The trains that never moved: Metro Manila’s aging train system

LRT 1. Trains arriving at Monumento Station

It was 9:15 AM at the North Avenue Station of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT Line 3) and I was bound to meet a friend at 11:00 AM at a mall in Ortigas Center. I thought that by 9:00 AM, the line of passengers to get to the train would be shorter but to my dismay, it seemed endless. I waited in line but after an hour, I haven't even reached the bottom of the stairs that will lead me up to the main entry gates. I dropped it and went for a bus instead but 10 minutes in the bus I realised it was also not a good idea. So I opened a ride-hailing App and booked a motorbike that would pick me up on my pinned location and take me to my Ortigas. I made it 5 minutes early to my appointment time. The distance between North Avenue Station and the mall in Ortigas Center is only 9 kms. A marathon runner could definitely reach my destination ahead of me if I stayed in that line. Nowadays, every hour that the MRT operates is considered rush hour. There is no respite of people lining up. They even have a "Stop/Entry" method. This means lines do not move at all until all passengers in the platform are cleared.

Sketching Los Angeles

I visited Los Angeles for the first time during spring break last month and I had a great time walking the city and finding great places to sketch. Food was great too. I am thankful for my friend for adopting me for 3 days and touring me around L.A.

Here are sketches I did while I was there.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall . . . . #urbansketchers #urbansketch #urbansketches #usk #waltdisney #illustration #illustrations #sketch #sketchdaily #sketches #waltdisneyconcerthall #losangeles #california #disney

A post shared by J. Gerald Legaspi (@sigeraldto) on Apr 2, 2018 at 2:11pm PDT

San Francisco Sketches

In the past months, I have been quite active in making sketches of San Francisco and most of them were done on the spot at places like Mission-Dolores Park, The Ferry Building, The Presidio and at the Marina.

Here are some of my recent sketches. Follow my on Instagram @sigeraldto

Back in SF. This was sketched during a hike at the Presidio yesterday. . . . . . #urbansketchers #urbansketch #urbansketches #usk #waltdisney #illustration #illustrations #sketch #sketchdaily #sketches #art #dailyart #sketchaday #anartfeature #youtubers #igers #instagram #instasketch

A post shared by J. Gerald Legaspi (@sigeraldto) on Apr 6, 2018 at 5:45pm PDT

The Sketchbook Project: Jeepney Sketches

I made a series of sketches about jeepneys back in 2014. I remember how fascinated I was to make an artwork with a twist of my heritage. Being a Filipino who grew up in the Philippines, commuting in a jeepney is one's basic way of life. If your parents never let you ride a jeepney, you must belong to an affluent family or a clan of the first class but in one way or another, one will still find a way to ride one no matter which walk of life you belong to.

In this sketchbook, I signed up with The Brooklyn Art Library where the Sketchbook Project is in partner with. I have long waited to be a part of this community and now that I finished the sketches, I finally submitted it and hoping it would join the U.S. tour of their mobile library. The sketchbook will then become part of the The Brooklyn Art Library long list of sketch catalogue.

New York City Sketches

Last December, during one of the coldest winter the east coast has experienced, I went travelling in New York city and created a 3-part sketchbook. New York city is such an inspiring place full of architecture that you would want to recreate. Sketchbooks have always been my go-to souvenirs of my travel aside from photographs and postcards. I hope this becomes into a book someday.

A post shared by J. Gerald Legaspi (@sigeraldto) on Jan 20, 2018 at 3:30pm PST

San Francisco So Far

So far, here are some of the sketches and snapshots of San Francisco. It has been over a month since I moved here but Netlfix and Hulu is taking much of my time. I got a lot of catching up with TV.

Sketches of Ilocos Norte and Vigan

During the trip, I did not get to sketch on the spot as it was a tight schedule. I only managed to find time when I was at home and sketched my favourite spots in Ilocos Norte and the lovely hotel we stayed in Vigan, Escolta Homey Lodge, which is right at the center of Calle Crisologo. A video log at the end of all the pictures is included for you to see the mini sketchbook I personally made.

Trying to get the juice back on sketching. Here is a sketch of Bangui Wind Farm. . . . . . #illustration #illustrations #blackink #inksketches #inksketch #art #artoftheday #dailysketch #dailyart #watercolourchannel #watercolour #watercolor #watercoloursketches #sketch #sketches #aquarela #aquarelle #youtubers #igers #ig #instragram #instagrammers @instagram #bangui #windmills #windfarm #ilocos #ilocosnorte #waterblog #anartfeature

A post shared by Joseph Gerald Legaspi (@sigeraldto) on Jul 5, 2017 at 9:19pm PDT

Solo Central Java and the Alila Hotel

Solo, in central Java, was a surprise for when I visited it. It was quite town yet still filled with character. I was there for a weekend and stayed at this amazing hotel, The Alila. I think just staying at the hotel was enough for me and lots of Nasi Liwet.

City Sketches: Paris, Marseille, Aix, Barcelona and Madrid.

During my trip to France and Spain, I have taken the time to sketch the places and things that I liked. I have posted this on Instagram and I have compiled it all here to show my sketches during my travel.

Port Vieux, Marseille

Sketches and Photographs: An Instagrammed chronicle of my first visit to Japan.

My first trip to Japan and I visited Tokyo and Hakone. I have never been so excited to visit the crazy city of Tokyo and I was also well inspired that I have made a lot of sketches during the trip.

Here are the sketches I have done and some of the photographs I have taken.

City Sketches: Macau

So I spent my Christmas holiday in Macau for 3 days before going to Hong Kong and I have done some sketches while I was there and I also added some more after returning home. Here are the sketches I made.

Surprising Macau: Christmas in this wonderful city.

Oh Macau, you surprise me with your charm. I never thought I would love your city but I did despite a very tight 3 days 2 nights stay, you still managed to deliver the best of a heritage-filled city and the cosmopolitan side of all the glitz and glam of your stunning casinos. Words are not enough for me describe you but here are my best shots of your city. Enjoy.

The Little Prince Movie Sketch

Here is quick sketch I did based on the movie artwork of The Little Prince. Can't really wait for 2016 when the movie comes out.

--------
jigomesiter
10.6.2015

Owls in a Tree

Here are my latest sketches of owls hanging out in trees. I have to say this style of sketching is where I am really comfortable doing.

Le Petit Prince: Illustrations by Philip Giordano

There have been many books published about the different languages and illustration for the Le Petit Prince. As a beginning collector and art enthusiast with about less than 50 books in my collection, I feel the sense of finding differently published books of Le Petit Prince especially those with great illustrations. I definitely like the first illustration did by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, no doubt about that but there are recent works like the Korean Edition and Bilingual Comics (Bahasa Indonesia) where they gave a different touch on the original work of Exupery. (See link to access the other books) I have also tried some sketches myself although not as a complete version of the entire book.

But just recently, I found out about this Italian Illustrator Philip Giordano who created a different yet great artworks of the book. I have not found the actual book and only found the pictures so I am uploading it here. I'm going to have to make an online-wide research to be able to get my hands on this amazing illustrations.

These are some of the original artwork of Philip Giordano for Le Petit Prince:

Jakarta Transportation Sketches

Here are the different transportation you will see in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. These are just some of the vehicles which causes traffic gridlock especially during rush hours.

City Sketches - Jakarta

Here is another set of sketches I did for the past month. I have been quite busy and I only have the chance now to upload these photos.

For your viewing pleasure.

Artworks were done on 8.5 x 11.5 inches sketch pad, water color and ink.

Museum Sejerah Jakarta, Kota Tua

Jeepney Art: Sketches

Jeepneys are one of the most evident contributions of America to the Philippines. The jeepneys that we have now were custom-built to meet the demand for public transport all over the Philippines. Although it maybe one of the major reasons for congested traffic in Metro Manila, I still find them fascinating and useful for the public.

I started this "Jeepney Art Sketches" just last month and here are the recent sketches I just finished.

Philippine Jeepney Art and Sketches: This represents the overcrowded passengers as part of their daily lives taking public transport.

Elephant Sketches

A newly finished series of sketches of elephants. I decided to make these sketches in my effort to spread awareness of the condition of the elephant named Mali that is still in the center of battle between PETA and the Manila City government running the Manila Zoo. For full story about Mali, please click on this link http://www.freemali.com/ and you can also visit their Facebook page at : https://www.facebook.com/FreeMali

Elephant Sketches

The Little Prince Book - Sketch

Here is a new impromptu sketch project I did for The Little Prince. Finished this in 2 1/2 hours. Paper Size 279 mm x 420 mm using pigment ink drawing pen.

--------
jigomeister
06.11.2014