In this sketch (done with UskQC for at Parks and Wildlife for international urban sketchers week) I challenged myself to capture the water lilies on the lagoon. It was very difficult as the wind kept on changing the ripples and reflections. The strange thing is that the sketch even makes sense upside down!
Sun-3-May-2026
Here are the first two of my sketches done at Parks and Wildlife with UskQC for international urban sketchers week. I started with a postcard exchange sketch (which is going to @UrbanSketchersAsheville), then I had a go at sketching a group of cos players. They were all wearing black shorts with a black top with a white tie. All had brightly coloured hair and a few held a bow and arrow or a scythe. Any anyone tell me the character based on that description (not my sketch which was done very quickly)?
Sun-3-May-2026
I’ve drawn bananas so many times that I’ve lost count – however it’s always good practice. These are saba (or plantain or cooking bananas) – and are supposedly healthier than common dessert bananas because of their high resistant starch content. We bought these to cook them green…and they were surprisingly delicious – but I also like to eat them ripe.
Sat-2-May-2026
I did this sketch when we had lunch @WabiDashSabi Noodle House and Ikigai Kakigori Cafe in Makati Cinema Square. I have sketched here before (see sketch No.1786) – they have fantastic food and thank goodness it is still very popular (I think also due to the yummy Kakigori shaved ice desert). My wife was having a meeting while I sketched this and several people went in and out, including one woman who only seemed to be there to charge her phone!
Fri-1-May-2026
In this sketch I was killing time at Makati Cinema Square, while my wife bought some new (second had) shirts and shorts. The ukay-ukay shops in this old mall are huge and have a massive range (including all those bags you can see hanging up in my sketch). Ukay-ukay are thrift stores selling mostly secondhand clothing – the word comes from the Filipino word “hukay” (to dig), adn refers to rummaging through piles of imported items. All the same I’d rather the throw away and fast fashion culture of the developed world was not destroying the planet. According to earth.org fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, the industry dries up and pollutes water resources and while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year.
Fri-1-May-2026
This TV show is described as “darkly comedic” and if you look up what DTF means it might sound unappealing. However it was instead a very well acted, heartwarming story of friendship, loneliness and was rather tragic and sad. I thought the best quote was “no one’s normal, it just looks like that from across the street”.
Thu-30-Apr-2026
On this day I spent part of my evening fiddling about squeezing in an extra few colours to my mini palette – so I got all my paints out. Do I have too many?
Wed-29-Apr-2026
Here is a sketch I did when I drove my wife to a meeting near the airport. I waited for her at a coffee shop in the Newport World Resorts Mall and was surprised that they have bottles of wine on the table. AI (which, annoyingly, you can’t seem to avoid these days, even when you just google something) says that this is “to highlight luxurious dining experiences” – I guess because the mall is pretty fancy and they have a casino there.
Tue-28-Apr-2026
After a long hiatus we finally went for a hike at the end of April. It was very hot and sunny but it was a relatively short walk and we were home by late afternoon. This is the sketch I did when we got to the top. I think I made the greens in the background too dark or too bright because the tree in the foreground should be standing out more.
Sun-26-Apr-2026