Holiday Time in Berkeley

It is our tradition to go to Fourth Street In Berkeley to sketch the amazing holiday lights. It was a bit warmer this year so some of us stayed outside the whole evening to sketch. Others of us found a seat by the window and sketched from inside a restaurant. Either way the lights (and the sketches) were great. – Cathy McAuliffe

Holiday Sketching Tradition

We always go to Fourth Street in Berkeley to sketch the holiday lights. It seems that there are more each year! — Cathy McAuliffe

4th Street Holiday Sketching

A view from my seat at Tacubaya's, over the reader's shoulder, of a stretch of 4th St. sparkling with holiday lights in the cold air.

Shop-window Sketching, Fourth Street, Berkeley

No, it's not Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, silly!

It's a glamorous mannequin from the creatively quirky window designer, Nina Taylor for Molly B. Boutique.

I'm always drawn to Nina's incomparable style.

Holiday Lights

Fourth Street in Berkeley has THE BEST holiday lights!

Sketching at Tacubaya on Fourth St, Berkeley

I love sketching at Tacubaya because of the vibrant colors, casual atmosphere, hospitality, and great food. I was going to focus on people, but first had to draw the bottles at the window enclosing little glass cacti. Then on to the cooks rapidly cooking and serving myriad dishes, including take-outs. I also sketched a selection of people as they sat or waited in line, backlit by the hot pink wall.

Delaware Street and Fourth Street in Berkeley

 

1. We sketched on and around Fourth Street in Berkeley, houses, restaurants and stores all within a block of each other.

Shop-window sketching, Fourth Street, Berkeley

A mannequin head in a hat box at Molly B. Boutique, from the always creatively quirky window designer, Nina Taylor. Uh huh, the glasses were perched askew.

Shoes are a favorite subject matter of mine. That's a "Sunnylife" transistor radio that resembles a Geiger counter from a 50's sci-fi movie. 

Guest Post: Amy Ventura's Spenger's Sketches

Amy's version of the man at the bar with hat, cellphone and martini and 

 Amy Ventura joined the Tuesday night East Bay Urban Sketchers last week for sketching at Spengers. Like the rest of us, she too drew our wonderful "model" Mark, as he sipped his martini and enjoyed his martini and graciously put up with a table of five women all drawing him.

Amy's sketches of the lanterns and flags hanging from the ceiling

Spenger's Bar Sketches

Waiting at the bar with cellphone

Last week we had a great time sketching in the bar at Spenger's, an old, formerly family-owned seafood restaurant filled with ship-themed objects including giant mounted fish trophies (which we learned are just plastic), models of old ships, steering wheels, ropes, etc.

Sonia Sketching, Flying Fish

Celing lanterns overlapped with sketch of men at the bar

I was drawing the guy in the foreground with the hat, cellphone and martini, when I noticed the man behind him kept smiling at me when I looked up. I wondered aloud whether it might be a bad idea to stare at men at the bar—would they think we were flirting with them? Everyone around our table laughed as it turned out we were all intently drawing the same foreground guy. He was a good sport and when we all finished we showed him his many portraits. Thank you Mark, for being such a good model!

Sonia's Spenger's Sketches

4th Street Holiday Lights near Spengers, ink & watercolor

Bread basket on the bar

Ship controls in the bar at Spengers

Berkeley's Fourth Street

Zut! Restaurant, by Jana Bouc

When I saw this restaurant named Zut! had opened on Fourth Street, I remembered Zut the dog, who lived next door to me in Berkeley in the 70s. I went inside to ask about the name and was shown their mural featuring a portrait of Zut the dog. (Read more about Zut on my blog).

A La Folie, by Jana Bouc

I always enjoy sketching manikins in shop windows and this one at A La Folie displaying expensive undies didn't disappoint.

Fourth Street Holiday Lights, by Jana Bouc

Fourth Street's holiday lights were up so we expected they'd be lit but only these two were. I guess they are waiting to light them until after Thanksgiving when the shops stay open evenings.