126-3657 – Exiled

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

Here is another attempt at a portrait – this time of Maria Machado (from an image on the BBC website). I struggled with the eyes in this one …but I am learning. Although she was barred from the Venezuelan presidential elections in 2024 the candidate she backed won easily…until Maduro was declared the winner. Now she has been able to return to Venezuela after secretly leaving to accept the Nobel Peace prize…and quite rightly has criticised the Trump-Rodriguez oil deal and called for new elections.

Fri-30-Oct-2026

126-3656 – Kitchen implements

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

These are three essential implements in our kitchen: A rubber spatular – perfect for scraping every last morsel of food from a bowl or pan; A large “kitchen devil” knife – always stays super sharp; and a stainless steel slice – made by prestige of Inox Steel – we will never need another one…all this from a pre-enshittification era.

Thu-29-Oct-2026

126-3650 – A persecuted woman

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

Here is another attempt at a portrait sketch – this time of Ilhan Omar who is being persecuted by Trump because of her vocal opposition and progressive views. Even Obama said it’s a transparent effort to intimidate a law abiding political opponent. The day I sketched this I read that she was even afraid to stay in her home because of death threats.

Fri-23-Oct-2026

126-3647 – Hike to Mt. Makiling

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

On this day we hiked up an inactive volcano through a forest reserve administered by UP Los Baños. The mountain has a 1,090 m elevation and the hike up was fine, apart from the occasional leech latching on. I sketched this at the top where it was misty and very damp…the colours all washed out with the moisture in the air and I could have added more later, but thought I quite liked the look.

By the time we hiked down hoards of other (much younger) hikers had been up and down the trail and with the rainforest dampness and drizzly rain, the trail was super-muddy and very slippery. The soles of my wife’s boots came off and we were plastered in mud from a few minor tumbles and knackered by the time we made it back. We needed several days of groaning and aches to recover afterwards!

Sun-18-Oct-2026

126-3645-6 – Movie viewers (cleaners) and go-getters going healthy

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin
Movie viewers (cleaners)

Here are the last two sketches I did with @usk_manila at @DesignWeekPH. The first one is of people watching a movie called “cleaners”, which I partly watched too. Wikipedia describes the film as an “experimental adult animated coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Glenn Barit” and apparently it has a cult following. What I saw of it looked really interesting.

Go-getters going healthy

The second sketch is of the fruit at the Made Market Ready stand, this project showcased how design interventions can elevate homegrown micro, small, and medium enterprises…but I just sketched the veggies and coconuts!

Sat-17-Oct-2026