Categories
Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Life in general Painting Sketchbook Pages

The End of an Era: Bye-Bye 1971 Firebird

1970 Firebird Tow, Ink & watercolor
1970 Firebird & Tow Truck, drawn on the spot, ink & watercolor

When my son Cody asked if he could keep his 1971 Pontiac Firebird in my garage while he restored it, neither of us expected it to still be there nearly 10 years later. At the time he was a car-crazed teenager and while he is still is a fanatic for anything on wheels, now he has a family and home of his own.

He finally finished his big garage remodel and had the Firebird towed to his “Man Palace” (as my daughter-in-law calls his garage) today. Now  it will live there alongside his bikes, motorcycles and tools.

Cody did an amazing job rebuilding the engine and replacing every single mechanical part with super high-tech, high-powered racing parts. The car is LOUD! It is FAST! But it needed a paint job. And not just any paint job would do for a valuable, classic “muscle car” like this.

So  he took the body apart and stripped it down to bare metal and then began the body restoration project (covering everything in my garage in Bondo dust along the way). It’s mostly reassembled, but still waiting for that expensive paint job.

The next step is to get the rest of his equipment, car parts, fish tanks, tires, and junk out of my garage so I can begin my own garage remodel project!

Categories
Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Landscape Outdoors/Landscape Painting Places Plein Air Sketchbook Pages

Sketching at the BoilerHouse Restaurant, Richmond

Boiler, Sanguine Ink & Watercolor
Old Boiler in the restaurant, Sanguine Ink & Watercolor

Last Tuesday evening we sketched at the BoilerHouse Restaurant in Richmond’s Craneway Pavillion on the San Francisco Bay. The building had been a Ford automobile factory until World War II when it was converted to military use. Now it holds a restaurant and a huge venue for dance, music and other events and is on the Bay Trail, a walking and bike path around the SF Bay.

BoilerHouse Restaurant, ink & watercolor
BoilerHouse Restaurant, ink & watercolor

The architecture is really complicated and the big smoke stack was very tall so after a false start (the black lines still visible) I switched to a brown pen and started over on the same page. I marked the top of the stack and the bottom of the building so I could get it all on the page. I also used the “plumb line” technique (where you imagine a line straight down from one thing to see what lines up along that line below it).

Sunset View from Craneway Pavillion, ink & watercolor
Sunset View from Craneway Pavillion, ink & watercolor

It was getting cold and windy as the sun was starting to set. The boat at the end of the pier is the restored Red Oak Victory Ship which served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and was built by the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond.  That’s the Golden Gate Bridge peeking out from behind the hills.

Tree at Dusk, ink & watercolor
Tree at Dusk, ink & watercolor

At dusk we moved inside the restaurant to warm up and sketch and this huge tree filled my view through the wall of windows. The window panes provided a convenient grid for drawing the tree.

I’d read reviews saying the service was slow (which is perfect for sketchers) but our water was very nice and conscientious and my salad was good. Other reviews said the restaurant serves strong cocktails and that seemed true: While we were outside sketching a couple of different departing diners (drinkers?) stopped to say alcohol-fueled “funny” things to us and once inside there were occasional bursts of uproarious laughter and the sound of crockery falling to the floor and smashing.

P.S. This Saturday, May 15 is the 27th International Sketchcrawl and I’m planning to attend the San Francisco event. If you’re going too, I’d love to meet up with you there so let me know to look for you!

Categories
Drawing Flower Art Ink and watercolor wash Painting Sketchbook Pages

My Mothers’ Day Fuchsias: “Buy Once Use Twice?”

Mothers Day Fuchsias, ink & watercolor
Mothers Day Fuchsias, ink & watercolor

I had a lovely Mothers Day yesterday. After spending a cozy, rainy day in the studio painting, Robin  arrived to chauffer me to Cody’s house for dinner carrying a beautiful fuchsia plant as a gift. Attached to the plant was a tag proclaiming, “Buy once, use twice!” This seemed an odd bit of marketing since I generally expect things I buy to be usable multiple times, not just twice. It also made me wonder how you “use” a plant.

Upon reading further I learned they simply meant it could be enjoyed as a house plant first and then planted in the garden later. Wrapped in festive fuchsia colored cellophane it does cheer up a room. But since my cats try to eat bouquets and houseplants I will probably plant these in the garden soon.

Many of my garden plants were gifts and I always think of the people who gave them to me when I see them in the garden. And they all were “Buy once, Use twice” items too since they got sketched and planted.

The bowl of succulents in my dining room were a gift from my sister.

Succulent Garden in a Bowl, watercolor 9x6"

The penstemon in my backyard was a housewarming gift from Barbara and the rubber tree in my side yard came from Robin.

Rubber Tree
Rubber Tree

The azalea in the front yard was a birthday gift from my next door neighbors.

Front yard flowers, ink & watercolor
Front yard flowers, ink & watercolor

The Japanese maple tree by my front door was a gift from my coworkers in honor of my father’s death nearly 10 years ago.

Japanese Maple leaves, ink & watercolor
Japanese Maple leaves, ink & watercolor
Categories
Bay Area Parks Landscape Marin County Outdoors/Landscape Painting Places Plein Air Sketchbook Pages Watercolor

Wow! Was it Windy! Pt. Bonita, Marin Headlands

Pt. Bonita Lighthouse, Marin Headlands, watercolor
Pt. Bonita Lighthouse, Marin Headlands, watercolor

Sketching at Point Bonita in the Marin Headlands yesterday it was so windy that I could barely hold my sketchbook and all my photos were blurry because my camera was being blow around so much. At one point my watercolor palette blew right off the ledge on the old fort where I perched while another painter’s table blew away from her. I wore several layers of clothes, and had my head wrapped in ear warmers, a hoodie, a jacket hood and over that tied a bandana over most of my face so only my eyes were peeking out.

View from Pt. Bonita, Marin Headlands
View from Pt. Bonita, Marin Headlands

I didn’t even try to set up an easel although others did, finding shelter in one of the old forts. I wasn’t thrilled with these or my other sketches but I was pleased that I’d made the effort to go and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. I’d love to come back some time when it’s not windy, but I’m not sure if there is such a time.

The area is fascinating:
One of the most unique areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Marin Headlands covers various types of histories from the Miwok Indians to the Military. Included are historic Fort Barry and Fort Cronkhite, the NIKE Missile site and other military installations and fortifications, dating from 1776 through the Cold War, and the 150 year-old Point Bonita lighthouse. Other attractions include varied hiking trails, dog friendly Rodeo Beach, and astonishing views of the coast and San Francisco. The explosion of wildflowers in the spring and raptor migration in the fall fill the headlands with year round excitement.

Categories
Acrylic Painting Benicia Landscape Outdoors/Landscape Painting

Benicia Meadow and Visitors Center

Benicia Meadow and Train Station, 9x12", Acrylic painting
Benicia Meadow and Visitors Center, 9x12"

The day I painted in this meadow was gorgeous: warm and sunny with the air full of the scents of spring and the sounds of birds, bees and frogs. The plein air painting I did wasn’t worth posting but served as a memory guide, along with my photos for this painting. It is painted with Golden Open Acrylics on a RayMarArt canvas/hardboard panel.

I know I’ve been a bit quiet here lately—just a bit of spring fever and choosing to be outdoors and/or painting,  not at the computer.  (:

Categories
Drawing Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Interiors Painting Sketchbook Pages

Sketching at Pacific East Mall

Dragon Fruit, ink & watercolor
Dragon Fruit, ink & watercolor

Sketching at Pacific East Mall is always an interesting proposition because it’s almost like visiting an Asian country (without the jet lag or costs). The stores and restaurants feature food and products from all the Asian countries and most of the signage and languages spoken there are also Asian.

It was fun copying the Chinese characters on the signage for these amazing and aptly named Dragon Fruits (above). I could picture these little dragons marching in a festive parade. I’m also really curious to try eating them. According to Wikipedia they are the fruit of a cactus and have a creamy pulp and a delicate aroma.

Cherimoya, ink & watercolor
Cherimoya, ink & watercolor

Another strange fruit, Cherimoyas had wonderful pattern on them. Since the green grocer spoke no English and I no Chinese I asked Google about the Cherimoya and learned some amazing things:

Mark Twain called the cherimoya “the most delicious fruit known to men.” The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white, with a sherbet-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple. Some characterize the flavor as a blend of banana, pineapple, papaya, peach, and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubblegum. Similar in size to a grapefruit, it has large, glossy, dark seeds that are easily removed. The seeds are poisonous if crushed open and can be used as an insecticide. An extractive of the bark can induce paralysis if injected.

Tea Shop Canisters, ink & watercolor
Ten Ren Tea Shop Canisters and Counter, ink & watercolor

At the Ten Ren tea shop, Sonia ordered a Bubble Tea, a pink drink that had little blueberry-colored and sized balls of tapioca in it. We sat at a table and sketched to their background music of 1980’s rock and roll. One song came on that I recognized and tried think of the name of the band which led to us playing Senior-Moment Trivia.  From my lame clues (big hair, blonde, nice guy with a bunch of kids, New Jersey, band named after him, there’s  a “J” in the name…Jansen…no…) she came up with name of the band as we were leaving, saving me from a tortured night of trying to come up with….Bon Jovi!

Chickens, Ducks, Bye-Bye Birdies
Chickens, Ducks, Bye-Bye Birdies

It’s a good thing I was warmed up and sketching fast by the time I came to the hanging poultry. The store was preparing to close and an employee snatched them all off the line as I began to draw the last one.

Categories
Colored pencil art Drawing International Fake Journal Month People Sketchbook Pages

Spell to Undo: Janas (Fake) Journal

Undo Spell, Fake Journal; ink, colored pencil
Undo Spell, Fake Journal; ink, colored pencil

For those embarrassing moments: an UNDO spell that’s just as easy as clicking the back ← button. This spell is similar to the “Rewind” spell, only quicker.

Next time you need a “Do over” or an “Undo” just cast this handy spell. The directions are written in gold ink at the bottom of the Journal of Spells & Unspells right-hand page. I discovered this written language after meeting an amazing, eccentric, local artist named Bebe who traveled the world making life masks of people she met and whose home and car are covered in her imagined blue writing, pictured below (click images to enlarge).

Bebe's House
Bebe's House

Bebe and her car in front of her house
Bebe waving good-bye

Car front
Car front (Good thing she walks instead of driving!)

Car side
Car side

I first met Bebe when I was about to walk past her but instead stopped to tell her how beautiful I thought she was, struck by her white braids, colorful clothes and Cleopatra eyes. Months later Barbara and I were walking in Kensington and we  stumbled upon her house. She saw us looking, came out to say hello and invited us in, regaling with us with stories of her travels and fascinating life. Nearing 90 she said she walks three hours every day, does her art and meditates daily.

Categories
Berkeley Drawing Ink and watercolor wash Landscape Life in general Outdoors/Landscape Painting People Places Plein Air Sketchbook Pages

Bad Day…Good Day…Bad Day

Sylvia Painting at Berkeley Marina, Ink & watercolor
Sylvia Painting at Berkeley Marina, Ink & watercolor

First the Good Day: I had fun sketching this artist painting at the Berkeley Marina during our paint-out today. Unfortunately that fun was sandwiched between two Bad-Day things.

The second Bad Day thing is the worst: I came home from the paint-out and discovered that my Gmail account got hacked and sent spam to everyone in my address book. UGH! I researched the problem and took all the recommended steps to fix it: changed my Gmail password (and am now halfway through changing all my other passwords), checked all my security settings, ran 2 virus checkers and 2 malware checkers which all came up negative.

If you received  one of the spam messages, please accept my apology. And if you clicked the link or replied to the message, then just to be safe, please change your email password too.

The first Bad-Day thing was that on my way to the paint-out there was a big accident just beyond the exit I needed to take to the Marina. Traffic wasn’t moving and people started getting nasty. First they started driving on the shoulder of the road, trying (unsuccessfully) to get to the exit and off the freeway.

Then big SUVs and pickup trucks started driving up the curb onto the dirt, turning one pre-exit lane into 3 lanes of cars squeezed together, jockeying to get ahead of each other. Then two SUVs ran into each other, blocking things up even more. Of course all three lanes had to funnel back into the same lane at the exit ramp but those pushy guys got off first.

Berkeley Harbor Patrol, ink & watercolor
Berkeley Harbor Patrol, ink & watercolor

I was really upset because our plein air group had hired David Savellano to lead a watercolor sketching workshop for us and I was missing it! I was so frustrated just sitting there watching beastly, rude drivers instead of enjoying art and sea air at the marina. Finally, inch by inch I made it to the exit and arrived half an hour late to the demo.

Naturally, I had a little trouble loosening up when I did the boat sketch above, but after taking a lunch/attitude adjustment break, returned for more, determined to get loose and just play. The sketch at the top of the post was the result. During the critique David gave me great reviews for both sketches which made my day and believe, me, I really needed that on a day like this!

Categories
Animals Colored pencil art Drawing International Fake Journal Month Sketchbook Pages

Cat Translation Spell (Never Mind!)

Cat Translation Spell, ink and colored pencil
Cat Translation Spell, ink and colored pencil

I’ve often wished I could understand what my cats were saying but I should have known! Fortunately the Cat Translation Spell has an Unspell to reverse the effects.

This is another page in my Fake Journal for International Fake Journal Month. I was excited to get to this page where the black paper transitions to the brown pages. It’s so much fun drawing with white and gold gel pen on the black and colored pencil works beautifully on both of these papers.

Categories
Acrylic Painting Bay Area Parks Landscape Oil Painting Outdoors/Landscape Painting Places Plein Air Walnut Creek

Borges Ranch Painted 3 Times in 3 Years: Seeing Progress

Borges Ranch View, Acrylic on canvas panel, 10"x12"
Borges Ranch View, Open Acrylics on canvas panel, 10x12" (studio painting)

It’s springtime in California and those famous “golden rolling hills” are actually a million shades of green right now, thanks to all the rain (which we probably won’t see again until next winter).  When my plein air group went to Borges Ranch in Walnut Creek last month for our paint out, I used the time to hike, sketch and take photos. Then I made the painting above in the studio from my photos memories of the day.

You can see my recent sketches of Borges here. The two Borges paintings below from 2009 and 2008 help me see that I am making progress.

March 2009; Plein air, Oil, 9x12"
Borges Ranch Plein Air, March 2008
March 2008, Plein Air, Oil (Ick!)

I really like going out sketching with the group and experiencing everything about the day without the frustration of trying to make a 2-hour painting as the light and scene changes completely. I’m better suited to doing sketches in the field and paintings in the studio.

Last Sunday I tried again to paint on site. I thoroughly enjoyed the sounds of birds, crickets and frogs in the meadow where I painted in the sun along the bay in Benicia. The painting was a 50-50 flop that might be salvageable but I took some photos which I altered in Photoshop to match my memories, from which I will make a painting