As of 1 December 2011, please refer to my Yahoo Flickr site for recent artwork and sketches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/buzwalker/

Art with The Saturday Group, Manila

Scratchboard - 14 May


Pastel pencils & graphite - 19 Nov


Oil pastel - 12 Nov.


Chalk pastel - 3 Sept.


Oil pastel - 12 Nov.

Since mid-April, 2011, I've been regularly attending Saturday drawing/painting sessions with Manila's longest active arts group, The Saturday Group of Artists. Some of the Philippines finest professional artists & painters have been members of this well-known group, and I'm always impressed by the high quality of work the current members create every Saturday. I feel very honored to be accepted as the only non-Filipino artist into their group.
Here are some of my works, drawn 'live' at the Saturday sessions.

Quiet Views of Manila

The Manila American Cemetery


Banyan Trees in Ayala Triangle Park, Makati

For most visitors to Manila, one can't help but notice the 'chaos' of daily life - the crowded & shabby streets, massive traffic jams, etc. But here are several recent sketches from "Quiet" Manila - The Santuario de San Antonio Parish Church, the Manila American Cemetery in the Bonifacio area, and interlocking Banyan trees in Makati's Ayala Park.

Sketching in Japan & Singapore - October

In early October, I returned from another visit to Japan; I was able to complete 20 sketches during my 11 days there. Here is one sample, from Hida Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. I have posted the full set on my Flickr site.
I was in Singapore, 21-23 Oct attending the Urban Sketchers Singapore Book Launch and Exhbition. Their new book contains about 360 sketches from all over Singapore, and I am honored to have 11 of my sketches included in the book.

Island Cove Resort

On Monday, 26 Sept, the complete staff from Raffles Design Institute went for a "team building" day at Island Cove Resort, Cavite, about 45 minutes south of Manila. Unfortunately, it rained all day, thus washing out a lot of the planned outdoor activities. I still had a chance to sketch this row of gazebos with grass-roofs - along with the surrounding palms it really feels like one is in the Tropics.

Manila's Metropolitan Theatre

On a warm Sunday morning, 4 Sept, I sketched at the classic Art Deco Metropolitan Theatre, which I'd been eyeing for several months, as a potential subject. As Manila folks know, it's closed now, and the weather conditions & harsh environment are beginning to take its' toll on the building, in the forms of fungus, garbage & some broken windows. The front of the Theatre was in full sun, so I found a shady view off to one side of the building, and sketched for 2 hours, while a number of street vendors & passers-by periodically watched and asked me questions.

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 (7 Aug) 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.

Ayala Triangle Park, Makati

I haven't been sketching for awhile - I'd only done a few sketches on Escolta St with the Urban Sketchers Philippines monthly Sketch walk on 23 July, otherwise, nothing else since 26 June. I could blame it on the bad weather (monsoon rains), the inconvenience of trying to move about in chaotic Manila, or that I simply wasn't in the right frame of mind to draw.

Finally, on Saturday (6 Aug), I got myself out with sketchbook in hand, and found Ayala Triangle Park, a haven of green trees & respite from the masses in the middle of Makati City. To sit & sketch for 1 1/2 hours was enjoyable, and a good 'jump start' to the next day's sketching in Paco Park in Central Manila.

Artwork in the Saturday Group Exhibition

Scratchboards, both completed in July 2011 - 8.5"x11"


Chalk pastel on Sennelier sand board - 11"x15"

I have been invited to exhibit some of my artwork in the 43rd Annual Exhibition for the Saturday Group of Artists, in Manila! The show opens this weekend (16 July) and closes on 24 July. The Saturday Group is the longest established artists group in the Philippines, and has some of the finest painters in the Philippines as its' members. These are three new pieces, all completed since mid-June. I am very honored to be able to show my scratchboards and chalk pastel work in this year's show, alongside these great artists.