uskmanila

83-2616 – Courtyard in the rain

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I am really behind with posting my sketches…because I have been so busy going out sketching! Anyway here is yet another one from the event with Instituto Cervantes Manila (ICM) last weekend. After lunch it was raining a little so we all had to find somewhere to shelter and sketch. I positioned myself under an archway and drew the courtyard of the Institute. The cobbled stone floor was wet and I was trying to get the reflections … but I wasn’t satisfied with how it looked, so I finished off quickly and moved on to another one. In the background you can see some Segway scooters…maybe some tourists were using them to get around Intramuros?

Sat-9-Mar-2024

83-2615 – Charles IV King of Spain

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Here is the second sketch I did after the initial talk of Enrique Flores at the ICM workshop last Saturday. This statue in the Plaza de Roma, in front of Manila Cathedral, was originally erected in 1824 (and later reinstated in 1981) to honour Charles IV of Spain having sent the first batch of smallpox vaccine to the Philippines. In my sketch the king looks like he’s about to fall off his pedestal. The building in the background is the Governor’s Palace and was built in 1976.

Sat-9-Mar-2024

83-2614 – Manila Catheral

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This is the first sketch I did after the initial talk of Enrique Flores at the ICM workshop on Saturday. Enrique gave us 40 tips on sketching, one of which was about including people to give a sense of scale – so I deliberately included the crowds outside the Cathedral. For a change I also masked off the edges of this sketch before painting (instead of using a wobbly line)…got to get some washi tape though.

Sat-9-Mar-2024

82-2586 – Just one more

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After #CCPPasinaya2024 last weekend, a group of us went to Harbour Square to do just one more sketch before heading to Quezon City to help put up the Fifth Anniversary Exhibition of #UskQuezonCity. I was joined by my sketching friends @theartistpaul2020, @reuelgarzon and Edgardo Granada. Of course (after the usual awful traffic…you can always blame it on the traffic) we ended up arriving at the exhibition venue (the Presidential Car Museum) a bit late.

Sat-3-Feb-2024

80-2537 – Manila City Hall

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Last Wednesday sketchers from #UskManila were invited to give #UrbanSketching demonstration talks and join a #Sketchwalk with students from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning from Pamantasan Ng Lungsod Ng Maynila (the University of the City of Manila). The event took place at Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc., in Intramuros and was organised by PM CAUP Student Council. After my little talk we went up onto the old city walls and I found a shady spot to sketch this view. It was great fun joining an enthusiastic group of students and of course discovering another beautiful place I have never visited in Metro Manila – thank you for the invite!

Wed-13-Dec-2023

80-2531 – Oh my gulay

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Here is another sketch I did in Baguio…again taking photos of each step in an effort to show how I sketch. The truth is though, that I am usually not quite so careful and just launch into the sketch without any ‘construction’ lines…that’s why I often miss out the top of a tall building or find what I am sketching disappearing off the edge of the page! This one is done in my favourite restaurant in Baguio, a place called “Oh my gulay” – a local expression literally meaning ‘oh my veggies’ but effectively more like OMG. I’ve sketched here several times before – if you are keen you can hunt for sketch numbers 1643 and 2297 in my archive.

Sun-3-Dec-2023

80-2530 – Mt. Yangbew viewpoint

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I have been a bit lax in posting recently because I am preparing for a sketch-book making workshop on Sunday, plus I am giving a little urban sketching talk to some students in Intramuros next week. For the latter (as I am supposed to talk about the process I follow), I took some photos of this sketch at each step of the way. I did this one when we had a little hike up Mount Yangbew in La Trinidad, when we visited Baguio over last weekend.

Sun-3-Dec-2023

80-2529 – Baguio rolling clouds

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We have been on a little trip to Baguio and stayed in a nice little apartment way up in the mountains (or it certainly felt that way for our poor little car which struggled with the hills). This is the view we had from the rooftop. I did this sketch on the first day we arrived, after a long drive up from Manila, having setting off at 4am!

Fri-1-Dec-2023

80-2528 – Santa watching the traffic

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I have been a bit lax in posting recently, but here is the second sketch I did with #UskManila at the Andres Bonifacio National Monument earlier this week. I found a shady spot to do this one… sitting at the foot of the monument looking down one of the main roads. These Santa figures were set out around the roundabout … he’s waving I think, not making a rude gesture.

Tue-27-Nov-2023