Sketching Paco Park on August 20, 2011

Philippine Daily Inquirer Featured USk-PH

Augusto "Toti" Villalon, a heritage conservation architect and writer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer was able to write about urban sketching, featuring the Philippines group. In his Pride of Place column last August 08, 2011, he also mentions the international movement of regaining our ways of getting in touch with our heritage places through sketching. The article used sketches of some Manila scenes from USk-PH members Buz Walker-Teach, Carlo Martinez and Janeil Arlegui.

San Sebastian Church Interior in Watercolor

What initially was intended to be just a casual quick sketch became a longer project. It took 4 separate visits of about 3 hours each to finish this as the pictures could not capture what I felt of the place. I even had the BluPrint magazine with HDR pictures. After realizing also that painting in such a dim environment, I was having difficulty working on the details. Finally, being prepared on the 3rd visit with a clipping reading LED light, I managed in getting it done.

This all-steel end of the 19th century neo-gothic church was a delight to keep coming back to, with its intricate detail. I'm still not satisfied with this illustration as I want to show it with its lofty ceiling.

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More details for the upcoming Sketch Walk on August 20, Saturday, however with venue still to be determined due to some recent developments.

Paco Park, Manila

St. Pancratius Chapel - a Sunday mass is in session.


The deceased were entombed in the old burial vaults (left).


More burial vaults are in courtyards behind the chapel.

I spent 5 hours this past Sunday sketching in Paco Park, a park of circular stone walls surrounding the St. Pancratius Chapel and Cemetery in the Paco District of Central Manila. Paco is a small neat park with a quiet ambience - a good location to sit and sketch the unique, moss-covered chapel and grounds. The thick stone walls still contain many old burial vaults, where the bodies of parishioners and priests were once entombed. As I drew, a number of families and groups walked by, taking pictures of the chapel, and relaxing in this quiet haven from noisy Manila, just beyond the walls.

Escolta Street Sketch Walk - 23 July

The Urban Sketchers Philippines Third Official Sketch Walk along Escolta Street in the old section of Manila was last Saturday, 23 July. It was my first sketching venture into the old areas, where life can be a constant daily pursuit of survival for many people who live there. These are my results - less my unfinished view of the Art Deco Capitol Theatre - the Arsenio Lacson statue, a view of the Santa Cruz Church, seen thru the many criss-crossing power lines, and a dilapidated building perched along a small (and rather odiferous) 'estero' (canal) on Escolta St.

Sketching Result of July 23, 2011

With the sun blazing half the time and the other half raining, we could say the sketchcrawl at Escolta street in Manila was a success.  Sketching or drawing on location offers a more direct and personal way of recording what you see, feel and think. The level of artistry does not bare importance and the result does not matter much. What is given emphasis is the experience of the place captured on paper. Heritage places offer an interesting theme for sketching as you get a glimpse of the cultural and artistic richness they emanate. You notice things more, taking in the place more intimately than merely taking pictures. In this case, you would be making the picture, instead of taking it. The process of making utilizes a deeper brain procedure, which in turn makes everything more memorable and personalized. This is what we recently experienced during our sketching session we had at Escolta street. The façade of the Capitol Theatre was particularly interesting since we noticed the details of the two ladies relief, otherwise unnoticed looking or taking a picture. Street children started to flock to us, curious of what we were doing. We wished we had extra pads and pencils to give away for their chance to sketch along. It's the first time we've encountered curious street kids and with Ryan suggestion of carrying sketchbooks and pencils next time, we could make a point of encouraging anyone to join us impromptu and notice our city. Adults who stop would strike conversations with us, and it makes the whole experience of being there richer that what we’ve expected. 8 of us had a blast. We hope a lot more be encouraged to join us. Next theme will be a museum. Details to follow soon.