Austin Skyline, from Town Lake Park (larger)

Saturday October 25th was SketchCrawl #20. I flew to Austin the night before to meet up with Lisa who drove down from the Dallas area. She got the word out and six local sketchers joined us for the event. What a great day! The weather was perfect and we were able to walk around central Austin and sketch a bunch of great subjects.

At Whole Foods World Headquarters (larger)

Texas Capital Dome (larger)

In the Driskill Hotel (larger)

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Statue (larger)

I had never been to Austin before. We picked the city as our destination because it was easy for both of us to get to and we wanted to spend time there. What a cool place! Here are some photos from the day:

Me, Sketching Stevie

Me, Studying the Dome
(not George 🙂 )

Nancy, Lisa and Anna

Ed and Janet

The date for SketchCrawl #21 has been set: Saturday January 10, 2009. Where will you be sketching?

See Also:

• SketchCrawl #20, Austin Group Sketches
• SketchCrawl #20, 87 Other Worldwide Locations
• SketchCrawl #21, Planning Forums
• My Other SketchCrawls

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Alstroemeria (larger)

Saturday was SketchCrawl 19 day. I couldn’t join the San Francisco group this time around, but did manage a quickie Crawl in my backyard before the sun set.

It was unseasonably warm: a real summer day. A giant bee kept following me around and blocking my view of the best flowers. I felt like I had a sketching companion after all! (And he didn’t even sting me…)

Porch Pots (larger)

Cosmos (larger)

Backyard Bouquet (larger)

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Last Sunday Lisa and I joined the intrepid San Francisco SketchCrawl group on a chilly grey morning at Ghirardelli Square, where over 60 artists turned out to sketch in and around the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

It took some fortitude to sketch in the windy open areas, but we were rewarded late in the day when suddenly the sun came out. By the time we all meet back at the starting point to share our sketchbooks it was downright balmy.

We had a great time exploring and sketching both indoors and out. I took some photos of the event as well, and Lisa and I finished the day in civilized manner with Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Cafe.

Bay View from the Aquatic Park (larger)

Ghirardelli Square (larger)

At the Cannery (larger)

Here and There:
Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Sq., Argonaut Hotel (larger)

SketchCrawl is an inspiring event which takes place several times a year. All over the world artists spend the day sketching, on their own or in groups, and then share their work online. It’s great fun and a good way to get yourself motivated to really do some drawing. Keep an eye on the SketchCrawl website for the next event and come on out!

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Washington St. from Waverly Place (larger)

Saturday was the worldwide SketchCrawl 17 event, and over sixty of us gathered in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco to spend the day sketching. It was a blast!

On Jackson Street (larger)

My friend Lisa joined me for her first SketchCrawl, and we met up with Cathy who I had met at the last Berkeley Crawl. The three of us spent the day wandering Chinatown, sketchbooks in hand. It was sunny but cold, and bundled up we persevered.

We had a great Chinese lunch and joined the full group at the end of the day to share our work. There is a lot of talent out there! It was very inspiring to see everyone’s work. I am always amazed at how differently we all tackle the very same subjects.

Storydesign took a picture of Lisa and I sketching on Clay Street, and made a close-up of my sketch:

Sketching on Clay Street (original)

Sketching on Clay Street (original)

At Grant & Clay (larger)

On Clay Street (larger)

Funeral Procession (larger)

At Stockton & Broadway (larger)

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Lunch at MarketBar (larger)

Last Sunday was the 16th SketchCrawl event. My husband and I spent the day in San Francisco sketching and exploring at the Ferry Building. We had a great day!

Lamps at Market Bar (larger)

This historic building has been extensively restored and reopened in 2003 as a food-oriented marketplace. It bustles with energy and activity and the architecture and shops are quite striking. It’s a great place to sketch. There are also awesome Bay views and on Saturdays and Tuesdays, a Farmer’s Market.

We also enjoyed a wonderful lunch outside at MarketBar. The weather was just perfect: a gloriously crisp Fall day.

Frog Hollow Farm: Fruit Stand (larger)

Berkeley BART Station (larger)

Giant Pumpkin (larger)

Far West Fungi: Mushrooms Only (larger)

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Spenger’s Restaurant [larger]

Last Saturday, August 25th, was the SketchCrawl #15 event. If you are not familiar with SketchCrawl, you can read all about it here. It’s a great concept: people sketch together in locations all over the world and share the results online. The idea is to get you sketching and it sure does!

In Sur la Table [larger]

I joined the Berkeley group: eleven intrepid sketchers crawling the 4th Street commercial district. We found good subjects to sketch including street musicians, buildings old and new, storefronts, people milling around and hanging out and even a snake and reptile store.

Jana and I sketched together and it was great fun. I wanted to do a number of sketches but spent a lot of time talking to everyone 🙂 , so ended up inking my sketches on site and adding the color later that evening and the next day.

At the end of the day we gathered at Brennan’s and shared sketchbooks over Irish Coffees. It was a blast and so inspiring! If there is one thing I like better than sketching it’s the opportunity to see other peoples’ sketchbooks. It was great to meet new sketchers including Pete, who’s sketchblog I have long followed and admired, and to see friends Jana, Doña and Vern and family once again.

Fabulous sketches were done by the group, many of which can be seen here. And you can view other sketches done all over the world that day right here.

House on 5th Street, Palm Tree [larger]

4th and Hearst [larger]

Down Home Music [larger]

Peets Coffee [larger]

Some Photos of our Day:

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On the Filbert Steps (larger)

On Saturday I joined the San Francisco SketchCrawl group for SketchCrawl 14. I hooked up with fellow art blogger Jana Bouc and we spent the day wandering and sketching. It was great to finally meet her!

The San Francisco group had about 80 people this time; quite a crowd. This SketchCrawl was especially Crawl-y; we walked over four miles. The general route (for us at least) was: Ferry Building, Filbert Steps, Coit Tower, North Beach, Ferry Building. The weather was just about perfect. What a great day!

North Beach: St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (larger)

Coit Tower (larger)

SketchCrawlers at Coit Tower (larger)

Chinatown: Corner of Grant & California (larger)

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Campanile Tower (larger)

Saturday was the 13th SketchCrawl, and we had our first official East Bay Crawl. About 30 people showed up to sketch in and around the U.C. Berkeley campus.

The weather was outstanding, and there were lots of great subjects to draw. We met at 11:00am at the West end of campus near BART, and worked our way around and through various buildings. We had a brief meeting at 2:00, and then about 15 of us met up at the Cafe Strada at 5:00 pm to share coffee, sketches and tips. It was a great group of friendly sketchers. […more below]

Life Sciences Building (larger)

Pterodactyl in LSB (larger)

The Life Sciences Building has T. Rex and Pterodactyl skeletons, as well as other interesting bones to draw. The Anthropology Museum was also open and provided sketching material, but I wanted to stay outdoors in the beautiful weather. I had forgotten how beautiful the campus can be, and I went to school there and live only 1/2 mile away! I will definitely be back there for more sketching soon.

Sather Gate (larger)

Pelikan Building (larger)

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The Fireplace Mantle
Today was SketchCrawl 12.5. SketchCrawl is series of drawing events conceived by Enrico Casarosa. Usually a date is named and groups get together all over the world in different cities to spend the whole day sketching together, then everyone shares their sketches online. A SketchCrawl is like a pub crawl, except with sketching instead of (or in addition to!) drinking.
	Today’s crawl was a little different though. The idea was to have a mini SketchCrawl (and thus the in between numbering) where everyone stays at home to draw. I couldn’t spend the whole day drawing this time, but did manage three sketches.
In the Living Room
In the Bathroom

People will be posting their SketchCrawl 12.5 work in the SketchCrawl Forums. There is also a SketchCrawl Flickr Group where you can find sketches from some crawl events.

Drawing for a full day is an intense experience. Doing so even when you don’t feel like it can yield some interesting, even positive, results. I am always completely wiped out at the end of such a day and others report the same. Such an immersion can really shake loose your drawing brain though and I highly recommend it.

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Today was SketchCrawl 12, a worldwide sketching event.

I did some sketching around Berkeley in between errands. Started at my favorite fountain, decked out for the holidays. Then it started to rain so found a place to hide out in. The drawing did not come easily today, but the point of SketchCrawl is to do it anyway! And so, I did.

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The San Francisco SketchCrawl group had over 80 people for SketchCrawl 11 on September 23, 2006. We met up at the Ferry Building and rode over to Sausalito in Marin County for a fine day of sketching. The weather was perfect!

Here are my sketches:

Ferry Building Tower

Book Cart at the Ferry Building

Courtyard Fountain, Sausalito

Across from Starbucks

Boat at Dunfy Park

On the BART Ride Home

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On Saturday May 21, 2005, I participated in SketchCrawl 3. My husband and I spent the weekend at our cabin in the Sierra Mountains near Lake Tahoe in California. The cabin is at 6000 feet elevation, near one of the trailheads for the Desolation Wilderness. Although there was still a bit of snow on the ground it was a sunny, warm day and very bright. I found that the glare of the sun on my paper made sketching more difficult, and that my watercolors dried the minute they hit the page, which required some getting used to.

This is the view from our cabin, across the creek and out to the slopes beyond.

This is the cabin at high noon.

The water flow in this “creek”, which is more like a small river, was huge. That main boulder is 6 ft high. I have never seen this much water here so late in the season. Apparently this is not a drought year for us!

This is the view from the Desolation Wilderness trailhead of a north-facing slope still topped with snow.

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On Sunday, March 6, 2005, I participated in SketchCrawl 2 by spending the day sketching around the Sausalito area. It was a stunning day: sunny, warm and bright. After several weeks of soggy grey days it was a welcome change and the perfect day to be out and about sketching.

Started out with breakfast at the bar at Cafe Fanny in my hometown, Berkeley – buckwheat crepes and cafe au lait – yum!

Cafe Fanny, Berkeley

Drove over to Sausalito and started with this view of Treasure Island, Alcatraz Island, the Bay Bridge and San Francisco.

San Francisco & Bay Bridge

The entrance to the little park in the center of town is flanked by two elephant sculptures.

Elephant Sculpture, Sausalito

Bill Dan is an artist who stacks rocks on the waterfront. He was out creating intriguing structures in the sunshine.

Bill Dan"s Balanced Rocks

Finished up with salad and chianti at Servino on the Bay in nearby Tiburon.

Dinner, Tiburon

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On Sunday November 21 2004 the first worldwide SketchCrawl event was held. The idea is that all over the world people go out and spend the day sketching, then share their results online. Although not everyone is together, the idea that others are pursuing the same activity is encouraging. It’s sort of like a Pub Crawl, but (not necessarily 🙂 ) without the beer.

UC Berkeley Champanile

We spent the day around our town, Berkeley, and had a blast. The day was clear and sunny, but unusually windy and cold. It is hard to draw with numb fingers and hair blowing across your face!

Our local North Berkeley neighborhood is known as the Gourmet Ghetto and is loaded with great restaurants and food stores. Berkeley is a “foodie” town, and this area is the center of the action.

Tapas at Bar César”

Yum! We had a wonderful lunch at Bar César. I realized after I finished this sketch that it is heavily influenced by the lively food sketches in the New Basics cookbook. Update: I made note cards for myself from this Cesar sketch, which have proved quite handy.

Peet’s Coffee & Tea

It was just too cold to sit outside in the wind, so we sought further refuge and more caffeinated fortification in Peet’s Coffee at Walnut & Vine. This is the original Peet’s location.

Arlington Fountain

I love this fountain and pass by it every day. It sits in the center of the Marin Ave. traffic circle and is a reproduction of the fountain that stood there from 1911 to the 1950’s. The critters are supposed to be baby grizzly bears (symbol of California and U.C. Berkeley, and a reference to nearby Grizzly Peak), but I think they look more like hyenas. Cute hyenas.

Post Office

French Hotel & Cafe

North Berkeley Shops

Bay View

From Left to Right, Back to Front: San Francisco, Golden Gate bridge, Marin County, Alcatraz Island, Angel Island, Berkeley Marina, Berkeley Flatlands, Berkeley Hills.

My Sketching Kit

I have been drawing lately with a Namiki Falcon fountain pen with a fine nib. The book is a pocket Moleskine, but I don’t like the paper it comes with so have rebound it with Fabriano Artistico Hot Press 90lb. My watercolor box is an old-style Winsor & Newton Bijou Box with tube paints squeezed in, and a Niji Waterbrush completes the kit.

Update: For information on my current sketch kit, see:
How I Sketch: Materials

Other Related Articles:
Other SketchCrawls
How I Sketch: Demo
Rebind a Moleskine Sketchbook

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