This quick sketch was done at St Luke’s Medical Center when I went for a consultation on the results of some tests. Thankfully all is as well as can be expected for a man of my age.
Fri-3-Jul-2026
122-3545 – Waiting
dailysketches
122-3544 – These are mangosteen
Mangosteens are tropical evergreen trees native to Southeast Asia which produce this delicious sweet and juicy segmented fruit with a hard purple rind. The fruit is supposed to have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I often see ads for the MX3 food supplement which is made from the whole fruit, including the rind…apparently some studies have shown that it has joint pain benefits, but I just like to eat the fruit!
Thu-2-Jul-2026
122-3543 – This is not tomato juice
I bought this juice a while back thinking it was good and affordable. It does not taste nice! I realised that it’s not 100% juice, but is made of tomato paste and stevia (artificial sweetener) and artificial tomato flavour (whatever that is)…yuk! Those are two real tomatoes in front of the bottle though!
Tue-30-Jun-2026
122-3542 – Powerplant and disclosure day
By coincidence I ended up at the Powerplant mall again (after having met my friend there the day before) – because it had a showing of the movie “Disclosure Day” – one of the few still showing it because we were late in deciding to go and see it. What a rollercoaster ride! The movie started a bit slow but Spielberg knows how to keep you riveted to your seat and the two-plus hours zipped by. The ending was a bit disappointing but I can see that it would be impossible to find a satisfying way to wrap it up. I sketched this while we sat and had dinner at the Roti Shop before the movie.
Sun-28-Jun-2026
122-3539-41 – Poblacion Barangay, Museo ng Makati and people
Here are the other sketches I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila at the Rosas ng Sampiro festival in Poblacion Barangay of Makati City. This is an annual cultural and street-dancing celebration by local schools, that honours the city’s patroness, the Virgen dela Rosa de Macati (an 18th-century statue at the Saints Peter and Paul Parish, apparently brought from Mexico via galleon in 1718).
I first drew a group of fellow sketchers and then went up to the balcony of the Barangay Hall where I sketched the view and the crowds of people. The costumes and performances were fantastic, but they moved so fast that I couldn’t capture them in a drawing.
Sat-27-Jun-2026
122-3537-8 – Powerplant outside Dunkin’ and people at The Grid
These are the first two sketches I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila at the Rosas ng Sampiro festival in the Makati Poblacion Barangay (more about that in the next post). I first met up with my friend @the_uban_sketcher at the Powerplant Mall (it’s built on the site of a former power plant) and did the first sketch where we met up. After that we went for lunch at The Grid – which is a high end (meaning over-priced) foodcourt – but at least I could get some vegetarian food there.
Sat-27-Jun-2026
122-3536 – On the cob
Here is an evening sketch of something I took out of the fridge. I don’t know why but I’ve never been a big fan of sweetcorn (especially when it’s on the cob – maybe because I end up with so much stuff stuck in my teeth). This sketch makes the sweetcorn look more wrinkly than it actually was.
Sun-21-Jun-2026
122-3535 – Cafe BBC coffee
This is the last sketch I did at the Día de Manila event, from inside the Museo de Intramuros. Afterwards, to close out our sketch-walk, @the_uban_sketcher and I went into the courtyard to have coffee there. The people serving the coffee were very nice and took a photo of us to post on their social media account. I am sorry to say though, that the coffee was pretty tasteless and not nice at all!
Sun-21-Jun-2026
122-3534 – San Ignacio and the Jesuits
Here is another of my sketches from the sketchwalk for Día de Manila. This is San Ignacio de Loyola who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1534. I gather that he is often shown holding a book because reading changed his life and he wrote some major spiritual texts. I think one of the cherubs in my sketch (which are supposed to stand for innocence and purity), looks like Robin (from Batman and Robin) because he seems to have a mask on.
Sun-21-Jun-2026