A Tip O’ The Hat to The Tip Top Bike Shop

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. He and his staff work with a large diverse group. Most of their clients have daily commuter bikes. They also support weekend bicyclists. 

This is the door display of colorful caps to top it off.

Sketching Oakland's Women's March

What a day! I attempted to both stroll and sketch during the Oakland Women's March last Saturday. My intention was to go with the flow of the marchers and minimize stops; hence some of these are more wobbly than usual from emotion and locomotion.

I have to say that the elder identified the Lake Merritt Hotel, an elegant residential hotel, as the Old Folks Home. She wanted all folks to know where she was coming from. Young, old, diverse ethnicities and races were together at the Oakland March. 

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.

Cruising and Sketching along the Napa River

Fast Train on the Brazos Bridge
The SF Bay Area Urban Sketchers were invited by Ling Liao and Carol Sutton to participate in a Cruise and Sketch outing on the Napa River organized by Joan Primeau and others.. Over 30 painters and sketchers launched out of the Vallejo Ferry area on a Dolphin Carter boat under bridges and past old salt ponds, wetland habitats, island dwellings and WWII historic sites. Thank you Ling, Carol, Joan, all the participants and Dolphin Charters!!

Edgerley Island

Mare Island Causeway Bridge with the Hwy 37 Bridge in the background

where they love...for a living

She is on the phone and does her nails as we sit down next to them. We are waiting for a bus to leave San Jose airport. She and the other girl next to her are also waiting for something. They look bored and hardly talk. They are friendly to each other, but aren't friends. After a while, two middle aged men approach from the airport terminal. One in shorts and a polo shirt, the other in slacks wearing a baseball cap -  'Betty Ford clinic' .  The men grin and excitement is apparent in their eyes as they approach. The girls put on a professional smile as they welcome their foreign visitors. 'Let's go and get a car.' 

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Oliver, your visual flaneur

 

Joann Fabrics and Crafts

There were so many items to sketch, but the dress makers form and juxtaposition of sports fabrics and Hello Kitty materials caught my eye. Please see fellow sketchers' previous posts from Joann's.

Some More Sketches From Looking Glass Photo and Cameras

Camera Stand

It was fun sketching at the Looking Glass  Store!

Old Horns
Perhaps from a truck?

Dia De Los Muertos Festival 2013

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is based on indigenous beliefs going back thousands of years in Meso-American cultures. Today the celebrations focus on family and friends remembering those who have passed.  Micaela and I visited this year's events in Oakland's Fruitvale Village  (please see her previous post). The place was redolent of marigolds wrapped around the light poles and placed in alters. Papel picado (cut tissue papers) banners draped at the entrances of the vendors' tents. I couldn't sketch quickly enough to do the Aztec dancers justice; they were amazing as they danced in the corridor bisecting the  booths.