La Kopi is the sketchbook by Alvin Mark Tan that features coffee, cafes and people chatting and hanging out at coffee shops. This sketchbook was originally published in 2017 and was reprinted by Math Paper Press from BooksActually in 2020.
The word la kopi means to stir coffee literally, or figuratively as the act of gathering for coffee.
Alvin Mark Tan is a painter and urban sketcher based in Singapore. He also happens to be a friend of mine. Disclaimer there.
The idea for this sketchbook was conceived in 2013 while Alvin was studying art in Florence where he saw the cafes on the streets. This book was actually meant to be a coffee tablet sketchbook but it evolved into talking about different types of coffee, roasting and the coffee scene in Singapore.
The book has beautiful sketches and even oil paintings of the coffee beans, mugs, people connecting across tables. These sketches remind me of my friends sketching at cafes. I enjoy reading about the history of coffee and how the coffee drinking culture evolved in Singapore.
Throughout the sketchbook are QR codes you can scan to watch a timelapse of the sketch that's on the page.
This is a wonderful 88-page hardcover sketchbook. You can get it from BooksActually's online shop. Retail price is S$29.
5 Comments
Thank you, Parka, for the
Submitted by Alvin on
Thank you, Parka
Dear Parka,
Submitted by Solomon Wu on
Dear Parka,
BooksActually is down now.
Do you know any other place I can find the sketchbook as my friend’s gift?
@Solomon Wu
Submitted by Teoh Yi Chie on
@Solomon Wu
You'll have to contact Alvin to see where the books are sold.
Thanks for the artist's
Submitted by Solomon Wu on
Thanks for the artist's information, Parka.
Provide some news about BooksActually.
https://mothership.sg/2022/12/booksactually-open-or-closed/
@Solomon Wu
Submitted by Teoh Yi Chie on
@Solomon Wu
It looks like they are closed for good. It's difficult to run physical book stores with online stores around
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