LineAndWash

86-2690 – Picnic under mangrove with cat

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Sunday 5th May started with a drive into Makati with my wife attending a meeting and me hanging around in Washington SyCip Park (which is named after a Filipino accountant and banker). It’s quite small but contains several sculptures by Impy Pilapil – this one is called The Mangrove Nature Embrace. The park is a rare but desperately needed public green space in Metro Manila (the rest being eaten up by greedy developers), demonstrated by how crowded this park is with dog walkers, picnickers and people just eager to get outside… even in the heat. Sitting under this sculpture a couple were having a picnic and had brought their ginger cat, who regularly disappeared into the bushes.

Sun-5-May-2024

86-2689 – Bike rack

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We bought this Hollywood bike rack (that fixes on the back of our car) years ago. When I tried to put it on the car a while back, it was so long since we’d used it, that I first put it on upside down. All those straps and buckles and get pretty confusing! As I often find with my sketches I ran out of space at the bottom of the page for this one.

Thu-2-May-2024

86-2687 – No cycling here

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On #LabourDay my wife and I went for a cycle ride near SM MOA (Mall of Asia). We thought the cycle loop there included cycling along Manila Bay, but were told not to cycle along the very wide pathway, with all the nice little places to eat (including even the Bikers Café), and instead use the road where there is just a white line between you and careless drivers. There are even bike racks regularly spaced along the path…and nearby signs saying ‘push your bike’. This sketch was done in Starbucks where we escaped the heat for a while.

Wed-1-May-2024

86-2686 – New birks

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After lots of #UrbanSketches here is one of something more simple – some new shoes. I bought these #Birkenstock shoes in Makati after sketching at the Dia del Libro event on 20th April in Ayala Triangle Gardens. I have been suffering from plantar fasciitis again (which affects my foot arches), and wearing these sandals (plus a compression sock at night) seems to fix the problem.

Mon-29-Apr-2024

86-2685 – Mt. 360

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Despite the unbearably hot weather (the ‘feels like’ temperature has been close to 40 degrees celsius recently), we decided to go for a short hike a few weeks back. We set off from home very early (around 4am), so that we could get to the starting point before it got too hot. We were also lucky enough that it was overcast and even rained a little bit during the hike. Mt. 360 is in Tanay and is called that because at the summit you have a 360 degrees panoramic view including the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.

Sun-28-Apr-2024

86-2684 – Dunkin pink

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This sketch was done when I drove with my wife into Pasay so she could attend a meeting. I was planning to find a nice coffee shop to sketch in while she was occupied, but instead ended up in a tiny weeny Dunkin’ Donuts shop virtually underneath a massive flyover. I still had a nice time though!

Sat-27-Apr-2024

86-2683 – Nun with skull

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Here is the second sketch I did on 23 April in Intramuros, with #UrbanSketchersManila at the San Agustin Museum for the Unesco World Book and Copyright Day. On the left is a molave wood statue of Sta. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine (from Bacolor, Pampanga dating back to the 1700s). On the right is a statue of Saint Rita of Cascia. According one website she may have been holding a crucifix in her left hand – and she is known as the patroness of impossible causes including sterility, loneliness and marriage difficulties! I’m not sure why she is holding a skull though.

Tue-23-Apr-2024

86-2682 – Museo de San Agustin

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For the second part of our afternoon off on 23 April in Intramuros, we joined #UrbanSketchersManila at the San Agustin Museum for the Unesco World Book and Copyright Day, hosted by the UNESCO-Philippine National Commission. The museum has an amazing collection of religious artefacts, housed in a former monastery, with beautiful courtyards (I could sketch there for days). In my sketch the figures at the ends are St. Augustine and St. Paul (17th century Molave wood from Sexmoan, Pampanga …yes that is a real place), and in the middle is a 20th century Risen Christ. The museum notes didn’t say anything about the wooden altarpiece.

Tue-23-Apr-2024

86-2681 – Junk not

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On Tuesday 23 April we took an afternoon off and went to Intramuros, first to visit the exhibition of a friend of ours at the NCCA Gallery. @JunkNot.ph is a social enterprise that up-cycles plastic waste into furniture and home decors, while providing livelihood to a displaced community in Taal. The furniture is amazing and colourful – my sketch just captured half of a seat with angel wings!

Tue-23-Apr-2024