Category: Drawing

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Cartoon art Drawing Dreams Painting People Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Blogging about Dreams; Dreaming about Blogs

All are drawn in ink and then watercolored in 5.5″ square sketchbook
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(Above) Dreamt my hairdresser shot someone and was going to jail.
The really bad part was that I was going to have to find another hairdresser.

– – –

Hillary forgot to shave her legs
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(Above) Dreamt that Hillary Clinton was visiting her OB/GYN. The doctor left the door unlocked so a bunch of reporters and photographers opened the door and took pictures.
Hillary was horrified because she’d forgotten to shave her legs!
Then Kate wrote the story up and Laura published it in the S.F. Chronicle.

– – –

Gay line dancing church

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(Above) Dreamt that a cute guy at a dinner party invited me to visit his church called “J.O.H.N.”.
It was for gay men who loved women, and lesbians who loved men, and where they did line dancing dressed as sailors from the 1940’s. The women had those big poufed-up, pinned-up 40s hairstyles and were wearing military uniforms.

– – –

L's Paris Car Repair Shop

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(Above) I dreamt that my ex-husband was starting a blog about a car repair shop he was opening in Paris (huh?!) and he asked me to paint something representing Paris to use on the blog. First I thought of the Eiffel Tower, but knew that was trite and would be hard to draw so I decided to paint a fountain. I was working on it in my dream, trying to paint Paris fountains like Laura, and the painting wasn’t going very well.

I just realized that not only am I blogging about dreaming, now I’m dreaming about blogging! I’m so glad I’m on vacation now — I need it!

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Animals Drawing Dreams Painting Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Kiwi-Colored Cat Dream

Ink & watercolor in 5.5″ square sketchbook (Larger)

Last night I dreamt that I found a lime-green, kiwi-colored tabby cat in the rainforest jungles of England (huh?). It laid on on it’s back purring, wanting it’s fuzzy tummy rubbed. This was a nice dream to wake up to, after the terrible one I had before it for most of the night. Since this is a time for peace and joy on earth I won’t share all the scary stuff from that dream.

One and a half more work days until my two week winter vacation!

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Drawing Other Art Blogs I Read Outdoors/Landscape Sketchbook Pages Studio

Payless Shoes from Peets Coffee


Ink in Moleskine sketchbook (Larger)

After taking a huge load of stuff to Goodwill and the recycling center (that came from three days of reorganizing the studio, which led to cleaning out my closets, cabinets and the garage) my reward was a latte at Peets (and what feels like a fabulous new, spacious studio!).

Now that I’m nearly done with this organizing/rearranging project it was great to relax and just draw what I could see out the window while I sipped my coffee.

This is another sketch inspired by Pete Sculley’s drawings with incorporated overheard snippets of conversation. (overheard: “I know you can’t make any decisions.” “My parents are here and I can’t just send them home.”)

Next time I’ll post photos of my newly organized studio.

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Cartoon art Drawing Dreams Life in general Other Art Blogs I Read Painting People Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Dream Journal: Film Crew Dinner & Sleepless Sleep Over with Laundry

Film crew dinner with Amazon Indians

Ink and watercolor in sketchbook (Larger)

I did these dream drawings right after I woke up, sitting in bed with a special SAD light (see previous post) propped up on my lap, shining on my face. My friend loaned me her spare light to see if it helped. I’m not sure if it was the lights, the sunny day, the hour at the gym and walk in the sun afterwards, but I’ve definitely been in a much better mood today than I’ve been in weeks.

Last night’s dreams were quite strange. The one illustrated above was about a dinner party with a film crew, including the director (at the head of the table) and two Amazonian Indian women who had just participated in a ritual that the crew filmed for a documentary.

One woman was displaying the scratches/lashes on her back she proudly received during the ritual. The other was mostly just displaying her boobs.

Maybe I’ve been watching too much of the TV show Bones on DVD about a forensic anthropologist? Or maybe it’s from listening to the National Public Radio series about the Ganges River (that I converted into the Amazon) and combined it with the interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with film director Jason Reitman and scriptwriter Diablo Cody.

Sleepless sleepover with pile of laundry

Ink and watercolor in sketchbook (Larger)

In this dream I invited Martha over for a little slumber party (huh?) and then remembered that I needed to vacuum because there was cat hair everywhere. I was still cleaning when she arrived so she hung out downstairs helping my mom plan some wonderful menus involving roasted pork. (I have no upstairs, my mom doesn’t live here, and she doesn’t cook, especially not pork.)

I still hadn’t finished vacuuming but realized there was laundry everywhere and so started piling it up on the spare bed to get it out of the way. Finally we said goodnight and Martha went right to sleep. I didn’t.

This dream happened right after Kate and I talked about meeting in person the next time she comes out to San Francisco (Kate turned into Martha in my dream). Having guests always seems to bring up those darn insecurities about not having a fancy home and other general unworthiness (that I can usually overcome with a little pep talk to myself).

In reality, my house is usually tidy, organized and there are no piles of laundry. There is the cat fur problem though, which I tend to ignore longer than I should…but I just warn people not to wear black to my house since it’s a cat-fur magnet.

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Drawing People Sketchbook Pages Subway drawings

Random Subway & Cafe Sketches



 Ink in Moleskine sketchbook (Larger)

Usually I sit in an inconspicuous spot when I sketch on BART but the only available seat was the kind where two passengers sit facing two others. This lady at first seemed annoyed at my sketching her — since our knees were nearly touching I couldn’t hide what I was doing — so I tried sketching the guy below a few feet to my left who had a big nose ring like you’d put in a cow. But he got off so I went back to her. She eventually ignored me and I was able to draw for another few minutes until I reached my stop. (5 minute drawing),

 

BART Rider with Hat and Nosering

Ladies having coffee at Peets

Sepia Memory Brush Pen (felt pen with a brush-like tip) in Moleskine sketchbook.

I took a walk to the Peets Coffee in my neighborhood and forced myself to slow down and draw for a little while. I’m also in such a rush to get to the next thing, which in this case was painting in the studio. This old felt tip brush pen was running out of ink.

Coffee drinkers at Peets

Veteran on Veteran's Day at Peets Coffee

Ink in Moleskine sketchbook on Veteran’s Day

I overheard him saying, “Today is a very sacred day. I’m glad to be alive and have survived Viet Nam and the military government.”

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Berkeley Drawing Life in general Other Art Blogs I Read Painting People Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Eavesdropping without consonants

Peet's Coffee Drinkers

Purple ink and watercolor in small Moleskine watercolor notebook (Larger)

I love overhearing snippets of other people’s conversations and how they flavor my sketches in cafes. I’ve drawn and scribbled overheard conversations at Peet’s Coffee’s 4th Street shop in Berkeley before. When I saw Pete Scully‘s fantastic sketches with conversation snippets I thought I’d try it his way with the words in little boxes. But I’m not as tidy at printing as he is.

Peet's Coffee - ...and I got my potatoes back

Purple ink and watercolor in small Moleskine watercolor notebook (Larger)

So on this one I wrote the words I overheard on the newspaper above. Maybe the passerby didn’t really say, “…and I got all my potatoes back, you know…” – my hearing isn’t what it used to be so sometimes my imagination fills in the blanks with things that make me laugh. I can hear the words but the consonants aren’t clear.

It’s amazing how one wrong consonant can change the meaning of a sentence. (He says, “Hey, guess what! I got a hog!”…so I’m thinking…he got a pig?! oh maybe he got a Harley motorcycle, they call those “hogs”….and then I realize as he goes on talking that he said he got a DOG, not a HOG and he said it was BIG not a PIG!)

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Drawing People Sketchbook Pages

Fishtank Ensemble at Freight & Salvage

Freight & Salvage

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Micron Pigma .005 pen in Moleskine sketchbook

One of my favorite musical groups —The Fishtank Ensemble — was playing at the Freight & Salvage tonight and Michael and I went to hear them. I’ve posted about them before so won’t go into details except to say they’re fabulous! You can hear some of their gypsy jazz/klemer/flamenco tunes on their website. I sketched while we waited for the show to start but was annoyed that I had the wrong pen–the extra extra fine point instead of the .01 I usually use.

Freight and Salvage started out as a Berkeley folk club/coffeehouse 39 years ago, and was originally located in a warehouse with that name. It’s a wonderful place to hear a variety of great music and I’ve had some very memorable nights there. But this night is nearly over and tomorrow is my painting class and I have to leave early in the morning, so…buenas noches, mis amigos.

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Drawing Faces Other Art Blogs I Read People Sketchbook Pages Subway drawings

Subway Drawings & Mom Visit

Subway Drawing -bart41

Chubby cyclist. He was so stuffed into his clothes it must have been uncomfortable — but I give him lots of credit for riding his bike to and from the BART station instead of driving there like I do.
All drawings Micron Pigma pen in small Moleskine notebook

Subway Drawing -bart39

Sound asleep and resting comfortably after a long day.

Subway Drawing - bart40

She figured out I was drawing her and gave me a big smile as she got off. I didn’t have time to finish her bearded partner though I wished I did. He had a lovely gentle face.

It’s been a crazy week at work leaving me no energy to draw or paint in the evening. My mother ( see her artwork from the 50s here) arrives tonight for a nearly weeklong visit. I’m hoping to do some drawing while she’s here and I start a plein air painting workshop on Sunday with Elio Camacho.

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Drawing Faces People Sketchbook Pages Subway drawings

“Pitty” Tail – Tuesday Subway Drawings

bart37

Ink in Moleskine notebook.
On my ride to work this morning, he looked so jaunty, with his perky cap, sunglasses, outdoorsy jacket and wearing what my sister calls a “pitty” tail — those skimpy little gray ponytails that balding men trying to hang onto the last bits of their wilder youth wear.

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The morning light was shining in from the window onto his face. He was only there for a minute and then he got off.

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On my ride home the train was very crowded and he was sitting on the floor cross-legged reading. I gave myself room in my sketchbook to draw all of him but he got off before I could.

bart38

He was sound asleep on the seat in front of me, less than two feet away when I got on at 6:45 p.m. He was still asleep when I got off. I hope he didn’t miss his stop. I had a feeling that the woman on the seat beside me was watching me draw. I was imagining what she might be about to say to me (“you better not draw me” or “nice drawing–it looks just like him” or “do you think that’s right drawing somebody who’s sleeping?”) but when I stole a glance in her direction, she was also sound asleep.

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Drawing Other Art Blogs I Read People Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Sketchcrawl 15 – Berkeley’s Fourth Street

Sketchcrawl15-peets

Peet’s Coffee. Larger

All are drawn in ink and painted with watercolor in small Moleskine watercolor notebook
Yesterday was Sketchcrawl 15 and I joined a friendly, talented group of artists (including Oakland artist Carrie, Sonoma county artist Natalie, Cathy from East Bay Plein Air Painters, and fellow art-bloggers Martha, Vern and Pete) on Berkeley’s Fourth Street to sketch. We had a good time sketching in nice weather, and met up again at the end of the day at Brennan’s Pub for drinks.

Brennan’s used to be a favorite hangout in my late 20s — a place to meet friends for drinks and partying back in the day. I hadn’t been there in at least 20 years so it was fun to see it was still virtually the same and to have a yummy Irish Coffee for old times sake. I learned today that Brennan’s will be demolished in the near future to make room for a new development but they will be moving to a historic, former train depot nearby.

Sketchcrawl15-lilly

Lilly. Larger
“Good Afternoon. Could you help me please?” “Good afternoon, could you help me please?” “Good afternoon, could you help me please?” “Thank you Jesus.” “Good afternoon, could you help me please?”

Martha and I sat on a bench across the street from Hear Music so she could draw their storefront. Just to my left was this cheerful and charming (and repetitive) blind woman soliciting money from the shoppers in this upscale area. For the half hour we sat there she continued her chant, while her sweet but old, grizzled male friend gave her quiet little cues about who was walking by, what they looked like and what they were doing. She was excited we were sketching her. I gave him my card and promised to send a copy of the finished sketch, which he liked. She also allowed me to take photos and I plan to do a painting of her as she was quite beautiful (which you can’t tell from my sketch, sadly.) We put a few dollars in her begging bowl (a quart-sized yogurt container).

Sketchcrawl15-gate

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The last sketch of the day in the little courtyard behind Sur la Table. Martha went inside and drew kitchen goods.

Sketchcrawl15-spengers

Spenger’s Fish Grotto
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This is the first sketch of the day I did while we waited for everyone to arrive. I painted it later at home from little color notes I penciled in to the sketch. Pete did a fabulous drawing of Spenger’s using a blue Copic fine liner and watercolor, so please be sure to visit the Berkeley Sketchcrawl website to see his drawings and Martha’s, and the cool photos Martha took of everyone sketching.