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
Here is my second batch of sketches done with UskManila at Dia del Libro. After lunch I decided to go and sketch in the children’s play area of the Ayala Triangle gardens. These playground animals, which you can climb inside of, appear to be sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund and each has some information about the animal. The sign for the carabao says it is “a symbol of hard work, perseverance and teamwork in Filipino culture”. The sign next to the hornbill says that this (endangered) species “lives only in Mindanao and nowhere else in the world! It helps the forest by spreading seeds, which grow into new trees”. These sketches were done in a new sketchbook made the Umae hot press watercolour paper.
Sat-25-Apr-2026
I have joined UskManila at Dia del Libro for several years now (see sketches 103-3088, 86-2677 and 1079 – the latter from 2019 – for example). Here are my first two sketches from this year – the second one being done at lunch time when a group of us ate at Bacolod Chicken Inasal (which surprisingly has quite a few veggie options). Dia del Libro is World Book day (which was actually April 23), as declared by UNESCO in 1995. It also marks the death of Cervantes and Shakespeare, and is a cultural festival celebrating literature and language.
Sat-25-Apr-2026