cm
Follow the links below
Underneath the Kanziding Fish Markets and the elevated highway here there is a hidden river. I only noticed on my last visit that part of an old bridge over it still exists. Next to the highway is an abandoned townhouse. It's known as the Keelung Ghost House but really it's called the Lin Mansion. It was built in the 1930's and a run of bad luck led to its abandonment and the many ghost stories around it. It's a pretty cool design for a building from this era but I have no idea what will become of it. Restoration and removal of the highway would massively improve this part of the city but I get the feeling the highway is quite convenient for a lot of people.
Zhupu Altar sits on a hill above the city and is one of the landmarks of Keelung. It's an important site during ghost month where it hosts a feast for the departed. I didn't realize until drawing it how large it actually is! Recently the city has been building a new elevator that cuts out the steep and winding climb up to it. Although it's not finished yet I added it anyway.
Keelung concept sketch. It stayed pretty true to the concept in the end.
For larger pieces, especially these more complex round ones, it's helpful to make a rough concept sketch and see if everything fits together well. I actually made a couple in this case but didn't photograph the others.
The Keelung Customs Building is probably the largest Pre World War 2 building left in the city. It's got a quirky design that always caught my eye. Next to it is a former shipping company office built in 1915 and now a museum. Keelung was heavily bombed in the second world war because of the port and not a lot is left from that era. Coastguard ships are usually docked next to it so I've added a few of those as well!
Every time I visit the harbor I see eagles. So I felt I had to add a couple! I've added some people and some more ships too. I've also added my quite poor photo of a Keelung eagle below too
Keelung Harbor is a very dangerous place to be a fish! Here Mr Spring's fishies are surrounded by anglers, the fish market, the seafood stalls at Miaokou, trawlers, hungry residents, a cat, and somewhat less realistically, a shark.
I didn't expect I'd draw Keelung twice this year! I chose some of my favorite buildings in the city for this sticker background. From left to right: the Koo and Lin Mansions, Kanziding Fish Market, Miaokou Night Market, Chenghuang Temple, Zhongshan Bridge, and the Customs Building.
The black and white original drawing of this scene (minus Mr Spring’s fish) is available here
If you made it this far thank you! Here’s a cheesy goodbye from the old Zhongshan Bridge!