Community Garden

On a cool, East Bay evening, sitting in a small community garden in Albany was so peaceful and quiet, very restful. The wonderful usual assortment of herbs, veggies and flowers were growing in some cases luxuriantly, some rather sparse.

watering tubes in abundance

Western Hills Nursery

Great afternoon. It was their monthly Artist Day ans we had the whole garden to ourselves. Well, except for the resident cat who turned out to be quite a hunter and unfortunately got a hummingbird while we were there.

Opera at the AT&T Ballpark—San Francisco

Though the highlight of the evening was the singer of the Star-Spangled Banner, we loved every other minute of this event (with the possible exception of standing for each person passing by!). The performance was spirited, and the crowd was respectful, and numbered about 25,000 according the the announcer. Local classical radio station luminaries Diane Nicolini and Hoyt Smith were emceeing.

our view of the screen

towards dusk the huge Coca Cola bottle was lit up against the fading sky

Sketching at West Hills Nursery, Occidental

I was reminded about a poem:

so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
William Carlos Williams
(1883-1963)

No chickens, but at the curve of a path--a lily pond with hummingbirds and dragonflies!

Oakland Aviation Museum P-51 Mustang and Helicopter

P-51 Mustang 3/4 scale replica

I thoroughly enjoyed sketching at the Oakland Aviation Museum. It was great being surrounded by so many flying machines.

Hiller Helicopter and a random sea plane (I think)

I was surprised how you could see all the rivets that held the sections of metal together. My mother was riveter in WWII and might have even riveted one of the planes. Even though most of the planes in the museum were actually flown, they looked so handmade close up.

Opera At The Ballpark

A fun evening at SF Giants AT&T Park. Standsd and field was full of 20,000 people watching opera on the Jumbotron. Well, most were watching, some were looking at their phones the whole evening.

Take Me Out to the .....Opera!

Opera at the Ball Park

I loved going out with fellow sketchers to the Opera simulcast at the AT&T Ball Park.

Please see Laurie W's  and other sketches on this blog.

Opera at the Ball Park

Opera at the ballpark

This is the simulcast of the La Traviata overture at AT&T ballpark. It was fun to sit on the field (we were just next to 3rd base) but it was so cold I didn't make it beyond the first act—even though the opera was wonderful and the image quality on the big screen was great. Next time I'll wear my ski jacket and my warmest gloves.

Ruth Bancroft Garden

My painting group spent a nice, warm morning at the garden which is located in Walnut Creek. I covered all the bases with a sketch of cactus (of course), the giant Washington palms (notice the size of the orange garden umbrellas in the sketch), a shed with old tractors and other farm machinery.

Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek

Sculpture in the Ruth Bancroft Garden

Wonderful morning spent at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, sketching natural and man-made sculpture with the East Bay Plein Air Painters.

On the left, looking up into an agave and a giant flowering succulent. What I couldn't portray is the riot of bees and birds enjoying the nectar of these bright yellow and green blossoms on 12-foot stalks.

On the right, a cement and ceramic sculpture,  Age of Exploration Rocket by Wes Horn.

The show runs through 7/13; check it out!

City Sketchers Go To The Mountains

 

A group of us, organized by Laurie Wigham, spent time at the SF State Sierra Field Campus near Truckee. We sketched the beautiful lakes and valleys nearby. A wonderful time meeting and sketching with such great people.

Balmy Summer Evening in Berkeley

Which means you only need to wear a fleece pull over and not a fleece AND a down vest. We had a fun meetup at the Westbrae Biergarten last night. I spent more time listening to and sharing summer travel stories than sketching. Our group had recently been to North Carolina, Chicago and the Sierras. And two members were still on trips to Colorado and western national parks, We will have a fun "What I did and sketched on my summer vacation" meeting in September!

Westbrae Biergarten, Berkeley

New this summer on the corner of  Gilman and Curtis Streets in Berkeley--a beer garden with anchor tenant Pedro's Brazil Cafe serving food.  The place is owned by the family who founded Westbrae Nursery next door.  The outdoor heaters were fired up the night we were there and a World Cup draw chart posted prominently among the international flags flying along the fence.  The place was packed!

Love their brew/pirate logo--also on the waitstaff's t-shirts--and the ginormous beers.

Family having dinner.  I got the spelling wrong on this one.

16 Trees

At last month's meeting of John Muir Laws workshop we were challenged to draw 16 trees before the next meeting. It was a great way to really see the trees in the neighborhood. Here are a few of my 16.

Paris Baguette, anyone?

I love the new-to-Berkeley Paris Baguette. It has a gracious European flavor with it's tall ceilings, striped walls and long displays of sweet and savory bakery goodies. You serve yourself as you swing down the length of the glass shelves and round towards the front with your pile (some looked to be having sweets for dinner!). The young folks behind the counter were artistically inclined and interested in what I was doing. Some of the decorative pastries caught my eye.

un-named cakes with fat cookies, blackberries, and slabs of chocolate sailing atop!

Saturday around Marin County

Saturday around Marin County, dip pen and ink and watercolor

Every year the Marin County Firefighters spend a day doing free CPR hands-on training around the county. Last year I did it in Tomales, this year I happened to stop at the Rouge & Noir cheese factory and I did it again. Later in the afternoon I was having a cup of tea by the main road in Stinson and this gigantic pick up truck parked in front of me. The perspective made it even bigger looking.

Pedro's Westbrae Biergarten

The Brazilian biergarten on Gilman Street across from Toot's Sweets and Boogie Woogie Bagels seems to be satisfying a very pent-up demand for such things in the area - it was jammed with happy people on this sunny late Wednesday afternoon. They have some good brews, some yummy smelling food from the Brazilian cafe truck, world cup, dogs, kids, plants...what more could you ask for?

the Westbrae Biergarten

I drew this in pen on 4 sheets of my notebook, and colored at home in photoshop.

Sketching at Tacubaya on Fourth St, Berkeley

I love sketching at Tacubaya because of the vibrant colors, casual atmosphere, hospitality, and great food. I was going to focus on people, but first had to draw the bottles at the window enclosing little glass cacti. Then on to the cooks rapidly cooking and serving myriad dishes, including take-outs. I also sketched a selection of people as they sat or waited in line, backlit by the hot pink wall.

Delaware Street and Fourth Street in Berkeley

 

1. We sketched on and around Fourth Street in Berkeley, houses, restaurants and stores all within a block of each other.

UC Botanical Garden

The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34 acre garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, in Strawberry Canyon. It is one of the most diverse plant collections in the United States, and famous for its large number of rare and endangered species.

Delaware Street, Berkeley

Water tower, Delaware Street, Berkeley

Berkeley’s earliest founding community was once known as Ocean View. The former town, now West Berkeley, is still filled with interesting 19th-century architecture. The 800 block of Delaware Street has boardwalks, a water tower, picket fences and beautifully restored Victorians, preserving the rural character of this historic neighborhood, just steps away from the shops and restaurants of Fourth Street.

REI, Berkeley

Kayaks and insoles

Whether you're interested in a kayak hanging from the rafters or just a pair of colorful insoles for your hiking boots, REI can outfit your next adventure.

Flowerland in Albany

A fixture on Solano Avenue since the 1940s, Flowerland Nursery continues to provide the neighborhood with the basics one would expect, but these days the offerings have a decidedly updated twist. 
 .
Securing its reputation as a destination, Flowerland boasts the only satellite location of Local 123 coffee shop, housed in a refurbished 1969 Streamline Princess trailer. In the evening, strings of glowing lights add to the festive atmosphere. Be sure to say hello to the resident dog, Tommy, or Phoebe the cat when you visit.

Flowerland, a great place to shop and a great place to sketch.