After my snooze at the airport in UAE I woke up with only a few hours to go before my flight, so I only managed this quick sketch at the gate, before boarding. This elderly couple appeared to be travelling the world together – they were wearing matching baggy trousers and had similarly coloured puffer jackets. What a fantastic moustache the guy had (my sketch is not an exaggeration)!
Wed-27-Nov-2024
Here is yet another #AirportSketch – this one done in Dubai where I had another long layover on my way back home. I thought I would have the energy to do lots of sketching, but I arrived late at night and then left early in the morning. So instead (after sketching this, in the only spot I could find with some power to charge my phone), I found some lounger seats with foot rests and had a snooze for a couple of hours. Beneath those trees (which I have sketched before…something to do with bees), on the right of my sketch, were a group of elderly gentlemen playing cards.
Tue-26-Nov-2024
This is the last sketch from our holiday and the last one in sketchbook No.92! Our journey home was uneventful and our layover in Dubai was just long enough for me to sketch this. The teardrop shaped windows (which curve up to a peak) are covered with what seems to be an adhesive screen or mesh, which I guess is supposed to block the sunlight and keep the concourse cooler…it took me ages to copy the pattern!
Wed-21-Aug-2024
Here is the sketch I did while we waited for our next flight in Dubai airport (on our way to the UK from the Philippines). There are several of these ‘trees’ dotted about the place, put up, I think, by BeeTheChange.org who raise funds to support nature restoration and save pollinators. One of the hanging signs (in the shape of a bee) notes that “climate change, pesticide use and natural habitat loss has led bees and other pollinators to decline at the rapid rate of over 60% in the last 30 years!”.
Fri-19-Jul-2024
Here (at last) is the final sketch of our UK holiday, done at the airport in Dubai, during our brief layover on the way back to the Philippines. I sketched this very quickly using my #Lamy pen (my Sailor pen had run out of ink) and then added the colour at home. Airports are one of my favourite places to practice sketching people. Funnily enough the guy in the centre ended up sitting next to me…and then was next to me when we collected our baggage!
Mon-24-Jul-2023
Here is the other sketch I did on our trip from the Philippines to the UK, during a brief stopover in Dubai (we were flying on Emirates). The airport in Dubai is enormous with massive waterfalls, seemingly just there to entertain people riding up and down in the elevators.
Sun-2-Jul-2023
Here is another airport sketch – this one was done during my layover at Abu Dhabi. This waiting area has a spectacular torus-like ceiling design that I couldn’t resist sketching, even though I ran out of time and had to add the colour later. The domed ceiling curves down into a broad column in the middle – below was another concourse and on the level I sketched from, the gates for flights were accessed through arched tunnels.
Fri-20-Apr-2018
Here is another sketch done during a long layover in Abu Dhabi airport. For some reasons airports are designed to be mostly grey – you have to look carefully to find any colour.
Sun-8-April-2018
This was drawn early in the morning in Abu Dhabi airport – a 9 hour layover between flights is a perfect opportunity for sketching (also helps stave off the boredom!).
Sun-8-Apr-2018