Sketchcrawl in S.F.

For the first time in a long time I attended a Sketchcrawl -- the 31st. A sketchcrawl is a drawing marathon and open to anyone who wants to draw or sketch or paint in the company of others for most of the day. These "crawls" take place in cities and towns all over the world. I joined a group in San Francisco and we walked and sketched and painted our way around the Mission District.  Happily I even met up with a couple of members from the Tuesday Night Sketch Group. I brought my pens, pencils and watercolors along for the ride. I hung out for most of the day at Dolores Park. My sketchcrawl began with a quick sketch on the BART train and ended with the pencil drawing of a wonderful tree that beckoned me. I enjoy drawing trees -- they don't move around like people or animals!

wisteria in bloom

Cathy, a sketch group member, invited the group to her home in North Berkeley to draw the lovely and bountiful wisterias. A Buddha was also present among the flowers in the garden and I couldn't resist drawing him.

life on a street in Berkeley

The sketching group met in North Berkeley. I don't usually do street scenes -- obviously there is a reason for that -- so I went out of my comfort zone for this sketch. I added the watercolor at home.

crazy cat

Here are two sketches I did at Picante Restaurant. Love that cat mask!

rainy day at Sagrada

It was a stormy Saturday morning and normally would be home curled up with my computer. Instead I took myself to Sagrada, a store in the Temescal district of Oakland that sells all kinds of books, jewelry, rosaries and other items that involve spirituality, meditation and religion. The owners were nice enough to let me draw there. This is the result -- a drawing of two figures (representing the Blessed Mother Mary) sitting atop a bookcase.