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
I wasn’t really concentrating on this sketch – I just wanted to finish the last page in my little A6 sketchbook before we travelled. Sketching in a smaller format and on simple cartridge paper has been a useful experience (it has helped me sketch faster, when I have less time and to focus on simpler scenes)…but I will be happy to go back to a slightly bigger format with better paper.
Mon-15-Jul-2024
Here is a quick little sketch I did when we visited SM Aura shopping mall to buy #Pasalubong to take to the UK on our upcoming holiday. Buying pasalubong is the Filipino tradition of travellers bringing gifts from their destination to people back home (so we are kind of doing that in reverse). We had a snack and coffee at the #CoffeeBeanAndTeaLeaf having failed to find a single speck of vegetarian food at the food court, even though they have recently refurbished it (grumble, grumble).
Sun-14-Jul-2024
This little sketch was done outside the #BrewHilde coffee shop down the road from us, when we went out for a walk and breakfast on my wife’s birthday morning. I’ve sketched here many times before, but this time these plants caught my eye – they are commonly knows as elephant-ear plants but the scientific name is Colocasia.
Sat-6-Jul-2024
These are the sketches I did at the #AyalaMuseum when I visited the #WorldsWithinWorlds exhibition (in which some friends were participating). I only took a small bag and watercolour palette, planning to use only water brushes (the museum is strict on what you can take in). I did these sketches standing up while crowds of people concentrated on taking photos of themselves or the exhibits. The models of the ships were huge…I drew the Spanish galleon twice as my first attempt didn’t really capture it.
Sun-30-Jun-2024
These are the sketches I did when I joined #UskManila on a trip to the CBK Power Company’s hydropower plants. We had been invited by them with the idea that they will use our sketches in their calendar. We started the trip by meeting up to get on a bus at McDonald’s Alabang at 5am…and then I got home at close to midnight…so it was a long but enjoyable day! CBK’s three facilities are spread around Laguna and we visited all of them including going into the power house and on a cable car down into the valley in the last one (Botocan). Each sketch is done in ink with watercolour on simple cartridge paper. I have tried to give a caption to each sketch.
Sat-22-Jun-2024
This sketch is slightly out of order – but it was waiting in my sketchbook for some paint. I did this one when my wife and I went out for lunch on Father’s Day to our favourite restaurant, the #WabiSabiNoodleHouse in Makati. This place has lots of delicious varieties of (vegetarian) ramen noodle soup – plus the restaurant is paired with the Ikigai Kakigōri Cafe. Kakigōri is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavoured with syrup and a sweetener…I had the chocolate overload variety!
Sun-16-Jun-2024
I couldn’t resist doing another sketch (in the shade of the trees in Rizal Park) when I headed home from the Independence Day celebrations. This sculpture caught my eye so I did a quick sketch and added the colour at home. According to the plaque about 7,500 Filipino combat troops fought in the Korean War. The sculpture (by Juan Sajid Imao) is supposed to show two Filipino soldiers helping a wounded Korean comrade.
Wed-12-June-2024