Pupu Hut, D.T. Fleming Beach (larger)

Five days of vacation in Hawaii: yowza! Short, but very sweet. We went to Maui for a small family wedding and had a great time. Swimming, walking, snorkeling, dining and sunburn: we got it all.

Despite the activity I managed sketch every day. There were sketch-worthy views everywhere: wish I’d had more time. I admit to being sick of drawing palm trees though!

David & Marie 4/17/07, D.T. Fleming Beach (larger)

My sketch kit was with me everywhere I went and I got sand in everything. My little paintbox has the stuff in every pan. I probably should empty it out and put fresh paint in, but I am inclined not to bother. Free texture!

I was able to do all of these drawings on site but much of the painting was done later: some even here at home. I find that if I can finish a sketch the same day it’s fine, but if even one night goes by the results are not optimal: stiffer and less lively. I need to work on speeding up.

D.T. Fleming Beach (larger)

Kapalua Bay (larger)

It’s always a treat to sketch daily for a number of days, especially in an unfamiliar environment. Everything looks interesting to me when I’m away from home. What a great excuse to travel, travel, travel!

Moon & Venus (larger)

Lanai & Molokai, from Hawea Point (larger)

At the Pool (larger)

Flight to Maui (larger)

Molokai, D.T. Fleming Beach (larger)

At Kahului Airport (larger)

Palm Trees (larger)

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Virginia Street, Apr 14, 2007 (larger)

Virginia Street, Jul 01, 2006 (larger)

Don’t know why, but I never seem to draw the same thing twice. Yesterday though I drew a scene I had also done last year. This view is looking down from a second floor hair salon, onto the street below.

I was surprised when I pulled out the old sketch how similar the two are. I don’t love either one, but I think I have a slight preference for the older sketch.

I’m going on vacation tomorrow, for a week (Hawaii!). Hopefully I’ll come back with some interesting sketches to share.

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San Francisco from the Berkeley Marina (larger)

We’ve been having (mostly) fabulous weather for the past few weeks. Did this little (2.5×5 inch) sketch very quickly today before heading home after an all-day meeting at a nearby hotel. I go to this shoreline a lot though; it has wonderful views across the bay, great walking and lots of fresh bay air.

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Claremont Hotel (larger)

Recently I was at the venerable Claremont Hotel on the Berkeley/Oakland border for a meeting. It’s a grand old structure, mostly white, at the foot of the East Bay Hills.

I did make some pencil guidelines first on this one; that perspective was tricky!

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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)

Related:

• More SketchCrawls

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Labyrinth in Sibley Park (larger)

Last weekend was cool, but sunny. A friend and I took a hike in the East Bay hills, in the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. From the top you can stand in one spot and see San Francisco, Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, and Mt. Diablo to the East all at the same time. That’s hard to do from the ground!

The park is the site of several small dormant volcanos and an old rock quarry. It’s a geologist’s dream. There are also at least four man-made rock and grass labyrinths. Here is a view looking down on one, with the Bay and Mt. Tam in the distance.

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Calder’s Eagle (larger)

Oldenburg’s Typewriter Eraser
(larger)

Recently I was in Seattle on business and managed to sneak away to do a few sketches. The new Olympic Sculpture Park is beautifully situated above the water and brilliantly designed. It features stunning views in multiple directions and plenty of expansive space in which to set off the works from striking angles.

There was a sign saying that the Oldenburg was not to be photographed, but it didn’t say anything about sketching. 🙂 Some teenagers were admiring the sculpture but had no idea what it was supposed to be: I explained, but I don’t think they believed me!

The Pike Place Public Market is another interesting site full of sketching possibilities. It is a bustling place, filled with stands overloaded with prime specimens of every imaginable kind of food. Just looking at those vegetables will make you healthy! 🙂 Sadly, I only had time to sketch it from afar, looking down Pike Street.

Space Needle and Monorail Tracks, from 5th & Wall (larger)

Down Pike Street to the Public Market (larger)

Related Post: Produce Market

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Pasadena Street Corner

Classes and workshops solely focused on sketching are rare, but I love to take them when they pop up. Over time I have managed to take quite a few. Some are great, some are terrible, most are in between. However, the right class at the right time is a great boost to my motivation and resolve.

Last October I was lucky enough to take a wonderful workshop towards the “great” end of the scale, a three day intensive called Road Trip! Travel Sketching for Designers, taught by Richard Scott. The photo of me sketching over on the right was taken by Richard during that class.

Here are more sketches and a full report.

The next Road Trip class is a streamlined two day version in San Francisco this June. The workshop is not cheap, but I found it rich and inspiring: well worth it for me.

Huntington Library Botanical Gardens

A word about other classes that are less than ideal; I often find that something important comes out of them too. I may meet someone interesting, get turned on to a new book to tool, or just get more focused on what I really do want to be doing.

Related Post: “Road Trip!” Workshop: a Review

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We have been having near perfect weather for several days: kind of creepy in February! I’ve been indoors at work though and haven’t gotten to enjoy it yet. Hopefully it will hold through the weekend.

The sunset tonight was spectacular.

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We recently spent an interesting day in Alameda, California with friends. Alameda, an island in the San Francisco Bay, was dominated by the Alameda Naval Air Station until 1997. It is now becoming a zone for light industry, but it still looks quite “base-y”. We started our day by touring the WWII aircraft carrier USS Hornet. I’m not a big fan of creations built for warfare, but what was achieved using only slide rules is indeed impressive.

We then went to the Hangar One vodka distillery, housed in an old aircraft hangar on the base. They “hand craft” vodka in large copper pots and have a tasting room with an incredible view out over the old runways (now closed as a wildlife refuge) to the bay and San Francisco beyond. We arrived just in time to taste the spirits and watch a hazy sunset.

Hangar One makes fruit flavored vodkas by infusing them with actual fruit (as opposed to flavorings, natural or otherwise).
My favorite is Buddha’s Hand; a lemony vodka with complex, delightful flavors in each sip. It’s made with a rather bizarre looking citrus fruit called “Buddha’s Hand”, which looks sort of like a bunch of carrots with lemon skin on them.

We finished our day with sushi then hot fudge sundaes: perfect!

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Mt. Tamalpais

This little painting is 1.5 x 2.5 inches, in the moleskine journal as are all my sketches.

I used to think that nothing ever happened in my life, then a few years ago I began ending each year by reviewing my sketchbook journals and making a list of all the significant events that came along. What I discovered, to my amazement, is that many things do happen to me, and most of them are good.

Somehow the routine of life tends to dull our memories of the unique moments we’ve experienced. Life seems more exciting to me now even though nothing has actually changed!

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Coffee and the View at the Café de Flore

In June of this year I found myself in Paris, France on business and was able to stay an extra five glorious days for exploration and discovery. Here are a few pages from my sketchbook of that trip.

The Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou, and the coffee I had while making the sketch

Rue Saint-Honoré @ Place A. Malraux

I was by myself which I didn’t mind a bit, and decided to wander each day with no particular plan or agenda. I just followed my nose as they say, and soaked it all in. I ended up not visiting a single site that required a ticket or a wait in line. I didn’t even go into any art museums (except for gift shops, of course!). I did a ton of walking, people watching, a bit of shopping and some fun sketching. Most of my sketching was done from sidewalk cafes with a café au lait or glass of French champagne for moral support. Very refined!

Notre Dame Cathédrale, and the sketch right before rain forced me under a tree to add the watercolor.

The Sennelier shop on Qaui Voltaire	Across the Siene to the Louve

Paris is a visual feast and yes, beautiful. It’s a great place for just looking, a favorite pastime of mine. I got some great ideas from Eric Maisel’s A Writers Paris book which I highly recommend. It is not so much about writing as about setting time aside to pursue creative exploration and how a focused trip can facilitate that process. His ideas aligned very will with my intention for the trip so finding that book was a real bonus.

I Ate Well!

Earlier in my life the idea of being somewhere significant by myself (let alone Paris!) would have been horrifying. But now it was just what I needed and I had a wonderful time. I do promise to take my husband along next time though!

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