2025

112-3319 – Out with the old

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

We unearthed this pair of my wife’s shoes while looking for something else. They are still good (Rusty Lopez make shoes to last it seems), but they don’t fit her anymore (do feet get larger as you get older?)…so they might be given to one of our daughters or be given away. Somehow one of the shoes in this sketch looks bigger than the other!

The title of this seems like a good opportunity to wish everyone who is kind enough to follow my sketching (and especially those who make genuine helpful and encouraging comments), a Happy New Year! Here’s hoping for a (more) peaceful and kinder 2026.

Tue-23-Dec-2025

112-3318 – New shoes early Christmas

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

The day before I sketched this we bought these shoes for my wife at Shangri-la Plaza (we got two pairs for the price of one). We were also there to buy my own present at “The Tannery Manila”, have a nice lunch at Italianni’s and to go and see Avatar: Fire and Ash as a treat for our daughter’s 24th birthday. I did this sketch a little too carelessly while I half-watched a Korean movie (the great flood).

Sun-21-Dec-2025

112-3317 – Cabinet of the chiropractor

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

My wife slipped and twisted her knee in Palawan. It’s gradually been getting better but seems to have peaked its recovery and got stuck at not quite better. Thus a trip to the Chiropractor was needed…a place we only started going to because it is next to where our daughter used to go to gymnastics every week. I sketched this while I waited in the lobby.

Fri-19-Dec-2025

112-3316 – The tree is up

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

When I sketched this we had just put up our tired old tree (which we bought when we lived in Syria). As usual we festooned/overloaded it with every decoration we have including an angel made from a San-mig beer can, balls (and Rudolf) made from old light bulbs and wooden decorations given by a friend who now lives in France.

Thu-18-Dec-2025

112-3314 – Batch 1

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

I’ve been making kimchi to give as a small Christmas gift – despite making eight jars I had to make make another batch in order to give one to each family in our extended family…including siblings (in-law) and married (or partnered-up) nieces and nephews.

Tue-16-Dec-2025

112-3313 – Canon 750D

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

This is our daughters birthday present (a little early!). We had originally planned to just buy a new lens for an old Canon 1000D body but the Canon Service Centre said it was beyond repair. Instead my wife found a seller of second hand cameras on Facebook and we bought this (with a bag, tripod and a zoom lens included). In case I don’t get time to post tomorrow…Happy Christmas to everyone who has been kind enough to follow along with my sketching!

Sun-14-Dec-2025

112-3312 – St. Scholastica’s College Chapel

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin
St. Scholastica’s College Chapel

This is the second sketch I did with Urban Sketchers Manila for our Christmas sketch call and pot-luck. This chapel was built between 1914 to 1936 (and was restored 1949) and survived bombing during the Battle of Manila in February 1945, in World War II, when Japanese forces destroyed much of the city. According to Wikipedia, in 2024 the Chapel, was designated as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines. This sketch was done in a new sketchbook made with Cass Art hot pressed 300 gsm watercolour paper.

Me by my daughter

After the sketchwalk we gathered at Quatro Arts (a nice little art supplies shop with good affordable materials) for our pot-luck lunch. The second sketch (of me) was done by my daughter.

Sat-13-Dec-2025

111-3311 – Urban scene

Image | | Art-Chap-Enjoin

You can’t get much more urban than this first sketch done with #UskManila friends for our Christmas sketch call and pot-luck (I brought along homemade mini quiches). This building is near Becky’s Kitchen (a nice old bakeshop in a heritage building on Pablo Ocampo Street, Malate, Manila) and houses the “Benilde Hub of Innovation for Inclusion” (Benilde HFI) – part of the College of Saint Benilde. The building was designed by Javier Design Studio Manila (JDSM) – certainly an eye catching design. The building may look a bit unclear to someone who doesn’t know HFI, but all the same, I remember being there and having a great time sketching with my daughter! Plus I really love to sketch scenes like this.

Sat-13-Dec-2025