If I don’t use my preppy pen (with the blue sludgy Kung Te-Cheng Noodlers ink) every day, it dries up (update….even every day is not enough…it just dries up anyway). I had to work hard to get the ink flowing when I did this sketch…I next tried a little bit of damp tissue in the cap but that didn’t work either. This is one of the plants (one of the few that grows despite our “black thumbs”) that grows well on our balcony.
Tue-3-Mar-2026
Here is another try at sketching my mum while we had a video chat. This time I was hatching a lot using my fine TWSBI pen and black noodlers ink. As we chatted squirrels were eating the nuts in the bird feeder outside her window.
Sat-28-Feb-2026
Drawing the same thing over and over again is therapeutic, which is appropriate because as I sketched this, I was watching the third season of “Shrinking”.
Thu-26-Feb-2026
In February we made a visit to the Pintô Art Museum. Our first stop was lunch (at Cafe Dionysus (Dionysus is the ancient Greek god of wine, fertility, theatre etc., known as Bacchus in Roman mythology), where I had panini with queso puti (local white cheese made from carabao’s milk) that was actually three pieces of pan de sal (local bread rolls). A lot has changed since we visited years ago. These sketches was done in a new sketchbook made with Cass Art hot pressed 300 gsm watercolour paper.
After a few hours of wandering around the galleries we stopped at another cafe (it seems there are three at the museum these days), for a cold drink and I did a second sketch. Despite a long time searching I cannot find the name of this piece or the artist. I should have looked more carefully when I was there.
Tue-24-Feb-2026
Here are my last two sketches done with Urban Sketchers QC in Taal. The first of these was done in a random street – with the Basilica still visible in the background. The second of these was done at the end of the day after the Latag (show and tell or throw down – when the Mayor came!) while we waited for our Pancit Lomi before heading home.
Sat-21-Feb-2026
Here is the second sketch I did with Urban Sketchers QC on the “Banaag Sketching Heritage Tour” in Taal. After breakfast we wandered up to the huge church in the town and sat in the shelter of a gazebo near the town hall to sketch out of the sun. I’ve sketched a similar view before in 2023 – see sketch No.2371) For a change I made a video of myself sketching this…just but holding up my phone and filming a few clips then joining them together. It’s a bit shaky and was distracting me a bit while I sketched, but it was fun to do.
Sat-21-Feb-2026
Here is the first sketch I did with Urban Sketchers QC on the “Banaag Sketching Heritage Tour” in Taal. A friend kindly drove a group of us and we arrived just in time to register, get a goody bag and for the opening talks. We then went to straight to breakfast at @GalleriaTaal (where there is also a camera museum though we didn’t go and see that).
Sat-21-Feb-2026
Here are the sketches I did in Binondo on Chinese New Year with Urban Sketchers Manila. I first met my friend Reuel in SM Manila and walked into Binondo. On the way we stopped for breakfast at Jollibee on Quintin Parades Road and met this group of people who said that they gather every Tuesday. This would turn out to be the enduring memory of the day. They were so friendly and happy to be sketched. We took group photos and they gave us rice cakes and crackers. Fr. Joaquin (who is from Goa and appears in my first sketch) said we were breaking down barriers by sketching – it was such a heartwarming start to the day.
My second sketch was of the fibreglass horses hitched up to the a streetcar in the Chinese Museum next to Lucky Chinatown Mall. The Tranvía was a streetcar system that served Manila during the late 19th century. The horse-drawn tranvías (or tranvía de sangre—literally “blood tram”) were an animal powered version of the system.
My third sketch was done in a rush on the bridge overlooking Lucky Chinatown Walk – I think that’s a multi-storey car park in the background. I had to rush as it rained – you can see splashes on the paper.
Finally I sketched the receptionist or concierge in the museum, standing behind a desk shaped like a junk (a Chinese sailing ship). On the wall there were lots of phrases in English and Chinese (and maybe Tagalog?) – in relief. That was difficult to sketch and I am not sure if I captured that very well.
Tue-17-Feb-2026
I finally got outside to sketch…around this time I was busy with work and had been doing too many evening/indoor sketches. Many of the trees in the communal garden look like they are about to fall over with their roots lifting out of the ground. I am dreading the next big typhoon to hit Metro Manila.
Fri-13-Feb-2026