July 4 - Sketching at Circle Park & Normandy Village

On July 4 I dropped by a local neighborhood celebration at Circle Park in the morning (top sketch) and went back to Normandy Village (NV) in the afternoon. I had missed our group's last NV outing  (please see their earlier posts), but love sketching this distinctive architecture. I'm afraid my depictions of the gargoyles aren't as fierce as they are in "real" life.

Normandy Village in Berkeley

We had a quiet summer evening sketching at this Berkeley landmark. It is right next to the Universiy but it feels like you are actually in a small village. I tried capturing it in 3 different styles. See the other sketchers posts below.

The Normandy Village in Berkeley is always an intriguing draw. It isn't as easy as you might think to capture its charm. Though you might call if "faux charm" it really draws you in. And, as someone said, everything is a copy of something else - even the ancient Romans copied someone! Here's my latest try. (the foliage is not complete, but destined to remain this way)

Berkeley Sketching Site #1. . .

Last week at Normandy Village on Spruce Street, the owner of this condo came out to see our work and told us that the owners want to get the complex painted but don't know quite how to go about recreating the weathered look of the exterior walls.  Search this blog for images of our group's past visits here.

Apts. built in the 1920s as an imitation French village. 

Normandy Village, Berkeley

On Spruce Street, just above Hearst, Normandy Village is a set of apartments designed to resemble a small village in rural France--with turrets, gargoyles, and patterned brick walls.  Originally called Thornburg Village, after the 25 year old developer, Jack Thornburg, the first apartments were opened in 1927.  What an abundance of drawing subjects!

Normandy Village on Berkeley's Northside

Normandy Village, ink & watercolor, 8x5"

This sketch is from all the way back in May, which seems like such a long time ago now. Somehow it got lost in my sketchbook and never posted. 

You can read more about Normandy Village on my blog, JanasJournal.com, It was built in the 1920s as a copy of a village in rural France and is now quirky condos, located around the corner from the UC Berkeley campus.