It used to be a Theater - and then a nice Borders store.
Here is a link with some historic shots:
http://www.paloaltohistory.com/varsity.html
I visited it today to say good bye and get some books on sale. It's sad to see Borders go. I wonder what will happen to this building and sign now - in any case I'll keep my eye on it and sketch a new face.
A couple of months ago, I was invited to include my watercolor sketch of Healdsburg’s Memorial Bridge in the Healdsburg’s Museum’s exhibit, “Russian River Good Old Days.” At first I was reluctant to tear it out of my spiral bound sketchbook, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.
I drove downtown to the museum with the framed watercolor in hand and met with the curator of the show, Holly Hoods. After I gave her my painting and signed all the necessary documentation, she showed me around the exhibit. One of the more striking images I saw was a photo of a huge swan boat floating underneath Memorial Bridge. Holly explained that the photo was of a water carnival that happened here in 1908, and that this summer, the City of Healdsburg was reviving the carnival at Memorial Beach, swan and all.
Fast forward to this past weekend, the Water Carnival of 2011 took place at Memorial Beach. I arrived with friends and family, all with picnic baskets in hand, and set up on the beach. While awaiting the start of the float parade, I sketched the bridge and the surrounding area of plants, trees and people. Then the crowded beach erupted in cheers as the floats came into view, and I filled in the swan as it made its way down the Russian River just like in the old photo.
The Sonoma coast is a beautiful place to visit any time of year even with its unpredictable weather of driving rain in the winter and wind-whipped fog in the summer. Today, as I drove up Highway One, it was cloudy but at least the wind was calm, a good-enough day for a sketch outing.
When I pulled into the tiny town of Jenner, I stopped at a small snack shop in search of a bag of nuts to hold me over till lunch. That’s when I noticed Cafe Aquatica across the street bustling with customers and with an acoustic guitarist strumming away on a bench. I walked over and checked out the menu posted beside the entrance. Lavish descriptions of soups, sandwiches, coffees, and teas, made my bag of nuts seem just like, well, peanuts.
I walked through the busy cafe looking for a good place to sit and found an outdoor patio with a terrific view of the bay. After sitting myself down, the view was so good, I completely forgot my hunger and pulled out some watercolors to sketch. A salty ocean breeze kept me cool as the sun started to break up the morning fog and warm my skin. Even though I was sketching alone today, I felt in good company overhearing the conversations of diners who were traveling along Highway One, discovering the California coast for the first time.
Lovely, shady place with lots of kids and ducks ;)
This sketch of Healdsburg's North Street was drawn from a vantage point near city hall looking east. I chose to stay in my car while drawing because I liked the angle and sometimes its nice to have good back support and a radio for company.
Using a Moleskine and a Pigma Micron pen, I fleshed out the drawing and then added a little watercolor. Although I like Moleskine sketchbooks, I find that watercolor often beads up on the page, so I usually only add spot colors instead of washes.
In my drawing, the old, abandoned Purity Products building is on the left. The building was originally called Cerri Brothers Produce Warehouse and was used for packing fruit before sending it on its way along the railroad.
Over the next few years, the railroad tracks will be upgraded to make way for the new passenger train called SMART that will run from Cloverdale all the way down to Larkspur, not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. From there passengers can take the bus or ferry to San Francisco.
Located at the far end of the street is the Les Mars Hotel which also houses the critically acclaimed restaurant, Cyrus.
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| Randy Craig Trio at Caffe Trieste, Ink & Watercolor |
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| Gelato at Caffe Trieste |
There are a lot of neat old building on the way to Gilroy on Santa Teresa Bvld. This was near Morgan Hill and had plenty of space to pull off and paint.
It was a hot summer day in Healdsburg when my wife Marilyn and I walked over to Affronti for brunch. This semi-hidden restaurant is located down a long corridor beside La Crema winery’s tasting room, just south of the Plaza. Today the Christian Foley Jazz Duo was scheduled to perform and I’ve wanted to hear them play for some time.
When we arrived, the band was setting up in the corner and Marilyn went over to say hello to her friend Roz, whose husband Todd Smith plays bass in the duo. Together, the three of us sat down at a table and ordered some food. While sipping iced tea to keep cool, I pulled out my sketch pad and drew the musicians as they launched into an exclusive Pat Metheny set starting with the song, “Spring Ain’t Here.”
Christian Foley played acoustic and electric guitars, and used pedals to change the guitar’s sound to mimic a steel drum and other instruments. During a break between sets, I asked Todd about his unusual looking bass. He described it as an electric, fretless, six string bass. It’s tuned like a four-string bass with an additional low “B” string and a high “C” string. The guitar was custom made by well known local guitar maker Michael Dolan.
Once Todd and I finished talking, the food arrived. Mine was a sandwich of thinly sliced tri-tip on panini bread with roasted red bell peppers, gorgonzola, and caramelized onion. On the side were some pickled vegetables and a variety of green olives ranging from large to almost pea sized. It was delicious.
For the rest of the afternoon, I relaxed into the music. The sound reminded me of a watercolor painting with washes of shimmering hues accented by bold, improvisational strokes of color. Even though there are only two members of this group, I enjoyed the spareness of the duo’s music and appreciated their reinterpretation of the layered sound found on Metheny’s studio albums.
On the last weekend in June I saw a large group of people vigorously eliminating some invasive plants in the Baylands park. I spoke to some of them taking a break and found out that they were volunteering for "Save The Bay" helping to remove invasive pepperseed and wild mustard.
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| San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito looking north from Peet's Coffee |
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| San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, looking south from Peet's Coffee |
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| On the Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki |
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| On the Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki |
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| Interior of the glorious railway station in Helsinki |
I was on a mission - to find a bakery with cakes good enough for a seasoned connoisseur. After about 6 attempts this one was a good match - we ordered some birthday cakes there and I even had a chance to taste some of them after my sketch was finished ;)
