Escolta

     It was a cloudy Saturday when I visited Escolta. It was a week before my first sketch-walk with USk Phils. I thought I will be able to sketch on site but luck is just not with me on that day. So, I just took pictures instead of what I thought were notable landmarks for Escolta. From these pic, I've attempted to make paintings based on the style I would like to experiment on. 

7" x 10" arches rough 300 gsm

7" x 10" arches rough 300 gsm

October SketchWalk

     Harbor Square. Here I bumped with an enthusiastic fellow sketcher whom in search for a good sketching spot, climbed fences with and was later dragged to the paddlers dock, where we met Mrs. Po, who interestingly owned an art gallery and offered to display works by the group. It was an exciting experience!

Daily Sketch

     It was a slow day at the new office while waiting for software updates and setups. Fortunately, I always carry along my my watercolor sketch kit.

Sketching unsuspecting office-mates.

Painting Faces

     Ever since I've gotten back into painting, I was mostly painting objects and landscapes and animals, but not people or faces. I think I'm very much intimidated. The nuances in form which we are mostly familiar with are the most difficult to express or capture. An image I found in WetCanvas forums provided me with an inspiration  to get started with a quick sketch.

mini moleskine watercolor notebook

DIY WaterColor Easel

      Sketching outside is already a challenge in itself. Add the distractions, weather, insects, fatigue. I've decided that I could reduce that challenge by introducing something that I can control. Comfort. In line with this, I have decided to make a portable and lightweight watercolor easel. The tripod that I used was bought from CDR-King. Unfortunately tripods with round leg was not available during that time so I settled for the one with square legs.

DIY watercolor easel

     To make this easel, I've used a quarter inch plywood, a T-nut (1/4" 20 tpi), and a cheap tripod. The screenshots below show how the wood was cut and assembled but feel free to make adjustments based on your requirement.

T_Nut  assembly

       The piece that will hold the water-bottle and paint was not successfully cut, I had to scrap the first one and cut another.

These are the two configuration I mostly see on the internet. I thought that the pattern on the left would be much easier to execute. I believe that the pattern on the right would provide the best grip and would experiment on  making another one.

Fire Valley - Wetcanvas Monthly Challenge

     I thought I wont be able to make it in time to finish this piece. I was so busy with other things and it is already the last day of September. They don't really have a time limit, it's just a deadline I set for myself since there is a new challenge every month. I also have to do this twice since I'm not satisfied with the first one I did. The rock textures was making it really challenging to get the values right. 

Fire Valley 7x10 arches rough 300gsm

Marikina Sketch Walk

    I was finally accepted on Urban Sketchers Philippines! The first sketch-walk was in Marikina, around the vicinity of Kapitan Moy and Our Lady of Abandoned Parish. It was very exiting for me as I've got to meet fellow sketchers. It felt like sketching for the first time. It was also my first time using my new sketchbook so I'm still trying to get the feel of how much water, drying time, etc.

Sketches by USk members

Kapitan Moy

Our Lady of Abandoned Parish

     More on Urban Sketchers Philippines blog!