sketching in Sonoma County
This gallery contains 5 photos.
This weekend I visited a friend in Sebastopol, CA, in the southwestern part of Sonoma County. Saturday afternoon, we took a quick walk at Laguna de Santa Rosa park. The trail winds along a waterways, seasonal ponds, and dairy farms. We sat to sketch oak tress on the far bank of the river in the [...]
passerines in the public garden
We haven’t had much of a winter here in San Francisco this year and today was no exception. Sunny, low 60s, light breeze. It was a perfect day to get out and draw! There’s a public garden here in San Francisco that I visit regularly and it is one of my favorite places to draw. There is always something in bloom or some shape I just can’t resist. In the winter, there are fewer plants to draw so I turn to other subjects.
Today, the birds were out in force, eating insects and establishing territory for the upcoming mating season. There were Scrub Jays, Black Phoebes, Anna’s Hummingbirds, American Crows, White-Crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and Cherry-Headed Conures (our famous wild parrots), among others. All the birds were quite busy so mostly I was lucky to get a 5 second pose to sketch. It’s not terribly satisfying but it is good practice. It also makes me all the more grateful when I have the opportunity to draw a bird that is not moving around so much!
sketching at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
This gallery contains 9 photos.
For my birthday this year, I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) on a sketching trip. One of the great joys of going there in the middle of the week in the middle of the winter is that I practically had the place all to myself. I sat for long stretches in front [...]
progress on ‘birds we love to hate’
This gallery contains 3 photos.
And now presenting… current versions of the first three species in this series! These are all small little drawings, graphite and colored pencil on film. I’ll likely stick with this small format and mixed media for the time being. But I’m thinking that if the idea is to show how gorgeous these birds can [...]
birds we love to hate
I’m working on a new series I’m thinking of as ‘birds we love to hate’. There are so many birds that we think of as a nuisance, ugly, gross, or even plain old evil. They are often are closest companions, our most familiar feathered friends.
Species include Pigeon (Rock Dove), House Sparrow, American Crow, Herring Gull, and European Starling. Do you have other favorites? Let me know! This could get interesting….
With this series, I hope to remind you that even if these are not our favorite birds, they can be quite beautiful.
Here are a couple of drawings in progress. Herring Gull and Rock Dove (Pigeon). These are graphite, colored pencil, and gouache on Duralene (film).
recent sketching
This gallery contains 7 photos.
These are some recent sketches from my visits to the “Nature’s Jewels” show at the Tilden Environmental Center and from Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz, CA.
Thanksgiving weekend
This Thanksgiving, I spent a lot of time in Santa Cruz, CA with family and friends. I have a few favorite painting spots in town that I had the luxury of visiting over the weekend. These are a couple of the paintings I made while I was there.
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- the lighthouse and break at Steamers Lane, Santa Cruz, CA
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- the cement ship at Seacliff State Beach, Aptos, CA
Sketches from 2010 and 2011
This gallery contains 24 photos.
