This sketch was started in “Edmundo Lounge” in Bury St. Edmunds where we had lunch on the third full day of our holiday. We drove to Bury to do some shopping for camping gear, in anticipation of the next leg of our trip, when we will camp at the Womad (World of Music Arts and Dance) festival in Wiltshire. I finished off the sketch at home.
Mon-22-Jul-2024
Because of the jet lag we’ve been getting up pretty early – and this gives me time to sketch in the morning before we go anywhere. This is the courtyard of the place where we are staying. On the right is the farmhouse and on the left is one of the converted outbuildings like the one that we are staying in. According to their website, the main farmhouse was built in the 1830’s.
Sun-21-Jul-2024
On the first day of our holiday we visited my sister and sat in their garden to have lunch and a cup of tea. There are flowers and greenery everywhere (my sister is an avid gardener), but I just sketched a few pot plants next to their pond.
Sat-20-Jul-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 is my first sketch of our holiday – as always done at the airport. Our flight was almost at midnight so we planned to have something to eat there (in the Philippines they recommend that you are the airport 4 hours before the flight!). Even though Kenny Roger’s Roasters has a plant based menu in the Philippines the franchisees at Terminal 3 chose not to include any of those in the international part of the terminal…more grumbling from me!
Thu-18-Jul-2024
I decided to celebrate a new sketchbook – which I made from Clairefontaine Aquapad 300gsm cold pressed paper – and a larger format, with a double page sketch of the kit I am bringing on our holiday in the UK and Spain. In addition to this I also have a couple of sketchbooks of course, plus a small ‘backup’ pouch with more ink, another small watercolour palette, my penknife and some brushes, for check-in baggage.
Tue-16-Jul-2024
These days, every time one of us gets flowers, I sketch them. These pink roses, carnations and daisies were given to my wife for her birthday, by our daughters. I sketched them using #Derwent watercolour pencils and a little bit of ink.
Tue-9-Jul-2024
This sketch was done while we waited for dinner at a new vegetarian restaurant (for us) that we went out to for my wife’s birthday. The waiter told us that they opened during the pandemic…they have another branch in Makati, Barangay Poblacion. The food was great, served quickly and the place has a nice atmosphere. It was strange though that there didn’t seem to be a single sign on the road to tell you the place was there – we had to ask someone in order to find it.
Sun-7-Jul-2024
This sketch was done at the local Saint Anne Parish church, where we cycled to last Sunday morning. The first church on this site was built in 1609 but after several earthquakes the present one was started in 1883. I sketched here way back on 12 May 2016, when I first began sketching regularly (see post No.40 on my blog). That time I managed to get the whole tower in…my current small format sketchbook tends to make me focus on details…that’s my excuse anyway.
Sun-7-Jul-2024