This year's theme at Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood festival paid respect to Los Ausenttes (The Absent) those who are no longer wi...

Spent a few hours sketching on a Thursday night at Old Kan Beer with my sister and friends. What a cozy place and great music too. Not too ...

Met with our urban sketching group at Bierhaus. Across the street was an oddly shaped residence that I felt compelled to capture. -- Vivian ...

Origami fascinates me on how a flat piece of paper can be made into a three dimensional form! My one dimensional rendering doesn’t capture...

We really enjoyed sketching and stamping at Bierhaus!

Enjoyed hanging out at Bierhaus located in  Oakland’s Temescal district (foodie central.) We arrived on a rainy Thursday evening so it was ...

Many of the plants were in full bloom when we visited the enchanting Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt. Thank you to the gardeners, hosts and...

Beautiful afternoon in Lake Merritt Bonsai Garden.Extra special with some of the trees in full bloom! — Cathy McAuliffe

It's a forest in a small space. Many of these trees look ancient, and yet only measured in inches—check out the Sequoia sempervirons—abo...

The deYoung Museum’s annual “Bouquets to Art” exhibition in San Francisco pairs floral arrangements and fine art.  The floral exhibit at...

Serrahna a fashion boutique in Oakland’s Rockridge district invited us back again to sketch. What a great place! No shortage of colors and ...

Had a great time discovering Oaktown Spice Shop across from Lake Merritt in Oakland. An amazing assortment of spices beautifully displayed a...

I had such a wonderful time on a rainy morning while sketching the colorful spices at the Oaktown Spice Shop (OSS) in Oakland with our gro...

Tip Top Bike Shop’s owner Dave Way welcomed us sketchers to his Temescal shop to sketch. He talked about  how Oakland is bike friendly. ...

This bike shop in Oakland invited us in for an afternoon of sketching. Turns out spokes are WAY harder to draw than I expected! They have al...

There was lots to sketch and lots to see here last Friday evening. Went to the Observatory as they were setting the giant telescope for that...

We were able to sketch at this year's celebration at Sahara Import on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. Each year they invite the community to...

Some of us met up at the Fruitvale BART station for the Dia de Los Muertos Festival last Sunday (see Vivian's sketch in following post)....

In a sendup on the masks of tragedy and comedy, Aesop's Tortoise and Hare welcome you to the open-air Playhouse at Children's F...

Children's Fairyland is a magical place for all.  A visit transports you from the everyday to other times and other stories, some famili...