This is the last sketch I did at the Día de Manila event, from inside the Museo de Intramuros. Afterwards, to close out our sketch-walk, @the_uban_sketcher and I went into the courtyard to have coffee there. The people serving the coffee were very nice and took a photo of us to post on their social media account. I am sorry to say though, that the coffee was pretty tasteless and not nice at all!
Sun-21-Jun-2026
Here is another of my sketches from the sketchwalk for Día de Manila. This is San Ignacio de Loyola who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1534. I gather that he is often shown holding a book because reading changed his life and he wrote some major spiritual texts. I think one of the cherubs in my sketch (which are supposed to stand for innocence and purity), looks like Robin (from Batman and Robin) because he seems to have a mask on.
Sun-21-Jun-2026
Here are some more of my sketches from the Urban Sketchers Manila sketchwalk for Día de Manila. The first is of an altar piece – about which I could find nothing online or it in-situ. The next thing I sketched had a catalogue code on it saying: Wood IA-M-ECLE: 15 – 430 – which means it is wooden sculpture, part of the Intramuros Administration Museum ecclesiastical collection and the 430th object registered in a 2015 batch. I was hoping for more information! Online I found out that Sto. Domingo de Guzman was a Castilian priest who founded the Dominicans and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists.
Sun-21-Jun-2026
Here is the second sketch I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila in Intramuros for Día de Manila at the Centro de Turismo. This was a heritage festival and celebration organised by the @niladcommunity (an umbrella organization that unites heritage advocacy groups), with exhibits, walking tours and panel discussions. The centre is located inside the reconstructed San Ignacio Church. This was originally built in 1899 but was largely destroyed in the Battle of Manila in 1945, leaving only it’s shell. Next door the Casa Misión Convent was converted into the Museo de Intramuros which we also sketched in.
Sun-21-Jun-2026
Here is the first sketch I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila in Intramuros for Día de Manila at the Centro de Tourismo (more about that in the next post). I started off my day by meeting with my friend @the_uban_sketcher in front of Manila Cathedral so we could sketch before it got too hot.
Sun-21-Jun-2026
This is the second sketch I did in Eastwood while I waited for our car to have it’s service. I did this while I sat inside the UCC Park Cafe.
Wed-17-Jun-2026
Here is the first sketch I did in Eastwood while I waited for our car to have its service. I sat in a little pop up coffee shop to sketch this. Apparently Supersam (in the background) is a popular restaurant known for its international comfort food and Filipino-American fusion dishes – but not by me…I’ve never heard of it!
Wed-17-Jun-2026
I can’t compete with the master but on this Sunday it seemed like a good day to sketch the swimming pool for the nth time (a phrase I am using regularly as I repeatedly sketch the same things). Having struggled a bit with this one – I feel it’s kind of heavy handed on the water – I might have another go….or several more goes using different(ish) materials each time?
Sun-14-Jun-2026
I was thinking of David Hockney when I went for a walk to get some exercise. In this part of Acacia Estates, where we live, it looks like DMCI the developers are planning to build even more housing. As soon as I saw this digger (in my favourite colour) I thought I should sketch it. I cleaned by TWSBI pen to do this one but the ink still seemed to come out grey!
I have been a fan of David Hockney’s work since I was a teenager – I remember my school art teacher took us to a showing of “A Bigger Splash” a 1973 biographical documentary film about his breakup with his then-partner Peter Schlesinger. I have followed his work ever since then….so sad that he passed away, but what a legacy he has left!
Sat-13-Jun-2026