121-3531 – Centro de Turismo Intramuros

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Here is the second sketch I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila in Intramuros for Día de Manila at the Centro de Turismo. This was a heritage festival and celebration organised by the @niladcommunity (an umbrella organization that unites heritage advocacy groups), with exhibits, walking tours and panel discussions. The centre is located inside the reconstructed San Ignacio Church. This was originally built in 1899 but was largely destroyed in the Battle of Manila in 1945, leaving only it’s shell. Next door the Casa Misión Convent was converted into the Museo de Intramuros which we also sketched in.

Sun-21-Jun-2026

121-3530 – Manila Cathedral bell tower

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Here is the first sketch I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila in Intramuros for Día de Manila at the Centro de Tourismo (more about that in the next post). I started off my day by meeting with my friend @the_uban_sketcher in front of Manila Cathedral so we could sketch before it got too hot.

Sun-21-Jun-2026

121-3529 – Sketching from the sick bed

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This was sketched from the couch where I sat most of the day feeling somewhat unwell and certainly short of energy. This palm tree has appeared in many of my sketches (see Sketch No.88 from 2016 for example) – it’s huge now. I used my Mont Marte watercolour markers to start this – woah they are bright! By the way I was feeling a lot better the next day and went out to sketch all day!


Sat-20-Jun-2026

121-3527 – Supersam

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Here is the first sketch I did in Eastwood while I waited for our car to have its service. I sat in a little pop up coffee shop to sketch this. Apparently Supersam (in the background) is a popular restaurant known for its international comfort food and Filipino-American fusion dishes – but not by me…I’ve never heard of it!

Wed-17-Jun-2026

121-3526 – Who needs a cat bed

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I had to rush this sketch a bit. Captain Haddock loves to sleep on this rather chewed old pizza box – so who needs a cat bed? Having old pizza boxes (plus cardboard boxes and bits of paper he has picked out of the bin to play with) laying around the house, doesn’t do that well for the ambiance though!

Mon-15-Jun-2026

121-3525 – A good day to sketch a swimming pool

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I can’t compete with the master but on this Sunday it seemed like a good day to sketch the swimming pool for the nth time (a phrase I am using regularly as I repeatedly sketch the same things). Having struggled a bit with this one – I feel it’s kind of heavy handed on the water – I might have another go….or several more goes using different(ish) materials each time?

Sun-14-Jun-2026

121-3524 – Thinking of David

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I was thinking of David Hockney when I went for a walk to get some exercise. In this part of Acacia Estates, where we live, it looks like DMCI the developers are planning to build even more housing. As soon as I saw this digger (in my favourite colour) I thought I should sketch it. I cleaned by TWSBI pen to do this one but the ink still seemed to come out grey!

I have been a fan of David Hockney’s work since I was a teenager – I remember my school art teacher took us to a showing of “A Bigger Splash” a 1973 biographical documentary film about his breakup with his then-partner Peter Schlesinger. I have followed his work ever since then….so sad that he passed away, but what a legacy he has left!

Sat-13-Jun-2026

121-3523 – Invasion

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According to a couple of Google image searches this is a Lanzones (Lansium Domesticum) tree – a type of mahogany tree. Lanzones fruits are round like large grapes, but with a tough skin and juicy segments inside. It appeared on our balcony, out of nowhere a few years ago, then killed off the bamboo that use to grow in the same pot, and is now huge. Apparently fruit eating birds (like a Bulbul) probably ate the fruit from a nearby tree or garbage bin, then perched on our railing and crapped out the seeds into the pot! I pruned it a few days after this sketch to make it a bit more manageable (lopping the crown completely off)…by some miracle I didn’t kill it, and it is now starting to grow new shoots below where I cut off the trunk.

Fri-12-Jun-2026