Solo Galura joined USk Philippines sketching session
exactly a year ago with the visit of the National Museum Gallery and former
Philippine Congress Assembly Hall. He has since set up a group in his home city
province of Tacloban,
in Leyte. Last September 30th saw
the opening of the USk-Philippines Tacloban group’s sketches exhibit entitled
“Tacloban, Tacloban…”. Held at Café Lucia in Tacloban
City, in the island
of Leyte (where General Douglas
MacArthur landed to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese) the
opening was attended by my wife & yours truly over that weekend with some
15 or so other sketchers and guests. The exhibit will run throughout October.
This gives a much needed awareness for people visiting the café of the small
city to appreciate on-location sketching of their place and culture.
Solo reports that they are some 5 regular members who attend
their weekly sketch walks here. The day before the exhibit opening, my wife and
I got a chance to sketch with the local group. We sketched the Hotel Alejandro
where my wife and I stayed for two nights. What’s interesting about the hotel
was that the ancestral house was retained and made into a museum and main
entrance for the newly built hotel. You can see the plan of that in the sketch
I drew.
On our last day there, Solo had tour-guided us in the
neighboring island of Samar and sketched a
church there.
Future coordination with Manila and Tacloban groups are underway for
bigger and more ambitious exhibits and activities.
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| Under the shade sketching Hotel Alejandro |
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| A refurbished Filipino ancestral house converted as the main entrance of a new hotel |
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| Sketch of Hotel Alejandro showing the old ancestral house turned museum and main entrance |
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| The gang after sketching that Saturday morning |
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| Cafe Lucia was the place of the exhibit |
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| Solo, Dan, Ed and Janeil |
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| Opening remarks |
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| Ribbon Cutting |
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| Some of the sketches |
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| Ed's Sketch |
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| Ed's sketch |
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| Solo & Janeil |
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| Tacloban Sketchers hang out |
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| Group Picture |
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| Sketching at Samar on the last day |
