Here are my last two sketches done with Urban Sketchers QC in Taal. The first of these was done in a random street – with the Basilica still visible in the background. The second of these was done at the end of the day after the Latag (show and tell or throw down – when the Mayor came!) while we waited for our Pancit Lomi before heading home.
Sat-21-Feb-2026
Here is the second sketch I did with Urban Sketchers QC on the “Banaag Sketching Heritage Tour” in Taal. After breakfast we wandered up to the huge church in the town and sat in the shelter of a gazebo near the town hall to sketch out of the sun. I’ve sketched a similar view before in 2023 – see sketch No.2371) For a change I made a video of myself sketching this…just but holding up my phone and filming a few clips then joining them together. It’s a bit shaky and was distracting me a bit while I sketched, but it was fun to do.
Sat-21-Feb-2026
After it gradually got hotter and hotter outside I retreated indoors to the nice cool lobby of Gota de Leche for my second sketch with #UskMnl at the end of November. I wanted to try lighter more careful lifework (so I used by TWSBI pen) but I wasn’t really feeling it (as they say) – so I didn’t do any more work on this despite it feeling partly finished.
Sat-22-Nov-2025
Here is the first sketch I did with #UskMnl at Gota de Leche towards the end of November. I found a shady spot away from too many huge red ants…but could barely see the building. Gota de leche means ‘drop of milk’ in Spanish. It’s a charity founded in 1906 that provides milk and other nutritional supplements to indigent Filipino children and their mothers.
Sat-22-Nov-2025
I arrived early at the Guhit Cavite Exhibition event (at De La Salle University Dasmariñas). Waze first told me it would take 2 hours to get there, but then it took only just over an hour, so I took the opportunity to sketch in the little garden opposite the conference centre. I had to fight off an army of mozzies as I drew this. A plaque at the bottom of this statue says “in Memoriam Dra. Encarnacion Mangubat-Reyes” …I guess she was a doctor who worked at the university, but I couldn’t find anything on the internet about her.
Mon-15-Sep-2025
I thought this fighter plane was a concrete sculpture when I first saw it (after all, all the other sculptures dotted around Villa Escudero are). However a plaque told me that this fighter plane was used in 1973 by the Philippine Air Force against secessionist rebels in Mindanao…I am not sure what I feel about that. It is certainly not something I would like in my garden.
Thu-4-Sep-2025
Here is my first sketch done on a little outing with friends to celebrate my wife’s 60th (again). This house (dismantled and relocated to this site) houses an overflow of the main museum on the site – and contains the collections of the family – mostly what I would call historical bric-a-brac. Apparently the pink colour has something to do with the use of coral in the original decoration of the house – but somehow I imagine it was never this garish.
Thu-4-Sep-2025
After going to Bahay Modernismo with #UskQuezonCityI spend a nice long while sketching at the Presidential Car Museum. I have sketched there many times before (see sketches No. 1030 and No. 2587 to start with), but it’s always a bit of a struggle because the lighting is low – so you are never sure what colours or what values you are using until you step outside! This car is a 1960 Rolls-Royce Phantom V used by Imelda Marcos (mother of the current president of the Philippines and wife of Ferdinand the 10th president, who’s dictatorship was marked by cronyism, corruption, and human rights abuses – while his family amassed great personal wealth at the expense of the country).
Sun-3-Aug-2025
Here is the first sketch that I did with #UskQuezonCity at Bahay Modernismo. This is a recently opened heritage museum at Quezon Memorial Circle which “aims to safeguard mid-century Filipino architecture and culture”, with the rooms filled with vintage furniture and classic products. We had 45 minutes inside but 30 minutes of what was the tour. This was sketched in the living room space.
Sun-3-Aug-2025