This is the last sketch I did before we left the Philippines for our holiday trip to the UK and Montenegro. I spent a lot of the day packing and was left with this pile of things to try and cram into my hand-carry (which has to be small so that it can fit under a seat on our EasyJet leg to Montenegro). This is also the beginning of a new sketchbook made using CassArt smooth watercolour paper.
Sat-18-Jul-2026
On 16 July I joined Urban Sketchers Manila for a meet up and to join in the Centennial Trails event at the National Museum of the Philippines, which celebrated 100 years of the Old Legislative Building (which is now the museum). My first sketch was done during the introductory talks, which was followed by a guided tour with a researcher who explained the architectural history.
We then went outside and sketched the front of the building from nearby the Gomburza monument – which I sketched back in Feb 2024 (see sketches No.2590-91).
Thu-16-Jul-2026
Here is a sketch of something random from the fridge – fresh ginger. It is inexpensive and plentiful in the Philippines and we always have some. Apart from using it in cooking, I like to have small slices crushed, along with honey and calamansi juice, in a hot drink.
Tue-14-Jul-2026
Somehow I still had the energy to sketch this on the day I got back to the Philippines. As soon as I arrived we went straight to the mall and I picked up my new glasses and bought this too – as my old blue one finally gave up (with the lid not tightening up anymore).
Sat-11-Jul-2026
Here are the sketches I did on the way to Erbil, Iraq for work. The first is at the PAGS (Philippine Airport and Ground Services) lounge. I was surprised to be bumped up to business class – the travel agent had offered an upgrade with a hefty extra cost and I said no thanks, but somehow I ended up in business class anyway. So although I always feel a little uncomfortable with luxury and being waited on, I took advantage of the free coffee and breakfast before leaving Manila.
The second sketch is of the Al-Mourjan business lounge in Doha. The PAGS lounge was much better – here there was only free coffee and no food. This sketch ended up almost abstract. By this point I was pretty tired, so that’s my excuse.
Tue-7-Jul-2026
My daughter suggested sketching part of our leftover dinner…so I thought, why not? This went along with soft wholewheat tortillas (which I always pronounce incorrectly), and kidney beans cooked with tofu – yummy!
Sun-5-Jul-2026
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
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
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