Three months ago I used to live in Makati City out of convenience because it's where I work. Going home was relaxing because I did not have to compete with other office workers for a cab. When it rained hard, I did not have to wait inside a mall. For six months I passed by the Makati City Fire Station.
When it was not hot outside yesterday, I tried sketching the fire station from a park across it. What you see there seated is actually a woman with a black veil. I can't assume if she was Muslim because not all women in Makati City wearing veils are Muslim.
I managed to overlook a page in my sketchbook. The sketch is that of the Pasig Library and Museum which I did last year after I recovered from a fever and had nothing to do in the afternoon of that weekday.
The city's official museum no longer has the library that I knew as a kid but I was able to see more artifacts that time compared to when I was a kid.
This time I rendered some color to the sketch.
I have a specific job designation at the office, but recently my boss fancied me to be the one to look for prospective office spaces for his expansion program. Since the task would enable me to run around the metro for a few days, I decided to sketch walk anyway.
The fringes of Quezon City's Araneta Center is nothing like the center itself. The sidewalk of Aurora Boulevard is still the old Cubao most Manilenos know -- bustling but chaotic. The sidewalk leading to the LRT (Light Rail Transit) - Cubao station is where I held my sketch post for roughly 10 minutes. I did brisk coloring at home.
Sketched in Cubao, Quezon City
Going out for breaks during office weekdays is starting to become a pain. The nearest mall to our office is a posh hospital with a kick ass lobby. I would go there and spend a few minutes as refuge from the heat outside.
This one time I noticed that the imposing slab of cement in the middle of the building's facade is also visible inside the lobby and it was designed to be asymmetrical. Since I already paid that much attention to it I reckoned that it may be worth at least 15 minutes of sketching. I did brisk coloring at home.
Sketched in Makati City
The best place I got to work is in Ortigas Center, particularly in Emerald Avenue where time seems to stop. The avenue's sidewalks are a delight to walk in and there isn't much pollution (at least the kind that I don't see) -- not much trash around, less noise and smog from utility vehicles.
This is why I loved sipping hot cups of coco at a small nook opposite this corner building that I sketched one time (left).
Sketched in Ortigas Center
I'm a creature of habit. There's this building where I eat my lunch meals 5 days per week. And lately, I've been teaching myself to religiously drink hot milk tea after lunch at the office.
This afternoon I decided to drink my hot milk tea in a new place -- behind the building where a narrow street is also situated. With a sketch pad in tow, I sampled the sidewalk with a sketch. It's not frequented by people but a few of them managed to walk past me and take second glances because they probably were not used to seeing someone sketching in broad daylight in high tech Makati City. I was done in roughly two minutes and so was my hot milk tea which had gone cold.
The day dragged on with my usual office work until I saw my reflection in the elevator. I was sure that I needed a haircut already so off I went to the most affordable (coz I'm a cheapskate) and nearest barbershop from the office.
I did not expect to wait in line for my turn at 9:00pm but I did. I cured my boredom with a sketch of the session prior to mine (below).
Sketched in Makati City
