Uskmnl

115-3396-9 – Household of St. Joseph and Lunar New Year

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Household of St. Jospeh

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.

Horses and tranvias de Filipinas

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.

Chinese New Year

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.

Junk

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

112-3327 – Rizal Day quill pen

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Here is the last sketch I did with Urban Sketchers Manila at our year end sketch-walk. I drew this using one straw-load of Chinese ink from National Book Store and using a quill pen made from a straw (thanks to a little workshop run by M Roxas), and which worked amazingly well.

Tue-30-Dec-2025

112-3326 – Urban sketcher bags

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This is the second sketch I did with Urban Sketchers Manila at our year end sketch on Rizal Day, in Fort Santiago. I sketched the bags of the sketchers inside the museum compound while I chatted with my friends about new paper, ink and brushes….which was probably really boring for my daughter who kindly came along!

Tue-30-Dec-2025

112-3325 – Scouts at Fort Santiago

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Here is my first sketch done with Urban Sketchers Manila on Rizal Day at the Museo ni Jose Rizal at Fort Santiago. I am always surprised that so few people show up at events like this given the millions that live in Manila. The ceremony was mostly attended by troupes of scouts and a smattering of tourists.

Tue-30-Dec-2025

111-3291 – Inside Gota de Leche but not feeling it

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After it gradually got hotter and hotter outside I retreated indoors to the nice cool lobby of Gota de Leche for my second sketch with #UskMnl at the end of November. I wanted to try lighter more careful lifework (so I used by TWSBI pen) but I wasn’t really feeling it (as they say) – so I didn’t do any more work on this despite it feeling partly finished.

Sat-22-Nov-2025

103-3088 – Día Del Libro

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With this sketch I am on to my 103rd sketchbook – this one using my go-to paper at the moment (Umae hot press 300gsm). This is the third sketch I did on World Book Day (Día Del Libro) with #UskMnl in Ayala Triangle Gardens. The building is the Makati Stock Exchange (which I have sketched before – see sketch No.1080). Instead of doing my usual thing and carefully starting with ink, I decided to be more spontaneous, start with the paint and be a bit more splashy.

Sat-26-Apr-2025

101-3052-5 – Art in the park

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Starbucks cold with Reuel and AIP

Last month I tried to sell some sketches at the #ArtInThePark art fair in Makati, with #UskManila. Unfortunately nobody was interested in buying sketches of bridges! However I had a nice time that day hanging out with my sketching friends including, Reuel (@the_uban_sketcher). My first sketch was done when the two of us decided to escape from the heat and had a coffee in Starbucks.

Art for sale

Then I sketched the #UrbanSketchersManila kiosk where we had our stuff set up and the musicians (soulful mood strings) who were set up in the middle of the park.

Soulful mood strings

Later we went for something to eat at McDonalds with Gili (@nalegili) where I sketched some of the other diners. So despite the lack of sales on my part (I think the UskManila kiosk did well otherwise), I had a lovely day!

McDo diners

Sun-23-Mar-2025

101-3050 – Binondo-Intramuros bridge

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Here is the last of the sketches I am selling at the #ArtInThePark art fair on Sunday 23rd March in Makati, with #UskManila. Having sketched two bridges built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, I thought I would have a go at a more modern one. This bridge was a joint project between the Philippines and China and was finished in 2022. Apparently the construction was quite controversial because it is close to Intramuros and San Agustin church heritage site. There is a nice park under the Intramuros end of the bridge where I sat along a stone-paved riverside pathway.

Thu-20-Mar-2025

100-3027 – Ayala bridge

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Here is one of the sketches I am selling at the #ArtInThePark art fair on Sunday 23rd March at Jaime Velasquez Park, in Makati, with #UskManila (booth number 17). I had an adventure sketching this…I looked on google maps for a spot to see the bridge from and spotted a platform along the Pasig River behind Suntrust Condominiums. However it turns out that you can’t actually access the river from there, from the bridge itself or anywhere along Lopez Street. Instead I had to walk down a small road opposite the Central Terminal station of the LRT, through an unplanned settlement and squeeze through someone’s laundry and gown rental business, to end up on this huge paved walkway…without another soul in sight (except for a guard dog and a guy called Marlon, who kindly let me sketch there).

Thu-13-Mar-2025