Here are the next two drawings I did in my little sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project PH with @1372DESIGNS / @_STUDIO1372. These are of one of some flowers sketched at the memorial park after a sleepless night for All Souls Day and some tangerines in a basket.
Sun-1 & Fri-6-Nov-2026
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
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
Here are the next two drawings I did in my little sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project PH with @1372DESIGNS / @_STUDIO1372. These are of one of a set of mugs we usually drink tea out of and a quick sketch at the food court where we sometimes get breakfast.
Tue-27 & Sat-31-Oct-2026
I cooked one of our favourite dishes the other day (tofu mushroom stroganoff), from the Cranks fast food cookbook and had to buy some wine to go in it…and also had to sample some as I cooked!
Wed-28-Oct-2026
Here are the next two drawings I did in my little sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project PH with @1372DESIGNS / @_STUDIO1372. These are of our eldest (and fattest) cat, Captain Haddock; plus one of the clamps I use to make my sketchbooks…as I am gearing up to make the next one.
Sat-24 & Mon-26-Oct-2026
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
Here are the next two drawings I did in my little sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project PH with @1372DESIGNS / @_STUDIO1372. These are of a pinecone I picked up on a hike in Montenegro and a quick sketch done when we had lunch at our favourite eatery, Wabi-Sabi in Makati Cinema/Central Square.
Wed-21 & Sun-25-Oct-2026
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