I finally got outside to sketch…around this time I was busy with work and had been doing too many evening/indoor sketches. Many of the trees in the communal garden look like they are about to fall over with their roots lifting out of the ground. I am dreading the next big typhoon to hit Metro Manila.
Fri-13-Feb-2026
Sketching my art materials is always a good subject to fall back on. This is not actually a pencil case, but a giveaway toiletry pouch from Philippine airlines…it must be old as they don’t seem to give these away anymore!
Thu-12-Feb-2026
Recently I have been drinking hot fresh ginger, calamansi and honey to keep my itchy throat and allergy induced sneezing at bay. This cup (which I’ve sketched before of course – see No.2929), keeps it nice and hot for hours.
Wed-11-Feb-2026
Here are the sketches I did with my friends and Urban Sketchers Manila at the Luneta Art Fair earlier this month. I arrived at Rizal Park a little late with my bike on the back of our car in preparation for riding home. I first met up with my friend Reuel and we sat in the park to sketch this building – which maybe the admin building of the park – before it began raining. Reuel commented that I will probably not post the sketches until 15 days later and he was exactly right!
We then met up with other friends to drink coffee and eat breakfast (I had Lugaw – rice porridge) – Ronnier, Al and Luke. In the background is the UskManila tent which included on the sales rack a few oddments and rejects of my printed postcards from a long time ago.
After this we went to sketch at the Chinese garden on the other side of the park. All in all a lovely day out – and a nice cycle home all the way back to Taguig (which took me about an hour).
Sun-8-Feb-2026
Here is a sketch of my mum done while we were having a video call. I showed her this after I had finished it and she said “that’s not me…that is a little old lady”.
Sat-7-Feb-2026
Here are two sketches of our cats, done with my new Platinum Preppy pen, using the cartridge of blue ink that came with the pen.
Thu-5-Sat-7-Feb-2026
Because my Kung Te-Cheng Noodlers ink blocked up my Lamy pen, and having done a bit of research, I decided buy a cheap but good fountain pen that I can fill with it (the site I looked at also recommended watering the ink down with distilled water – but that hasn’t worked for me). Anyway I am now the proud owner of a Platinum Preppy fountain pen – though I drew this with my Sailor pen!
Wed-4-Feb-2026
Here is another sketch done during our camping trip to Lumot Lake. I had a relatively good nights sleep – I rarely sleep well when we are camping – and after a big breakfast we all walked out on to the peninsular to sketch again. This house is on the other side of the lake and not part of where we are staying. All the trees on the island have beautiful deep yellow and cobalt green lichen on them, so I had to try and capture one.
Mon-2-Feb-2026
