Tag: Food sketch

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Food sketch Interiors Oakland Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

Cato’s Ale House, Oakland

Catos Ale House, ink and watercolor 7.5x10 in
Cato’s Ale House, ink and watercolor 7.5 x 10 in

When we planned the Urban Sketching evening for Cato’s, a great old pub, little did we know that a large group of Kaiser doctors were also planning a happy hour event that night too. The place was totally packed but a large group of urban sketchers made it work anyway. We gathered around several tables and sketched eaters, drinkers and sketchers (and in my case, dinner).

My hamburger was delicious but I ate it too quickly, anxious to get sketching and a bit overwhelmed by the noise and crowds. That was my first night out sketching since adopting my pup, who was waiting patiently and not all that happily in her bed in my car in the parking lot of the PetFood Express store across the street from the pub.

Categories
Oil Painting Painting Still Life

Happy Boy Farms Tomatoes (Oil painting and process)

Happy Boy Farms Tomatoes, Oil on Gessobord panel, 12×12″
Happy Boy Farms Tomatoes, Oil on Gessobord panel, 12x12"
Happy Boy Farms Tomatoes, Oil on Gessobord panel, 12×12″

My friend Barbara said this painting made her want to lick the tomatoes right off the panel. That was her positive feedback when I got stuck and asked for advice at an earlier stage of this painting. The constructive criticism was harder to hear but helped me get to the final painting above. The earlier stages of the painting and her advice are below.

Preliminary thumbnails and watercolor sketch
Preliminary thumbnails and watercolor sketch

When I set up the still life I hung a light yellow-green cloth as a backdrop and piled the tomatoes into a thrift shop silver basket. I thought I’d use the folds in the cloth to divide up the green background.

Continue reading “Happy Boy Farms Tomatoes (Oil painting and process)”
Categories
Albany Drawing Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

Sketch Rendezvous at the Rendez-Vous Cafe

Someone else feeling like me, ink & watercolor
Someone else feeling like me, ink & watercolor

I wasn’t feeling well the night we sketched at the newish Rendez-Vous Cafe-Bistro and it looks like I sketched my feelings onto my friend’s face. She was cheery and having fun but my pen gave her an expression reflecting how I felt instead.

Kid's Menu Spaghetti & Meatballs with my legs under table, ink & watercolor
Kid’s Menu Spaghetti & Meatballs with my legs under table, ink & watercolor

There was a guitar jazz duo playing lovely music and the waiter kindly let me order  spaghetti and meatballs from the kids’ menu since I just wanted a small portion. As you can see in the sketch above, after I sketched my food on the table I continued down the page, over the binding, and sketched my legs and feet under the table.

By the end of the evening I was feeling much better, as almost always happens when  I sketch, especially with such good friends.

Categories
Drawing Food sketch Sketchbook Pages Urban Sketchers

Chicken Pot Pie Celebration

Chicken Pot Pie Celebration, ink & watercolor, 5x8"
Chicken Pot Pie Celebration, ink & watercolor, 5x8"

When we met for sketch night at Fat Apples Restaurant I decided to celebrate my move into the new studio with a sinfully decadent chicken pot pie. It came with a great salad and two unnecessary rolls since there was already too much to eat. By the time I finished sketching it, the pot pie cooled off just the right amount to eat. Yum!

Umbrellas Inside Fat Apples, ink & watercolor 5x8"
Umbrellas Inside Fat Apples, ink & watercolor 5x8"

Fat Apples has these two large café umbrellas in the middle of the restaurant at a counter where your can eat instead of at a table. It was interesting drawing them from below and to the side and trying to understand what was going on in there. Everyone finished sketching and was waiting for me so I didn’t get to complete the sketch. That’s a waitress with pigtails behind the counter. She actually had a pony tail but turned her head so I drew it in two places.

(Question: Why is a pony tail single but pig tails come in pairs? Pigs only have one tail, right?)

I’m still working on getting a post written and photos taken about the studio. I tried making a 360 degree video in the studio, explaining what I was showing, but when I watched it I discovered I lost track of where I started and actually did 360 degrees plus another 90. It was fun so I’ll try again.

Categories
Drawing Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages Still Life

It Ain’t Winter But It’s Squash

Spaghetti Squash and Acorn Squash, ink & watercolor, 8x5"
Spaghetti Squash and Acorn Squash, ink & watercolor, 8x5"

We’re still not having winter, just more lovely sunny days near 70 degrees. I long for the cool rainy weather that makes it so appealing to bake winter squash and simmer hearty soups while painting in the studio. So the squash gets sketched instead of eaten.

Sonia's Squash, ink & watercolor, 5x8"
Sonia's Squash, ink & watercolor, 5x8"

The green squash isn’t really named “Sonia’s Squash” but I always think of my friend Sonia when I see these because of this amazing watercolor she painted of one with hundreds of glazes. (Correction: in reading the title I see that hers isn’t a squash it’s an Australian Blue Pumpkin.)

These squash are actually side by side on a spread in the Moleskine I’m working in (along with two other sketchbooks this month) but since the Moleskine is bound in stupid landscape format it doesn’t fit in my scanner.

Categories
Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Sketchbook Pages

The Firemen Were Busy So We Went to the Brewery

Soup at Triple Rock Brewery, ink & watercolor, 5x7"
Soup at Triple Rock Brewery, ink & watercolor, 5x7"

We met for Tuesday night sketching at the main Berkeley Firehouse where we had permission to sketch firetrucks and emergency paraphernalia (and maybe even a hunky fireman or too) but they had to shut down the station and send all their trucks and guys off to fight fires.

So we went around the corner to Triple Rock Brewery. I got a bowl of delicious soup and sketched it on the black plaid tablecloth (waterproof tablecloth of course—and a good thing as we saw a couple of pitchers spilled while we there).

Inside Triple Rock, ink, 7x5"
Inside Triple Rock, ink, 7x5"

We had fun sketching and listening in on bar conversations. I was surprised how full the pub was on a Tuesday night, lots of energy and noise and people laughing.

 

Categories
Drawing Food sketch Ink and watercolor wash Rose Still Life

Persimmon & Silly Pseudo Summer Rose

Persimmon-Rose Sketchbook spread, ink & watercolor
Persimmon-Rose Sketchbook spread, ink & watercolor

If we don’t get a real fall or winter this year, maybe I can just draw fall and winter colors in my sketchbook? I got inspired by Apple-Pine’s persimmon sketching obsession to sketch (and eat) some persimmons of my own.

Number One Persimmon, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Number One Persimmon, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

I really like the way this page turned out with the gold pen over the purple paint on the bottom that I originally added to correct a drawing/design problem, and the way the shadow (from something else on the table) kind of looks like a big number one.

Silly Pseudo Summer Rose, ink & watercolor, 7x5"
Silly Pseudo Summer Rose, ink & watercolor, 7x5"

It was over 70 degrees F today and my roses are so confused. Earlier this week we had a brief shower and a bit of cold but otherwise, it’s still not winter. I know: be careful what you wish for!