Top of Solano, Berkeley

Top of Solano, Berkeley, ink & watercolor 5x8"

When Cathy said, “Let’s sketch at the top of Solano Avenue Tuesday night” I chose to literally sketch the top of Solano: looking up and drawing the tops of streetlights, buildings and trees.

It’s common here to refer to the “top” and “bottom” of streets when they’re on a hill, and 2-mile long Solano is on a slight incline as it runs from the start of the Berkeley Hills at The Alameda (just a street, but for some reason called “The Alameda”), down almost to the bay. I sat at a table outside a cafe and sketched the view at sunset. There are so many beautiful trees in Berkeley!