Here is my last sketch from the #UskManila sketch-walk at PICC – and the one I was most satisfied with. My sketching friend @Paul Paul and I found a spot in the courtyard where we could shelter from the rain but still sit outside. This concrete sculpture is another of the national treasures at PICC. Anito seems to be a reference to “an ancestral spirit worshiped as a protecting household deity” – which seems to fit with the totemic style.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
Here is another sketch from our PICC sketch-walk last weekend. After our first latag (Tagalog for laying out…when the group spreads out their sketches), my sketching friend @Paul Paul and I headed off to sketch at the grand staircase of the Plenary Hall and Reception Hall. This is dominated by a steel sculpture mounted on the wall, by Arturo Luz and called “grid”. This is one of the artworks at the PICC that has been declared a National Cultural Treasure. I did google around a bit to see if I could find any blurb about its meaning…but found nothing.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
Here is the second sketch I on the PICC sketch-walk with #UskManila – in the upper lobby of the east wing. It was raining a lot that day so most of my sketches were done inside. The mural or painting on the left is called Pagdiriwang in Tagalog, meaning celebration. It was painted in 1976 (and was done in-situ according to our guide) is an abstract expressionist work – according to the plaque the artist took inspiration from festive fok traditions in the Philippines.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
On the weekend I joined a sketch-walk with #UskManila at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The building was designed by Leandro Locsin, opened in 1976 and is designed in a brutalist style. Brutalism is a style of architecture that developed in the 1950’s and 60’s – characterised by lots of bare concrete and bold geometric designs. Personally I find the style a bit ugly – but the PICC building was at least designed carefully, was built to high quality standards and is still in very good condition. I sketched this sculpture while we waited for a tour – it’s part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation sculpture garden, which was opened in 1996. Some blurb on a plaque in front of it says it is by Vitaly Shanov and Daria Uspenskaya. The plaque also says that “the image of the bear is seen now as the epitome of goodness, peacefulness and fairness”…hmmm perhaps not anymore.
Sat-23-Sep-2023
Here is another of the sketches I did on my own little #SketchWalk in Makati last week. Having already drunk too much coffee (I start to feel a bit shaky if I have more than two cups), I decided to have a cup of tea at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf inside Glorietta Mall. The slogan painted on the wall at the shop was some BS about “passion for coffee and tea”…but when I was given my English breakfast tea, they didn’t serve it with milk and looked at me like I’d asked for something really strange when I asked for it. Then they gave me hot milk! Yikes.
Fri-18-Sep-2023
Today we got our printer/scanner back (after repairs), so I can scan and post some of my backlog of sketches. It was about a week ago that we went into Makati – my wife attending a (long) meeting and me taking the printer in for repairs. I had quite a bit of free time so took advantage and had my own little #SketchWalk around Makati. This is the first sketch I did sitting outside Starbucks along Legazpi Street. Despite being in the ‘central business district’, there is so much greenery around.
Fri-8-Sep-2023
Last weekend we joined #UskManila for a sketch-walk in Cavite, where we sketched at two ‘shrines’ – actually old houses (but with a mausoleum in the back garden). The first was the house of Baldomero, who was the cousin of the first president of the Philippines (Emilio Aguinaldo) and fought against the Spanish and the Americans in the Philippine revolutionary forces. We had an interesting tour of the house (on the left), which was built in 1906.
Sat-26-Aug-2023
I’d promised myself that I would try drawing people playing basketball, at the court in the development where we live – and here is my first attempt. I thought it would be a good way to practice drawing figures in motion. It was a lot harder than I’d imagined as they just don’t stay still – an obvious flaw in my plan!
Thu-24-Aug-2023
Now that I look at this sketch I can see that my perspective is not quite right. Never mind, I enjoyed sketching and painting the bright colours of various cleaning products, even if it was really hot and sweaty while I sat in our smallest bathroom and drew this.
Mon-21-Aug-2023