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| Sketching Mr. Enrique Martinez creating his papel picado art is both a pleasure and a challenge! The powerful figures and designs on delicate, but resilient paper are so compelling. I kept on adding color and deepening the lines, but I couldn't adequately represent how beautiful this art is! You can visit for yourself at 1328 6th St., Berkeley at Picante’s Restaurant. Mr. Martinez’s open door studio is next door. Please see other sketchers posts on this blog and our FB page. |
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| Buffalo Gill |
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| I'm looking forward to returning to Fieldwork Brewing located at 1160 6th Street in Berkeley. There are brewing vats (see my sketch above) and lots of people socializing, dining, playing board games and enjoying the brews. We will have two tables reserved for us. Hope you can join us! |
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| I was able to spend a quiet day in San Francisco, watching the Bay, and sketching a few scenes. |
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| I enjoyed leaving the cold, wet, grey day to enter into the warmth, colors, scents and tastes of Viks Chaat and Market. Here is a little sketch of part of the market. Please see Ceiny and Cathy's sketches and background info previously posted on this blog. |
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| We are so happy that the Claremont Diner is open again with spruced up conic red stools and black/white tiles floors. The menu retains the classics, but adds some new tasty dishes. |
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| California Poppies! |
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| San Francisco and the Bay Bridge in the background. |
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| The Bay Bridge and Treasure Island in the background. |
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| One of my favorite places to sketch is Meeker Slough in Richmond. The juxtaposition of wetlands, other landscapes and cityscape in the far distance with the ever changing light continue to fascinate me. These sketches were done in April on successive Mondays. |
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| I had to try to sketch Old Faithful! |
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| Geyser fields, crisscrossed with elevated paths, and visitors disappear in the mists. |
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| IPads were ubiquitous throughout the parks. |
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| The dazzling Grand Prismatic Spring. |
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| Mt. Moran is named after the artist whose paintings influenced the designation of Yellowstone National Park. |
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| Antler chandeliers at Flagg Ranch just outside the Grand Tetons. |
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| Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (~1970), an art installation constructed in Salt Lake, emerges after being underwater for years. |
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| Bonneville Salt Flats. |
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| This little van is parked in my neighborhood. Skylite Snowballs, "its a baltimore thing", features shaved ice infused with seasonal flavors according to its website: www.skylitesnowballs.com. The bottles at the window reflect a rainbow of colors and, I imagine, tastes. I hope to try one out sometime when this van is open for business. In the meantime, I'll content myself sketching it! |
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| Alvarado Park, in Richmond, is part of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park (see www.ebparks.org/parks/wildcat). This urban park is on the National Register of Historic Places and features extensive stonework and masonry attributed to Depression-era work programs. During my visit, it started misting, then drizzling. The oaks, backed by eucalyptus, and stonework started melting in the misty air. I blotted and restored some lost color, but basically left it alone for its atmospheric effects. |
