I only had time for one sketch during my time in Erbil, as I was very busy helping facilitate a workshop. I managed to squeeze in this quick sketch out the window of the hotel, on the morning of my last full day.
Thu-9-Jul-2026
Here are the sketches I did on the way to Erbil, Iraq for work. The first is at the PAGS (Philippine Airport and Ground Services) lounge. I was surprised to be bumped up to business class – the travel agent had offered an upgrade with a hefty extra cost and I said no thanks, but somehow I ended up in business class anyway. So although I always feel a little uncomfortable with luxury and being waited on, I took advantage of the free coffee and breakfast before leaving Manila.
The second sketch is of the Al-Mourjan business lounge in Doha. The PAGS lounge was much better – here there was only free coffee and no food. This sketch ended up almost abstract. By this point I was pretty tired, so that’s my excuse.
Tue-7-Jul-2026
My daughter suggested sketching part of our leftover dinner…so I thought, why not? This went along with soft wholewheat tortillas (which I always pronounce incorrectly), and kidney beans cooked with tofu – yummy!
Sun-5-Jul-2026
On this day we had our lunch out after having done some shopping (I got some new glasses) in the morning. This elderly couple looked as though they were dressed up for a day out…they probably looked over at us and saw another elderly couple (staring at them, and not dressed up!).
Sat-4-Jul-2026
This quick sketch was done at St Luke’s Medical Center when I went for a consultation on the results of some tests. Thankfully all is as well as can be expected for a man of my age.
Fri-3-Jul-2026
Mangosteens are tropical evergreen trees native to Southeast Asia which produce this delicious sweet and juicy segmented fruit with a hard purple rind. The fruit is supposed to have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. I often see ads for the MX3 food supplement which is made from the whole fruit, including the rind…apparently some studies have shown that it has joint pain benefits, but I just like to eat the fruit!
Thu-2-Jul-2026
I bought this juice a while back thinking it was good and affordable. It does not taste nice! I realised that it’s not 100% juice, but is made of tomato paste and stevia (artificial sweetener) and artificial tomato flavour (whatever that is)…yuk! Those are two real tomatoes in front of the bottle though!
Tue-30-Jun-2026
By coincidence I ended up at the Powerplant mall again (after having met my friend there the day before) – because it had a showing of the movie “Disclosure Day” – one of the few still showing it because we were late in deciding to go and see it. What a rollercoaster ride! The movie started a bit slow but Spielberg knows how to keep you riveted to your seat and the two-plus hours zipped by. The ending was a bit disappointing but I can see that it would be impossible to find a satisfying way to wrap it up. I sketched this while we sat and had dinner at the Roti Shop before the movie.
Sun-28-Jun-2026
Here are the other sketches I did when I joined Urban Sketchers Manila at the Rosas ng Sampiro festival in Poblacion Barangay of Makati City. This is an annual cultural and street-dancing celebration by local schools, that honours the city’s patroness, the Virgen dela Rosa de Macati (an 18th-century statue at the Saints Peter and Paul Parish, apparently brought from Mexico via galleon in 1718).
I first drew a group of fellow sketchers and then went up to the balcony of the Barangay Hall where I sketched the view and the crowds of people. The costumes and performances were fantastic, but they moved so fast that I couldn’t capture them in a drawing.
Sat-27-Jun-2026