I managed to eek out some blue ink from my Platinum Preppy to do this sketch, but now I give up. It constantly blocks (it’s not the pen it’s the ink). These books were left behind by my daughter – she finished them on the beach. A nice easy read like Stephen King is helping me get back into reading (I was far from my goal last year)…and is great for reading in bed.
Tue-10-Mar-2026
Here are some keys accidentally left behind by our daughter’s partner when they went back to the UK. I was thinking of sketching some keys but this key ring is a lot more interesting than mine …with lots of dangly little tags and pouches, several of which, I think, were recently bought from the ArtWork store in Market Market!
Mon-9-Mar-2026
Here are some flip-flops (or slippers as they call them here) bought from Primark by my daughter for her beach holiday (on Boracay), and not needed in cold wet UK. They are of super poor quality – certainly not up to the standards of the “Islander” or “Havaiana” (actually Brazilian) brands that you can get here.
Sun-8-Mar-2026
Here is another sketch of my mum done while we have a video chat – I think she looks younger in this one!
Sat-7-Mar-2026
My daughter and her partner had an extra day in Manila (after their trip to Boracay) because their flight (via Doha) was cancelled and they rebooked a flight going through China …and then over Russia (not much better in my mind…the world is an unsafe place at the moment). Anyway we took advantage of the extra time and visited Tagaytay and then went to Alitaptap Artists Community in Amedeo. My first sketch is of my daughter.
After a fascinating tour round the community visiting various artists studios and encountering huge dogs, turkeys, tortoises (also huge) and a white (albino) carabao, we rested in the art cafe and had some refreshments where I did another sketch. The community is well worth a visit and the artists and apprentices (one of which guided us – Eric) were very friendly and welcoming.
Thu-5-Mar-2026
If I don’t use my preppy pen (with the blue sludgy Kung Te-Cheng Noodlers ink) every day, it dries up (update….even every day is not enough…it just dries up anyway). I had to work hard to get the ink flowing when I did this sketch…I next tried a little bit of damp tissue in the cap but that didn’t work either. This is one of the plants (one of the few that grows despite our “black thumbs”) that grows well on our balcony.
Tue-3-Mar-2026
I sketched this on a day of sneezing and nose irritation. This day I also had an online consultation with an allergologist (that’s a term I haven’t heard before?) and I am now trying some new nasal spray and may get re-tested and try some immunotherapy to see if I can get rid of it altogether.
Mon-2-Mar-2026
Here is another try at sketching my mum while we had a video chat. This time I was hatching a lot using my fine TWSBI pen and black noodlers ink. As we chatted squirrels were eating the nuts in the bird feeder outside her window.
Sat-28-Feb-2026
Drawing the same thing over and over again is therapeutic, which is appropriate because as I sketched this, I was watching the third season of “Shrinking”.
Thu-26-Feb-2026