Club Mallard (not just ducks)

Day-drinking, oh wait, day-sketching at Club Mallard in Albany. Log cabin decor with a side of tropical patio. Bison head above the bar and velvet Elvis on the wall. What’s not to like? – Cathy McAuliffe

Flowerland

An actual bed of succulents at Flowerland in Albany. Wonderful place to sketch and to shop. A neighborhood favorite since 1947. (Scroll down to see Susan Ford's sketch.)—Cathy McAuliffe

Flowerland Nursery and Store, Albany

Relaxing pre-holiday couple of hours on Solano Avenue in Albany, sitting on a sunny bench in front of the airstream-trailer-turned-coffee-bar at Flowerland Nursery.  Captured people and their dogs taking a break from plant and gift shopping.

 

Solano Cleaning Center

We sketched at a laundromat in Albany tonight.  I guess this proves that urban sketchers will draw anything!

Return to Sue Johnson Lamps

Sue is in the store late while her annual sale is on, and so we were able to drop in with our sketchbooks to capture some of her beautiful hand-designed, and made lamps. There is something wonderful everywhere you look. I loved this bear lamp, which strongly reminded me of the Northwest Indian art of British Columbia. It is a ceramic lamp with an experimental "snowflake" glaze making unusual patterns. I tried to capture the evening feel with the African mask lamps, modifying it a little on the computer to get the lamps to really "glow".

the bear lamp

my co-sketchers thought this was fine as a line-drawing.

constellation of lamps

Community Garden

On a cool, East Bay evening, sitting in a small community garden in Albany was so peaceful and quiet, very restful. The wonderful usual assortment of herbs, veggies and flowers were growing in some cases luxuriantly, some rather sparse.

watering tubes in abundance