You may be able to tell from this that I am travelling – off to the Turks and Caicos Islands again for work. As usual I took the opportunity of the wait at the airport (NAIA Terminal 1) to sketch – just a couple sitting in the corner at Starbucks watching the planes take off and land.
Sun-28-Apr-2019
Here is the last sketch I did on my way home from Turks and Caicos Islands – this one is in Taiwan done during a few hours layover. Many of the gate areas have a theme (I drew the post office themed one on the way out) – this one being Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty is a Japanese cartoon character and is supposed to be a little girl who lives outside London. Despite what many people think she is not meant to be a cat! The waiting area had pink candy cane columns, pink floor tiles, a children’s play area and pictures of Hello Kitty everywhere!
Wed-3-April-2019
Here is another of the sketches I did on my long journey home from Turks and Caicos to the Philippines. Much like on the journey out there, I had a long layover in Toronto so I chose a complicated view to sketch and took my time. This latticed dome covers a bar and food stand in the airport – quite extravagant for something as simple as that – but without these sculptural interventions I guess the airport would be pretty dull.
Tue-2-April-2019
Here is one of several sketches done on my journey from Turks and Caicos Islands back home to the Philippines. This couple looked like they had been on holiday in TCI and had been baking on the beach – both looked very sun tanned.
Mon-1-Apr-2019
On Thursday I made a day trip to South Caicos, flying from Providenciales to Grand Turk and then to South Caicos on increasingly small planes – the last one just seating 5. Good job I am not a nervous flier. The silly thing is though that the airline rebooked me on to the direct flight from Provo to South Caicos as some seats became available…but didn’t tell me even when I checked in for the flight through Grand Turk. Anyway while I waited there I had a coffee and sketched this watched by a group of school kids whose flight was overbooked. I think one of the bits of paper may be a wanted poster!
Thu-28-Mar-2019
I arrived at the airport (in Grand Turk) for my domestic flight rather late (or so I though). But being on “island time” I was told I shouldn’t go through to the departure area until ½ hour before the actual flight (not the boarding time). Clearly things are a bit more relaxed than international flights. Anyway I used up my time with coffee and a sketch of the large array of booze behind the airport bar. On a TV next to me CNN was playing…some kind of loop of news from 2 days ago!
Fri-22-March-2019
Having spent the night in the extortionately expensive Sheraton hotel I got to Toronto Pearson International terminal 1 early in the morning for the last leg of my journey to Turks and Caicos. The waiting area is laid out with countless little tables each with an iPad and a scanner so you can pay for what you want with your plastic. It must have cost a fortune to set up. You can sit at a table, browse the internet, check your flight status and you still don’t have to buy anything! I sketched the bar area which had these beautiful glass tube lights hanging over it. Someone briefly perched at the bar to buy something but then moved on quickly so they only appear as a ghost!
Tue-12-Mar-2019
Four hours wait in Taipei airport. All the waiting areas seems to have a theme and a whole bunch of historical information associated. Another one I noticed was a Taiwanese Cinema theme. It’s an inventive idea and much more interesting that your average boring grey waiting area.
Mon-11-March-2019
Sitting waiting to board my flight to Taipei the tails of planes always stand out from the dull grey buildings and tarmac. Drawing this I was wondering what I used to do while waiting around in airports. More airports scenes to come as I am on a long long journey to Turks and Caicos for work.
Mon-11-Mar-2019