President adds his mark to cityscape drawing

Under the guidance of British artist Stephen Wiltshire, President Tony Tan Keng Yam added a few pen strokes to a building – part of a panoramic drawing of the Singapore cityscape.

The President was at Paragon shopping mall to see the acclaimed artist at work sketching the Lion City from memory. Mr Wiltshire had taken an hour-long helicopter ride on Tuesday to get an aerial view of the skyline.

By 4pm yesterday, Mr Wiltshire had added on the Marina Bay Financial Centre to the 4m by 1m canvas. He had completed Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands on it the day before.

Dr Tan, who complimented Mr Wiltshire on his drawing and called him a “genius”, was accompanied by British High Commissioner Antony Phillipson and Singapore officials.

Crowds gathered at Paragon’s main atrium to watch Mr Wiltshire and to view 18 of his famous works. Diagnosed with autism when he was three, Mr Wiltshire is known for his ability to draw detailed cityscapes from memory after seeing them just once.

He is here for the See The Big Picture project, which is part of Singapore Press Holdings’ 30th anniversary celebrations.

Mr Wiltshire will be at Paragon drawing in full public view from 10am to 5pm till Sunday. The finished work will be presented to Dr Tan in September as a gift to Singapore for the nation’s 50th birthday next year.

Limited-edition Stephen Wiltshire T-shirts will be sold at S$50 each this weekend. Proceeds will go towards the ChildAid charity concert.

This article was first published on July 20, 2014.
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