Mrs. Dalloway's and why I draw what I draw.

I got to thinking about how I pick a subject for my sketches. Often I find a good place to sit and then look for a subject. Last week at Mrs. Dalloway's all of us sat out on the sidewalk and drew the window display. It was a mild November evening and lots of people came by and chatted as we drew. Perfect all around. I thought I wanted to sketch the vintage mannequin but as I got to sketching and painting it became obvious that what really interested me were the wonderful paper flower sculptures in the background. I didn't know that at the start, but looking at the finished sketch I can see it. So no matter what you pick as a subject, the things that are really interesting to you will show in the end.

Mrs. Dalloway's (re-posted)

I couldn't sketch with the group last week but wanted to join in spririt, so I'm reposting a sketch of the mannequin in the window of Mrs. Dalloway's from our previous visit to College Avenue in August of this year.

Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, Berkeley

Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore derives its name from the first line of Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

The warm and welcoming bookstore is celebrating its tenth year on College Avenue in the Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley.

Four of us sat down at curbside last week and sketched the mannequin in their window. I hope we'll post all four sketches here. Ladies?

Third Thursday in the Elmwood

The Elmwood shopping district in Berkeley stays open late on the third Thursday of the month.  We met there, joined by Charlotte, an urban sketcher from Paris, who arrived on the bicycle she had bought in California.  Here's part of the display in the window of Mrs. Dalloway's, a wonderful independent bookstore opened in 2004 by two longtime friends and residents of the Elmwood.