All Posts On: Berkeley

SketchCrawl 15: Berkeley   August 30th, 2007

sketch_berkeley_spengers
Spenger’s Restaurant [larger]

Last Saturday, August 25th, was the SketchCrawl #15 event. If you are not familiar with SketchCrawl, you can read all about it here. It’s a great concept: people sketch together in locations all over the world and share the results online. The idea is to get you sketching and it sure does!

sketch_berkeley_store
In Sur la Table [larger]

I joined the Berkeley group: eleven intrepid sketchers crawling the 4th Street commercial district. We found good subjects to sketch including street musicians, buildings old and new, storefronts, people milling around and hanging out and even a snake and reptile store.

Jana and I sketched together and it was great fun. I wanted to do a number of sketches but spent a lot of time talking to everyone :) , so ended up inking my sketches on site and adding the color later that evening and the next day.

At the end of the day we gathered at Brennan’s and shared sketchbooks over Irish Coffees. It was a blast and so inspiring! If there is one thing I like better than sketching it’s the opportunity to see other peoples’ sketchbooks. It was great to meet new sketchers including Pete, who’s sketchblog I have long followed and admired, and to see friends Jana, Doña and Vern and family once again.

Fabulous sketches were done by the group, many of which can be seen here. And you can view other sketches done all over the world that day right here.

sketch_berkeley_house_palm_tree
House on 5th Street, Palm Tree [larger]

sketch_berkeley_street_corner
4th and Hearst [larger]

sketch_berkeley_storefront
Down Home Music [larger]

sketch_berkeley_peets_coffee
Peets Coffee [larger]

Some Photos of our Day:


Related:


❀   ❀   ❀

Window Shopping   June 14th, 2007

sketch_shop_window
Berkeley Shop Window (larger)

I made this sketch from my car yesterday while waiting for an appointment. It was fun to do!

Shop windows are great to draw: interesting and colorful, and they hold still too :) . I did some others on my recent Pasadena trip and also the one below in Italy, in 2001.

sketch_shop_window_italy
Shop window, Santa Margerita, Italy (larger)

❀   ❀   ❀

Around Berkeley   June 3rd, 2007

sketch_berkeley_public_library
Berkeley Public Library (larger)

Here are a couple of Berkeley sketches I made last Saturday in the downtown area, in between errands. The first is the airy reading room at the public library. The building was beautifully renovated recently, and its art deco roots are well preserved.

The library doesn’t have a cafe though, and so on to Peet’s Coffee across the street. I grabbed a quick sketch and a quick cappuccino!

sketch_berkeley_peets
Peet’s, Downtown Berkeley (larger)

❀   ❀   ❀

Double Take   April 15th, 2007

sketch_virginia_st_berkeley
Virginia Street, Apr 14, 2007 (larger)
sketch_virginia_st_berkeley
Virginia Street, Jul 01, 2006 (larger)

Don’t know why, but I never seem to draw the same thing twice. Yesterday though I drew a scene I had also done last year. This view is looking down from a second floor hair salon, onto the street below.

I was surprised when I pulled out the old sketch how similar the two are. I don’t love either one, but I think I have a slight preference for the older sketch.

I’m going on vacation tomorrow, for a week (Hawaii!). Hopefully I’ll come back with some interesting sketches to share.

❀   ❀   ❀

Sketchin’ on the Dock of the Bay   April 9th, 2007

sketch_berkeley_marina
San Francisco from the Berkeley Marina (larger)

We’ve been having (mostly) fabulous weather for the past few weeks. Did this little (2.5×5 inch) sketch very quickly today before heading home after an all-day meeting at a nearby hotel. I go to this shoreline a lot though; it has wonderful views across the bay, great walking and lots of fresh bay air.

❀   ❀   ❀

Claremont Hotel   March 25th, 2007

sketch_claremont_hotel
Claremont Hotel (larger)

Recently I was at the venerable Claremont Hotel on the Berkeley/Oakland border for a meeting. It’s a grand old structure, mostly white, at the foot of the East Bay Hills.

I did make some pencil guidelines first on this one; that perspective was tricky!

❀   ❀   ❀

Sketchcrawl 13: Berkeley   March 19th, 2007

sketch_berkeley_campanile
Campanile Tower (larger)

Saturday was the 13th SketchCrawl, and we had our first official East Bay Crawl. About 30 people showed up to sketch in and around the U.C. Berkeley campus.

The weather was outstanding, and there were lots of great subjects to draw. We met at 11:00am at the West end of campus near BART, and worked our way around and through various buildings. We had a brief meeting at 2:00, and then about 15 of us met up at the Cafe Strada at 5:00 pm to share coffee, sketches and tips. It was a great group of friendly sketchers. […more below]

sketch_berkeley_lsb
Life Sciences Building (larger)
sketch_berkeley_teradactyl
Pterodactyl in LSB (larger)

The Life Sciences Building has T. Rex and Pterodactyl skeletons, as well as other interesting bones to draw. The Anthropology Museum was also open and provided sketching material, but I wanted to stay outdoors in the beautiful weather. I had forgotten how beautiful the campus can be, and I went to school there and live only 1/2 mile away! I will definitely be back there for more sketching soon.

sketch_sather_gate_ucb class=
Sather Gate (larger)
sketch_anthony_hall_ucb
Pelikan Building (larger)

Related:

❀   ❀   ❀

Stan’s Labyrinth   March 12th, 2007

sketch_sibley_park
Labyrinth in Sibley Park (larger)

Last weekend was cool, but sunny. A friend and I took a hike in the East Bay hills, in the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. From the top you can stand in one spot and see San Francisco, Mt. Tamalpais in Marin, and Mt. Diablo to the East all at the same time. That’s hard to do from the ground!

The park is the site of several small dormant volcanos and an old rock quarry. It’s a geologist’s dream. There are also at least four man-made rock and grass labyrinths. Here is a view looking down on one, with the Bay and Mt. Tam in the distance.

❀   ❀   ❀

New César on Piedmont   February 26th, 2007

César Sketch

The Bar César tapas place has a new location on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. I finally got over there to check it out: very nice! They’ve got a whole wall of goodies, including these paella pans of various sizes.

❀   ❀   ❀

Berkeley Sunset   February 16th, 2007


sketch_berkeley_sunset

We have been having near perfect weather for several days: kind of creepy in February! I’ve been indoors at work though and haven’t gotten to enjoy it yet. Hopefully it will hold through the weekend.

The sunset tonight was spectacular.

❀   ❀   ❀

One Hundred Bottles of Wine on the Wall   February 8th, 2007


Sketch-Wine -Bottles

I always enjoy spending time in my favorite tapas bar, César, in the heart of Berkeley’s “Gourmet Ghetto”. It’s a foodies dream; the food is divine and the drinks superb.

It’s always packed in the evenings, but afternoons are calm and quiet. It’s also a fun place to sketch; this is the same restaurant where I did the tapas sketches that ended up on my note cards.

This sketch shows just one of the many wood lined pantries behind the bar. The sketch is done on half of a spread in my (reloaded) Pocket Moleskine, so it’s a small one. It still required a full glass to wine to complete, however!

❀   ❀   ❀

A Winter Day   December 26th, 2006

image

I made this sketch from my car this morning on Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley. A storm was coming in, which is now pelting us with rain.

❀   ❀   ❀

Thai To Go   December 13th, 2006

A quick sketch while waiting for takeout at my favorite Thai restaurant, Cha-Am.

❀   ❀   ❀

SketchCrawl 12: Berkeley   December 9th, 2006

Today was SketchCrawl 12, a worldwide sketching event.

image image
I did some sketching around Berkeley in between errands. Started at my favorite fountain, decked out for the holidays. Then it started to rain so found a place to hide out in. The drawing did not come easily today, but the point of SketchCrawl is to do it anyway! And so, I did.
image image

Related:


❀   ❀   ❀