Last Sunday Lisa and I joined the intrepid San Francisco SketchCrawl group on a chilly grey morning at Ghirardelli Square, where over 60 artists turned out to sketch in and around the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

It took some fortitude to sketch in the windy open areas, but we were rewarded late in the day when suddenly the sun came out. By the time we all meet back at the starting point to share our sketchbooks it was downright balmy.

We had a great time exploring and sketching both indoors and out. I took some photos of the event as well, and Lisa and I finished the day in civilized manner with Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Cafe.

Bay View from the Aquatic Park (larger)

Ghirardelli Square (larger)

At the Cannery (larger)

Here and There:
Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Sq., Argonaut Hotel (larger)

SketchCrawl is an inspiring event which takes place several times a year. All over the world artists spend the day sketching, on their own or in groups, and then share their work online. It’s great fun and a good way to get yourself motivated to really do some drawing. Keep an eye on the SketchCrawl website for the next event and come on out!

Related:

• More SketchCrawls

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Washington St. from Waverly Place (larger)

Saturday was the worldwide SketchCrawl 17 event, and over sixty of us gathered in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco to spend the day sketching. It was a blast!

On Jackson Street (larger)

My friend Lisa joined me for her first SketchCrawl, and we met up with Cathy who I had met at the last Berkeley Crawl. The three of us spent the day wandering Chinatown, sketchbooks in hand. It was sunny but cold, and bundled up we persevered.

We had a great Chinese lunch and joined the full group at the end of the day to share our work. There is a lot of talent out there! It was very inspiring to see everyone’s work. I am always amazed at how differently we all tackle the very same subjects.

Storydesign took a picture of Lisa and I sketching on Clay Street, and made a close-up of my sketch:

Sketching on Clay Street (original)

Sketching on Clay Street (original)

At Grant & Clay (larger)

On Clay Street (larger)

Funeral Procession (larger)

At Stockton & Broadway (larger)

Related:

• More SketchCrawls

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Lunch at MarketBar (larger)

Last Sunday was the 16th SketchCrawl event. My husband and I spent the day in San Francisco sketching and exploring at the Ferry Building. We had a great day!

Lamps at Market Bar (larger)

This historic building has been extensively restored and reopened in 2003 as a food-oriented marketplace. It bustles with energy and activity and the architecture and shops are quite striking. It’s a great place to sketch. There are also awesome Bay views and on Saturdays and Tuesdays, a Farmer’s Market.

We also enjoyed a wonderful lunch outside at MarketBar. The weather was just perfect: a gloriously crisp Fall day.

Frog Hollow Farm: Fruit Stand (larger)

Berkeley BART Station (larger)

Giant Pumpkin (larger)

Far West Fungi: Mushrooms Only (larger)

Related:

• More SketchCrawls

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Paul Madonna’s All Over Coffee

Paul Madonna is an artist in San Francisco who does amazing drawings of local scenes. With a loose but detailed focus he captures the essence of the city so well it’s downright eerie. Snippets of text are added on top of the drawings, and they’re published in the San Francisco Chronicle once a week as All Over Coffee. Now, a wonderful collection of his “strips” has been published.

The drawings are rendered in pen and (often coffee-colored) ink. Crisply edged washes glow with light, and occasionally a spot of color is added. Some scenes are tightly focused, but others take in vast expanses of cityscape such as North Beach and Coit Tower: the very area where SketchCrawl 14 took place last weekend.

Details express the quirky uniqueness of each place. The scenery is always still, no cars or people, but perhaps because of a heightened attention to light and shadow seems to grab a specific moment in time. The text, quirky and provocative bits of conversation or story fragments, adds to this transitory feel.

The book includes 150 strips spanning several years, and it is fascinating to see how Madonna’s style has evolved over time. There is also an extensive essay detailing his writing and drawing methods and how All Over Coffee came to be. The book is published by City Lights, the San Francisco Bookstore & Publisher with a fascinating history of its own.

Find out More:

• All Over Coffee Site (check out the cool mouse-over menu!)
• All Over Coffee Archive
• Paul Madonna’s Site
• The Book

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On the Filbert Steps (larger)

On Saturday I joined the San Francisco SketchCrawl group for SketchCrawl 14. I hooked up with fellow art blogger Jana Bouc and we spent the day wandering and sketching. It was great to finally meet her!

The San Francisco group had about 80 people this time; quite a crowd. This SketchCrawl was especially Crawl-y; we walked over four miles. The general route (for us at least) was: Ferry Building, Filbert Steps, Coit Tower, North Beach, Ferry Building. The weather was just about perfect. What a great day!

North Beach: St. Peter and Paul Cathedral (larger)

Coit Tower (larger)

SketchCrawlers at Coit Tower (larger)

Chinatown: Corner of Grant & California (larger)

Related:

• More SketchCrawls

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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.

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We recently spent an interesting day in Alameda, California with friends. Alameda, an island in the San Francisco Bay, was dominated by the Alameda Naval Air Station until 1997. It is now becoming a zone for light industry, but it still looks quite “base-y”. We started our day by touring the WWII aircraft carrier USS Hornet. I’m not a big fan of creations built for warfare, but what was achieved using only slide rules is indeed impressive.

We then went to the Hangar One vodka distillery, housed in an old aircraft hangar on the base. They “hand craft” vodka in large copper pots and have a tasting room with an incredible view out over the old runways (now closed as a wildlife refuge) to the bay and San Francisco beyond. We arrived just in time to taste the spirits and watch a hazy sunset.

Hangar One makes fruit flavored vodkas by infusing them with actual fruit (as opposed to flavorings, natural or otherwise).
My favorite is Buddha’s Hand; a lemony vodka with complex, delightful flavors in each sip. It’s made with a rather bizarre looking citrus fruit called “Buddha’s Hand”, which looks sort of like a bunch of carrots with lemon skin on them.

We finished our day with sushi then hot fudge sundaes: perfect!

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We were at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco over the weekend and had Champagne Brunch in the beautiful Garden Court. What an amazing room; I could have sketched there for days.

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