Urban Sketchers Philippines 5th Anniversary Sketchwalk - You're Invited!

This year marks Urban Sketchers Philippines' fifth year as a regional chapter of Urban Sketchers. Join us as we celebrate with a sketchwalk in the country's most famous park dedicated to our national hero Jose P. Rizal.

Just bring your own sketching materials (and water, hand towel, umbrella) - joining is FREE. Everybody is welcome to join.

Date: May 21, 2016, Saturday
Venue: Luneta/Rizal Park
Time: 9am-12nn

You can start sketching earlier, of course. :) We will have our Show & Tell / Group Photo at 11:30, so please make sure you are at our meetup place by that time.

Meetup Place:
“Ang Pagpapakabayani ni Dr. Jose P. Rizal (The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal),” Rizal's execution site. It's a few meters away beside the Rizal Monument and the Gomburza marker, and it's beside the Chinese Garden. It's a large shaded area where there are big statues depicting the final moments of our national hero's life. There is a minimal entrance fee of P20 for adults and P10 for students.

Once we're all complete we will head out to the Rizal Monument for another (quick) group photo. :)

There's something for every sketcher in the park, whether you like people-sketching or lean more toward architecture and land/cityscapes! Here are some areas of interest in Rizal Park (please note that some of these charge a minimal entrance fee for upkeep/maintenance):

• Ang Pagpapakabayani ni Dr. Jose P. Rizal / Rizal Execution Grounds (meetup place)
• Rizal Monument
• Gomburza execution site marker
• Quirino Grandstand, Kilometer Zero marker
• Central Lagoon - dancing fountains
• Gallery of Heroes
• Binhi ng Kalayaan statue, Garden
• Open-air auditorium - groups practicing dances, etc.
• La Madre Filipina sculpture
• Picnic area
• Chinese Garden
• Japanese Garden
• Chess Plaza
• Topographic map of the Philippines
• Children's playground
• Lapu-Lapu statue

*Urban sketching tip: sketch with a buddy, or with a group :)
---
After the sketchwalk (and lunch!), you may want to visit the National Museum - entrance is free for May (National Heritage Month). :)

Please click here to visit our Facebook event page for more details. See you in Luneta!

Urban Workshop and Sketchwalks Last April 16 & 17

Design Week Philippines happens twice a year, and for the first edition this year on April 16 and 17, Urban Sketchers Philippines was invited to the first designated Design District: the Spanish-era Walled City of Intramuros, Manila. This coincided with Intramuros Pasyal Weekend, usually organized monthly by Viva Manila, where part of Gen. Luna Street in Intramuros becomes a pedestrian zone for the two afternoons.

Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), Design Week Philippines is an assembly of some of local artist groups and cultural activities.

Eileen Bondoc Escueta provides some tips to workshop participants on the first day.

Participants of two workshops reached more than 40 people total, mostly students and those who were joining us for the sketchwalks for the first time.

The UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site of San Agustin Church is one of the best examples of Spanish-era structures.

The sketchwalks after the workshops yielded some impressive sketch results. However, it was reminder that the activity of sketching need not be to impress. Sketching or drawing - in a world where a camera or a smartphone can instantly take a picture of the scene - is an activity of discovery, expression, and a tool for observing places, people or things.

Sketching is an effective way to observe and appreciate our built heritage.

A booth for Urban Sketchers Philippines was provided along Gen. Luna Street to let us join in the monthly weekend market. A brief public workshop on sketching basics, and a 2-hour sketchwalk of Intramuros were also held for the two afternoons.

The booth provided gave some information to the public about what Urban Sketchers is all about.

It is always interesting to see the sketch results with varied styles - we may draw the same subject, but we always draw differently.

Sketch results for the first day.

The 1-hour workshop gave the most essential principles of how eye-hand coordination works, and eventually also included the basics of different sketch media used. The workshop placed emphasis on how practicing as much as you can can yield better proficiency - like any other skill like driving or riding a bicycle.

Janeil Arlegui gives sketching advice for the second day workshop.

A brief exercise in sketching before going out to the sketchwalk.

Temperatures of the two days were pretty high - as maximum 38 degrees Celsius. Best to use shaded areas as vantage views for sketching for a few minutes.

Intramuros offers some picturesque scenes that are just asking for sketchers to sketch.

Resident children were encouraged to draw what they saw.

The 2nd day's sketch results.

The best part about the Urban Sketchers is that we are made up of people with different backgrounds, most surprisingly people who don't  use drawing as a source of their career. Ordinary people who are using sketching as a way to see, not just to look. It is an enjoyable way of heightening one's perceptual senses. The sketchbooks become visual diaries that can be shared and kept as reminders of the experiences.

Old and new Urban Sketchers Philippines participants show off their sketches.

In another event organized by CITEM, we also had some opportunity to see the exposition of FAME Manila held at the Metro Manila World Trade Center, April 21-24.

Post-Design Week: Manila FAME, Philippines export exposition (April 21-24) showcases the best Philippines furniture, crafts, and new innovations.

Traditional cloth weaving method was even showcased during the exposition.

We thank CITEM Philippines for inviting us as being a part of Design Week.