We have had this talisay tree growing in a big pot on our balcony for a long time. We didn’t plant it, a shoot just appeared one day and then grew into this. My wife has given it the bonsai treatment to keep it smaller but it just keeps on growing.
Sun-12-Sep-2021
Last Sunday I was sketching again on Zoom with my friend @TheArtofBeingPresent. I had intended to include a pond in this sketch, which is just off the bottom of this page…but I ran out of space so I could include the palm tree. I am a bit late in posting this because of the backlog from our trip to El Nido.
Sun-1-Aug-2021
Here is my first sketch from our little holiday in El Nido. I drew this sitting by the swimming pool – but as I draw pools so often I didn’t bother to include it. Next sketches will hopefully be down on the beach if the weather clears up (pretty rainy at the moment).
Thu-22-July-2021
Here is the second sketch I did on Sunday – during my meet up on Zoom with my friend @TheArtofBeingPresent. In this I wanted to focus on the beautiful flame tree (also called fire trees) – so I left the cabanas white, so as not to draw attention away.
Sun-4-July-2021
I’m still trying to get my foliage looking better and in this one I laid down the watercolour in more gradual stages, waiting for each layer to dry. I also used a tissue to get texture. I am not sure if it made much difference though. A few days after I drew this, some maintenance people started lopping lumps of this tree (pretty brutal pruning), so I am glad I captured it while it was in full bloom!
Wed-16-June-2021
On Sunday I was sketching outside with my friend on Zoom and I had decided to concentrate on trees. In the end as my wife was joining me to work, we found a table in the clubhouse with a view – rather than sit in the actual garden and roast. There was even a cool breeze where we sat. Although I stopped painting the trees earlier than I usually do, I still think I fiddled about with the foliage to much.
Sun-13-June-2021
Earlier in the week I received an email that really wound me up, so my solution was to go outside and calm down by doing a quick sketch. It worked for me – who can get angry at trees and greenery?
Wed-5-May-2021
Sunday was Zoom sketching day again with my online friend #TheArtofBeingPresent. I take our sessions as encouragement to get out of the house, at least as far as our common garden and swimming pool – though with the pandemic still raging here I’m not going any further. Anyway here is the sketch I did – another drawing of one of the swimming pools, done while I sat in the shade of a cabana.
Sun-25-April-2021
This is the palm tree I can see outside my office window. It’s shedding a dead branch at the moment and has this beautiful green upper trunk. I am pretty sure I’ve sketched this before…when you could still see the whole of the crown at eye level.
Mon-2-April-2021
Here is the second sketch I did at Shambala Silang on our little day out. After a nice lunch and a wander around we sat in one of their ‘nooks’ – a wooden seat nestled in the greenery. This is the view we had while we sat and enjoyed a bit of nature.
Sun-28-Feb-2021
