Nyingma Institute 40th Anniversary

Meditation room, pen and ink, watercolors,

pastels

, 9x12

Dragon flag, pen and ink, watercolors, 9x12

This week was the 40th anniversary of the institute and there were lots of events and a special decoration of the building. I went back to sketch and I also improved a little bit the sketch of the garden.

Garden, pen and ink, watercolors, 9x12

Kensington Streetlight Battle

Kensington Street Lights

I wanted to sketch the variety of streetlights on the main street of the little village of Kensington before they all get replaced with generic “cobra head” lights that PG&E has already started installing.

Kensington Chevron & Whip-Out Food Truck

It got dark early so we moved to sketch by the light of the Sugar Cone Cafe's windows. Be sure to see Ceiny and Cristina's sketches of the food truck and Sugar Cone ice cream shop below.

Around The Bay Area

An odd combination of locations but all sketched over the summer. The first two are at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. The farmers market is at the UCSF Mission Bay campus in San Francisco. And the last one is a resturant in Guerneville on the Russian River.

Nyingma Institute garden

Before a Tibetan yoga class I sketched in the garden. Someone jokingly asked if I was going fishing to the pond.

Nyingma Institute garden, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12.

Silicon Valley Sketchcrawl

I went down on Saturday to join the Sketchcrawl Silicon Valley group at Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay.  Pillar Point is the only natural harbor between S.F. and Santa Cruz and has been used by coastal fishermen for centuries.  Near the West Parking Lot there are beautiful ocean views and, looking back to land, piers and boats and kayakers and dogwalkers and a big military radar tracking station.  Unfortunately, the sketching group was at the OTHER parking lot, and I never connected with them.

Bided my time drawing the huge structure looming over the parking lot

Hmmm. . . no one arrived, so I drew down the trail overlooking the ocean.

Went further and saw this homemade labyrinth.

And a strange view of the radar station on the bluff.

Fourth St. Street Light

Fourth Street Berkeley Street Lights, ink 8x5"

I love drawing street "furniture." I was in a grumpy mood until I started drawing. The black ink and water washed away the blues.

Berkeley Forge and Tool

I just came back from a lunch hour sketch at the corner of the Berkeley Forge and Tool plant. I talked to wonderful people who were having lunch sitting around me. It was hard not to be tempted by the food trucks that stopped by. I had a great time.

Berkeley Forge & Tool, felt marker, watercolors and color pencils, 9x12.

Civil War Days at Duncans Mill

This summer the north coast town of Duncans Mills become the fields of Virginia circa 1863.
Civil War Days was one of the largest re-enactments west of the Mississippi. It gave visitors the opportunity to interact with the reenactors portraying soldiers and civilians. There were camps of the Union and Confederacy, see how civilians lived and served with the armies of 1863.

Meet the Sketchers: Ceinwen Carney

I've drawn for years but mostly on hikes or on vacation trips.  Now that I'm retired, I can bring art into my DAILY life.  Joining the SF Bay Area Urban Sketchers has been great for companionship and inspiration on drawing expeditions.  I've already learned a lot from my group members about materials and about posting sketches on line.  Plus, my eyes have been opened wider to places in our Bay Area home, both new and familiar.

Here are some views of an evening we spent on University Avenue in front of Berkeley Ace Hardware:

The store has a big model train display.

The colorful cafe across the street.

I look forward to many more evenings of art.

More Ice Cream

Other angles on the dessert scene on The Arlington.

Kensington Evening

It was late but there were customers enjoying the food and the ice cream.

Sugar Cone Cafe, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x6

Food Truck, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x6

Big Ice Cream, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12

Berkeley and Albany

Some street scenes from this summer.

SF Opera at the Ballpark

See Jana's post below for more views of the audience at AT&T Park for the Opera event.

San Francisco Opera at the Ballpark

Rigoletto: SF Opera at the Ballpark, 5x8", drawn in ink with watercolor (and a bit of digital paint) added later. NOTE: Flags are at half mast for slain diplomats. Also, appalled by all the corporate advertising, I replaced their signs in my sketch.

Cathy, Sonia and I went on a sketching adventure to the S.F. Giant's ballpark for the simulcast of the San Francisco Opera's production of Rigoletto. At this annual tradition 30,000 people attend the opera for free and picnic on the field or feast on hot dogs, beer and garlic fries in the stands.

Rigoletto on the screen surrounded by huge ads

The performance started, just like at baseball games, with the National Anthem, sung by a superb male chorus in baseball shirts. The sound system was fantastic, maybe even better than being at the opera house.

Singing National Anthem on the field

It gets cold in San Francisco in the summer and even colder at night so this vendor was having a good night selling hot cocoa from a tank on his back.

Cocoa vendor

Cathy and Sonia did some fabulous sketches, which should appear here above very soon. And I wrote more about the evening and my adventures at the park on my blog, JanasJournal.com.

Indian Summer

While most folks probably say goodbye to summer, San Francisco usually experiences the best weather of the year in September and October – the sun drenched days of Indian Summer.
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And what better way to enjoy it than on a lazy Sunday in Dolores Park…

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Take care,
your visual flaneur

Crockett, California

I always enjoy an afternoon of drawing in Crockett. It's sketcher's paradise with great views of the sugar refinery, the maze of highways and bridges and the riverside activity.

The sugar refinery, pen and ink, 9x12

Crockett, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12

Crockett by the River, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12

St. Mary's College

St. Mary's College in Moraga is a beautiful campus and has a wonderful art museum . The Chapel is one of the original buildings on the campus, built in 1928. There was a wedding in the Chapel on the day we were there sketching.

UC Berkeley Campus, two of my favorite things

These are two of my favorite things to draw in the Berkeley Campus, the old tree close to the Faculty Club and the South Hall. I these sketches in August. I had just joined the urban sketchers group and I think that they already show improvement thanks to the show and tell sessions with my fellow sketchers.

Old Tree, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12 sketchbook.

South Hall, pen and ink and watercolors, 9x12 sketchbook.

Sketching Urban Fauna: Wasps Nest

Wasps nest on the studio eaves, ink & watercolor 8x5"

My backyard seems to draw all kinds of critters lately, some less wanted than others. These wasps have made a nest under the eaves of my studio and I tried to get close enough to draw them without bothering them. Most of the time we get along fine and I enjoy watching them earn their living, buzzing around my garden and bringing stuff back to the nest. More about them on my blog JanasJournal.