Daylight Savings Eve, 5×8” Ink, Neocolor II, Inktense pencils
The end of Daylight Savings is my favorite day of the year! It’s like Christmas Eve—I love knowing I get a free hour to use as a “Do-Over” sometime during the day, after I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of one sort or another.
And I fall into a lot of rabbit holes, thanks to ADHD and its “time blindness” feature.
Like today, I was about to do a Peloton cycling class but found myself finally clearing out all the bags and bins of lockdown-era flours for bread making instead.
Then I moved on to the containers of dried beans and peas I’ll never cook. I posted the beans on my local Buy Nothing group. Hopefully someone who is still friends with legumes can enjoy some soup making.
I finally did the fun cycling class, but so late that lunch after was at 4:00 pm. And finally got in the studio and drew this to celebrate Daylight Savings End Eve.
More practice drawing features. Above my family tree of noses with various relatives. Do you see anything in common? Below random famous and not famous noses.
My Lemon Pepper and Salt Shaker, EDM #104, ink & watercolor
Drawing is the foundation of most picture making and it’s a skill that requires regular practice and study. I’m determined to improve my drawing skills and the Every Day in May drawing challenge came at just the right time to inspire this daily practice.
All The Scissors I Own, EDM#105, ink & watercolor, 5.5x7.5"
I’ve long enjoyed just starting somewhere on the page and letting the details and story expose themselves in my sketch as my eyes explore the subject. I like the “just see what happens” approach. That is a lot of fun. But it doesn’t work well when I’m trying to fit a scene onto a page, or realistically capture a place or people or both.
My Exercise Corner (drawn sleepy and without using the strategies described below so it's wonky and didn't fit on the page). EDM# 103
That requires some comparing, measuring, careful checking of angles, drawing imaginary (or penciled) “plumb lines” to see what lines up with what, noting where the top, bottom, sides and midlines are in the subject vertically and horizontally, and marking those same spots on the page so that it all fits. And of course there are lots more…perspective, line quality, etc.
I just wasn’t willing to do most of that before, but now I am. Even more surprising than my willingness is how enjoyable it is and how it’s starting to become second nature.
I don’t want my drawing to be pefect—I love imperfect wonky drawings—they’re so much more interesting and lively than perfectly realistic ones. I just want the darn picture to fit on the page and the proportions to be at least almost right, and to be able to draw more quickly and accurately when I need to.
To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Arhoolie Records held a “second line parade” led by the New Orleans-based Tremè Brass Band. The parade started with a fantastic concert at Berkeley’s Civic Center Park
In the video below you can see and hear the band (and me trying to sketch them, looking like a bobble-head doll as I look up at the band and down at my sketchbook. I’m at top right of the screen, starting around 30 seconds in, wearing bright green.)
After they played 20 minutes or so, we danced (and sketched) along behind the band to the Berkeley BART station, with many people twirling handkerchiefs or parasols in the air as is the tradition in second line parades. They performed another brief concert, and then more people joined in the parade as we moved along Shattuck Avenue.
Playing by the BART station (note guy recording sound with mic on boom)
The parade ended at Freight & Salvage on Addison Street where we were again treated to more great Dixieland music. By then I was pretty far back in the crowd so gave up trying to draw the band but noticed these guys on the roof videotaping the event as we arrived.
Gathering at Freight and Salvage
This was one of those “It doesn’t get any better than this” experiences: Fantastic live music, sunshine and sketching! I knew the sketching would be challenging because of the constant movement, so only had as my goal to have fun and give it a try. I definitely had fun!
North Beach Pizza in Berkeley is housed in a former International House of Pancakes. Pizza is a sort of large pancake, I suppose, but I wouldn’t want it served with maple syrup. We had a good time eating, chatting and sketching the night away, six of us in one cozy booth.
All Day Meeting Sketches #1, graphite on notebook paper
We had an all day staff meeting today at our co-director’s home. It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with each other, celebrate our accomplishments over the past year and plan for the huge amount of work we’ll be doing over the next year. It was also a chance for some sketching.
The gentleman above rests his finger just below his nose when he’s listening with concentration. (Just had to explain since it looks like he’s doing something else).
All Day Meeting Sketches #2, graphite
I really like the way the woman’s foot in this sketch turned out. She’s quite petite but I think I should have made her legs bigger since they were closer to me.
It felt inappropriate to take out my sketchbook (even though I know I listen well while drawing, I didn’t want others to think I wasn’t paying attention) so I drew in the same cheesy notebook I was using for notetaking. Of course everyone knew I was sketching anyway…
Last year we had our annual all staff meeting in a stuffy conference room. It was so much nicer gathering in a home where we could eat pizza in the backyard and sit in comfy chairs in a pretty living room and kick our shoes off.
Blackened Salmon at Pyramid Ale House, Ink & Watercolor
Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley is a lively, fun place for good food, good beer and sketching too. My blackened salmon was delicious and a real challenge to wait to draw and paint before eating. After dinner we planned to sketch the brewery area visible from our table. But mid-meal they turned the lights off in the brewery so we went upstairs to check out the view.
Combined 2 partial sketches (one exterior, one interior) with a pasted in bit of event calendar
Upstairs there was a crowd of people playing Pyramid’s version of trivial pursuit “Brainstormers Pub Quiz,” with an announcer reading off the challenges that teams try to solve. The teams with the most points win more beer.
I assume there is an honor system that prevents people from getting the answers on their smartphones. I couldn’t play trivial pursuit unless answers like, “You know, it was that guy who was in that movie with that blonde…” would win a prize.
Kitchen from above & Beers on tap, pasted in stuff
While we were upstairs I (tried to) sketch the chef in his galley kitchen. The perspective was challenging. Then we went downstairs to the bar area. I loved the whimsical handles on the taps, each reflecting some feature of the specific beer. They had 17 beers on tap that night.
I just noticed my color-scheme on these pages: they’re all predominantly beer colored.
For last Tuesday night’s sketchcrawl, we went to Bridges Rock Gym to sketch people climbing on the rock structures and practicing “slack lining” (like tight-rope walking). When I arrived I sketched these sunflowers growing on a little garden plot besides Tin Roof Yoga, attached to the gym. The Assistant Manager, Jeffie, told me that the sunflowers were “volunteers” that sprouted up in the dirt they obtained for the plot by Annie’s Annuals.
Climbers at Bridges Rock Gym, ink and watercolor
Since I was hungry and we were sketching from the cafe on the loft’s balcony I enjoyed a plate of homemade hummos, veges and pita bread, and sketched the salt shaker while I waited for my food. The cafe was offering free samples of their homemade ginger cookies — best I’ve had! Then I tried to draw the moving targets of people climbing rocks (above).
Cathy worked quickly and did a great job capturing so much of the movement and action of the climbers and the balance of the slackline (like a tightrope only springy) walkers. Here are two of Cathy’s sketches:
Rock Gym Climbers by Cathy McAuliffe
Climbers and Slackliners by Cathy McAuliffe
If you have a chance to visit the gym, be sure to look at their amazing photobook of the gym’s owner slacklining high atop peaks in Yosemite, from tree to tree in the Berkeley hills, and several floors above a Polish shopping mall. Visiting the gym made me wish I wasn’t scared of heights — it’s such a beautiful place, with great amenities and very friendly staff. Everyone is welcomed and the night we there we saw absolute beginners, a small group of children, and some very advanced climbers with amazing muscles.
When it was time to go, I was just starting to get the hang (no pun intended) of how to approach sketching the climbers, noticing that as they climbed or balanced on the rope, the movements were in patterns that kept repeating so it was just a matter of waiting a couple seconds and they’d be back in that frog-like position, for example. I’ll come back to sketch again and to try out their yoga studio.
Rush Ranch Horses, Sepia Copic Multiliner and watercolor wash
Mariah, a wonderful young artist, accompanied me to my plein air group’s paint-out today at Rush Ranch in Suisin City. She was immediately inspired by a spot, sat down and started sketching. I faced the opposite direction and sketched these horses in the corral.
Before we’d left my house, I showed her a book on drawing animals that demonstrated how to first find and assemble the basic shapes contained in the animal (rectangles, circles, triangles) and then refine them. I decided to practice what I preached and did that with the horses. I’d never noticed what big knees horses have before. I sketched with my sepia Copic Multiliner .03 and then added watercolor washes.
Rush Ranch Vista, ink & watercolor wash
The views from Rush Ranch were tremendous. I could have sketched for hours more but we’d arrived late and after our second sketches it was time for the group critique and lunch.
We were late because I got lost yet again (missed the turnoff and drove forever before turning around — and this was with GPS!) My mind had wandered to thinking about the people fishing (and the fish) in the slough off the little bridge we’d just passed so I missed the entrance sign and decided that the GPS telling me I’d arrived was wrong. This was especially stupid since the printed directions from my group said to go over that bridge and then turn right in 3/4 mile.
Instead I drove and drove, went over another bridge and THEN started looking for the turnoff. I went miles past that bridge, eventually arriving at the gate to a “youth correctional facility” (jail for teens) and admitted I’d blown it again. When we finally found our way back and I saw the huge “Rush Ranch” sign, I couldn’t believe I’d missed it.
Well actually I could believe it. I think I could get lost just walking from one room to another these days!
Palace Hotel Garden Court detail, Copic Multiliner
After an all day meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday I met art buddy Sonia for some sketching at the Palace Hotel’s Garden Court atrium. It’s a stunning and historical room but detail lover that I am, I chose one tiny spot across the room to draw and then spent an hour on it, while Sonia did 4 or 5 sketches.
Palace Hotel Garden Court
I started with the furthest chandelier and the clock on the wall and just kept discovering more and more fun things to draw. If we weren’t so hungry and tired we could have stayed there all night sketching.
Two Ladies Chatting Over Coffee
The first lady just slid right off my pen, perfectly drawn (as I saw her) but her friend kept moving and I couldn’t get close to a likeness.
Random BART Subway Sketches
More commuter sketches (and one eagle who adorns the top of the Oakland City Hall). My co-workers and I took advantage of a sunny and surprisingly quiet day at the office to walk to Oakland City Center for lunch (ergo the Bean and Cheese sticker) and I even had a moment to pull out my sketchbook.
That messy little boy top right was on a field trip but looked like he should have still been home in bed. And that’s where I should be too. It’s been a rocky week. Glad it’s over.
Jana Bouc, Artist 