It had initially been just another day of work for one air stewardess onboard a Singapore Airlines flight. 

But little did she know that while she was busy attending to passengers, one traveller on the flight had noticed her good service and warm smile. 

So, as a little thank you, he had quietly sketched a photo of her that she could have as a keepsake. 

The traveller in question is James Lim Yew Cheong, a Singaporean creative designer and street artist. 

In a TikTok video uploaded on May 23, the 38-year-old shared how the air stewardess' huge smile had caught his attention. 

"I love her smile, let's surprise her!" he wrote in the captions of his post. 

After doing a brief sketch of the stewardess, he used a pen to darken the lines.

Then, he took out his water colour set and coloured pencils to add some colour to the drawing. 

"I hope she likes it," said James. 

And she definitely did. 

"Hi, sorry! I actually drew you just now," he told the stewardess as he passed her the drawing. 

In response, she gasped happily and said: "Thank you so much! So cute!"  

"Oh, I love it!" she said as she pressed the drawing against her chest.

Speaking to AsiaOne, James shared that the stewardess had been "very polite, helpful, and had a huge smile".

"It captured my attention and so, as an artist, I just want to thank her the way that I could—by drawing her!" 

This isn't the first time that James has drawn a cabin crew member to show his appreciation. 

In a TikTok video uploaded last November, he revealed that he had sketched another air stewardess and passed the drawing to her during drink service. 

And in a video that went viral in April, James had tried to cheer up a pilot he spotted waiting at the boarding area when his flight had been delayed.

A childhood passion 

James told AsiaOne that drawing has been something he's enjoyed doing since he was a kid. 

"I loved drawing since I was young and I graduated as an animator," he said. 

"I slowly stopped drawing in my free time due to work, but my passion for drawing was re-ignited after I joined a local art community, namely Urban Sketchers Singapore. Their energy and passion for sketching is infectious!"

When the pandemic hit in 2020, James decided to start on a mini project, where he would sketch hawker stalls. 

"While drawing one of the stalls, the owner asked if I could draw them and they were very happy with it," recounted James.

"It warmed my heart seeing them being so happy with what I did. Since then, I plucked up the courage to do more sketches of people."

James revealed that he usually carries his drawing tools everywhere with him so that he can create art whenever inspiration hits. 

Some of his favourite things to draw include food, landscapes and people.

For caricatures, he usually sketches people who are in the service industry to show his appreciation for their hard work in "a memorable way".

However, not everyone appreciates James' art and there were a couple of times people expressed their unhappiness. 

"I could say it was my own mistake for not being sensitive enough. There are people who are not perceptive of things like this, or it could be that I engaged them at a wrong time," he reflected.

"Maybe my skills weren't this good yet back then. But ever since, I've learnt my lesson and have not been in such situations so far."

He also noted that the people whom he sketches are usually more shy and reserved when they receive the drawing, rather than unfriendly.

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melissateo@asiaone.com 

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