My best friend Barbara ordered baby chicks by mail. She’d built a little hen house from scrap lumber and had it all ready for them. So she was surprised when the bundle of chirping chicks arrived with instructions to keep them indoors at 90°F for several weeks. Instead of being in the garden when we came to sketch they were living in the upstairs guestroom/studio in a big box with a heat lamp.
We were greeted at the garden gate by Gertie, her big, old, sweet Sharpei/Mutt.
Gertie the Garden Greeter
I tried to get her to pose for me but she was a bit unclear on the concept.
Garden path at sunset with cactus sculpture. Ink & watercolor
Barbara’s garden (photos from previous post) is abundant with flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, wild birds, her ceramic sculptures (the 3′ tall cactus above is actually made of glazed ceramic), her mosaics and the fabulous scent of healthy growing things. It’s a small garden in North Berkeley, but feels like a visit to the country far from urban stress. Her next door neighbors are musicians and so our sunset sketching was accompanied by birdsong and live music playing softly next door.
Elephant, sun/moon plate and potted bamboo
One of Barbara’s many garden still lifes. Every few steps in her garden (and in her jewel of a cottage) there is another such treasure, but she is the best treasure of them all!
For Worldwide Sketchcrawl 27 today I headed to San Francisco on BART for a 10:30 meetup at the Ferry Building, sketching along the way. The couple at the top of the picture seemed to be on an unsatisfactory date. The woman seemed passive-aggressive: she’d gone along with bringing her clunky bike on BART and her stupid, ancient, ill-fitting helmet, but wasn’t going to have fun. Her date adjusted her helmet straps for her but while he kept his on all the way to the city (complete with duct tape patch), she wouldn’t put hers on.
The guy in the middle above is Pete Scully, sketched outside Peets’ Coffee at the Ferry Building. I had a great time sketching with him and my friend Sonia and other sketchcrawlers wandering the Financial District of SF.
Waiting for Sketchcrawl to Start, ink & watercolor
There were too many people at the Ferry Building, shopping at the upscale foodie shops, being annoying tourists, and/or waiting for ferries. I waited in a line of 20 women for the restroom and didn’t even bother trying to get a cup of coffee at Peets. While we waited for Enrico to give us the “Go,” we sketched the scene. Yes, I exaggerated the crowds and the closeness of the Bay Bridge.
There’s a clarinetist (see Sketchcrawl 21 sketch) who is a permanent fixture at this spot, playing annoying screechy “music” that he segues into “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Popeye” whenever a kid approaches. Moms and their tots stop and dance while dads take photos and stuff money in his case. I couldn’t wait to get away from the crowds.
View of Ferry Building from Atop Hyatt Regency
Pete had the brilliant idea of going to the top of the nearby Hyatt Regency Hotel to sketch the view from above. We tried to go to the top floor (17) but the elevator would only take us to 14. We met a bellman on 14 and he said you had to have a key card to get there. I brazenly asked if he had one and he said yes. “Could you take us there?” I asked. He opened the door and swiped his card and sent us on up. What a sweetie! I wish I’d thought to tip him.
When we got off the elevator a gentleman informed us that the 360 degree-view-Regency Lounge was only for Regency Members and asked if we were members. I said no, but asked if we could just look at the view and draw pictures. He asked “For how long?” and I said “Oh, about 10-15 minutes” and he said OK. We were there for nearly an hour and nobody bothered us. We did tip him when we left and he invited us to help ourselves to any of the complimentary food and beverages but we declined.
Cable Car Turnaround, Drumm & Market
Sonia and I were hungry so while Pete started sketching a cable car we bought lunch at a deli across the street. We ate sitting at a bus stop, the only seats around. People kept coming up to us and asking about buses. Then I tried sketching the cable car and the hill it goes up and down. I was doing pretty good until I somehow planted a street light in the path of the street car.
Pete Sketching in front of McDonalds
Heading north, Pete sketched an old German hofbrau that didn’t inspire me (though his sketch did, which I will link to when he posts it) so I drew him from across the street, sitting on his stool in front of McDonalds.
Victoria's Secret Window, Embarcadero
I was tired and about ready to call it a day but managed one more sketch. I was more interested in the almost spiral staircase, the shadows, and odd architecture than the mannequins in their jungle print undies. I’m not a fan of the Victoria’s Secret brand or their ads and I think maybe it shows in the way I subconsciously made the mannequins look like they were giantesses, trapped in the store window and trying to get out.
It was 4:00 and although the end-of-Sketchcrawl meetup was happening at 4:30 in Union Square I decided to just go home and relax rather than head towards more crowds. It was a great day!
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!
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
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
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
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!
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
The azalea in the front yard was a birthday gift from my next door neighbors.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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 waving good-bye
Car front (Good thing she walks instead of driving!)
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.
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
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!
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.
Yes, sometimes it does seem like magic spells and the ability to decode hieroglyphics are required when trying to calculate how to lose weight and get lean. This spell worked: it caused a definite lean but not the right kind. That’s why it’s important to be specific when designing spells, intentions or wishes.
Be Careful What You Wish For (funny but true!)
Years ago a friend told me that she’d found her husband by writing a detailed description of the right man and the universe brought her exactly what she asked for. She encouraged me to give it a try. I played along, half-jokingly jotting down what I was looking for in a guy: tall, dark and handsome; interested in art; works in the mental health field (as I did then); physically fit, and likes kids (I was a recently divorced single mom).
The next day my sister called me (with no knowledge of my list) and said she had a friend from her gym she thought I should meet. He was a single dad who worked at a mental hospital; a tall, handsome, African-American guy. (By tall, dark and handsome I’d been picturing George Clooney, but this was OK too).
The three of us met at a pub. Art was basketball-player tall and fit though too ostentatiously dressed for my taste (my sister had only seen him in sweats) but that wasn’t the deal-breaker. The deal breaker was that he endlessly talked about himself, on and on and on all evening. Art seemed to have no interest in anything or anyone but himself.
Afterward, I marveled to my sister how he had all the qualities on that list I’d made except being interested in art. Then we looked at each other and cracked up! His name was Art and was he ever interested in Art!
Jana Bouc, Artist 