Let’s Draw the Arboretum! Sunday, March 11

March 2, 2012 2 Comments

let's draw davis, march 11, 2012

It’s time for another sketchcrawl in the lovely city of Davis. This time around we will sketch at the UC Davis Arboretum, which I must say is lovely at this time of year. Might be a good idea to bring a packed lunch though. We’ll start at 11 at the Wyatt Deck, on the east bank of Lake Spafford (or is it the south bank? The one on the freeway side…), and sketch as you wish around the Arboretum, before reconvening at 3:00pm back at Wyatt Deck to check out each other’s sketchbooks.

DATE: Sunday, March 11, 2012

START:11:00am, Wyatt Deck (east bank of Lake Spafford)

FINISH:3:00pm, Wyatt Deck

As always the sketchcrawl is free an open to everybody who has an interest in drawing. All you need is something to draw with and something to draw on. There is parking nearby at the UC Davis Mondavi Center for those with cars. For a nice pdf map of the Arboretum, please go to: http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/documents/visitor_map.pdf

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/239244632836918/

Hope to see you there! If you need any information please let me know by commenting below.

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , ,

worldwide sketchcrawl #34, let’s draw davis

January 22, 2012 1 Comment

sketchcrawl 34 davis farmers market

On Friday there was a massive rainstorm in northern California, with flood warnings and downpours so loud I could barely sleep. “But Saturday is the sketchcrawl!” I sighed. Not to worry – it all magically stopped, and the sun came out and the world warmed up and what a lovely day for sketching. It wasn’t a massive group, but it was a fun day sketching by the farmer’s market. I always sketch more slowly on these events, because I spend a lot more time talking while sketching, but that’s one of the fun things about sketchcrawls, meeting and sharing experiences with other like-minded folk. I started by sketching the other sketchers:

sketchcrawl 34 marlenesketchcrawl 34 jennica

Above left is Marlene Lee, sketchcrawl regular and an inspirational artist; right is Jennica Forrest, who I met on the last sketchcrawl at the community park.

sketchcrawl 34 leahsketchcrawl 34 morning

Above left is Leah Jin, who I know from UC Davis, and above right is Morning Waters, an artist from Fair Oaks, California on her first Davis sketchcrawl. Nice to meet you!

This was the day of the 34th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, and people in cities the world over were out braving the cold to sketch their cities, and be part of a global sketching community. Check out their results on the sketchcrawl forum...

More Davis sketches to come!

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , , , , ,

33rd worldwide sketchcrawl

October 18, 2011 2 Comments

mansion square, davis

Last Saturday was the 33rd Worldwide Sketchcrawl event, and here in Davis it was the latest in our ‘Let’s Draw Davis!’ sketchcrawls, that started exactly a year ago. I invited local sketchers down to sketch the ‘hidden’ spots of downtown, starting at Mansion Square on E Street.

mansion sq, davis

There were about ten of us at the start, expanding to twelve in total (I keep a sign-in sheet!), regular faces as well as some newer sketchers. We were joined by a reporter from the student-run local newspaper the California Aggie, Ramon, who I sketched above. He wrote a nice article about the Davis sketchcrawl in today’s Aggie (link to today’s edition at bottom of this post). Mansion Square is an interesting place, quiet and off-strip, behind the old Hunt-Boyer-Dresbach Mansion. When I first came to Davis, I went for an interview in the Kaplan center there (which doesn’t appear to be there any more), doing well in my presentation (what did I talk about, I don’t recall, interactive theatre or ghostly black dogs or something) but less well in the SAT and GRE practise tests (it was the math that did it for me, I aced the language bits).

mansion sq brick wellorange court

I don’t know what the brick thing above is, but it looks a bit like a slice of pork. Anyway, off across the street the sketchcrawl went to Orange Court, where I knocked out this very quick-looking sketch above right, and a few of us ate lunch at Sophia’s Thai Kitchen (one of the tastiest eateries in Davis). Below are Tiffany and Christine, two fellow sketchers.

at sophia's thai

Finally, some sketching in the alleys between E and D. There are some really interesting spots back there, hidden away, cool little tea sops and cute gift stores. This one, Creme de la Creme (which made me hungry for Creme Eggs, oddly enough, but then I’m always hungry for Creme Eggs)

creme de la creme

The next Let’s Draw Davis sketchcrawl will be on November 19th in Community Park. The next Worldwide sketchcrawl will be, well I’m not sure, probably in January – find out by checking out www.sketchcrawl.com! (Can I just point out, for the 32nd ‘crawl I was in Lisbon? Thought I should remind you, because that was brilliant! And i still need to post some more stuff about Lisbon, if ever I gte the time…)

33rd Worldwide Sketchcrawl forum

Let’s Draw Davis Flickr group

California Aggie Oct 18, 2011

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , ,

let’s draw hidden davis!

October 13, 2011 2 Comments

let's draw davis october 15, 2011
It’s nearly the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of LET’S DRAW DAVIS! Our first sketchcrawl meeting was held on October 16 2010, a year ago, and we’re still sketching Davis monthly.

Join us for the next sketchcrawl here in Davis, California, this coming Saturday October 15th. It is the 33rd Worldwide sketchcrawl, when sketchers from all over the planet will be out drawing their cities on the same day (see sketchcrawl.com for more details!).

START: 10:30 Mansion Square (E St/2nd)
MIDWAY: 1:00 Orange Court (E St)
FINISH: 3:30 Cloud Forest Cafe (D St, between 2nd and 3rd)

We’ll meet at 10:30am at Mansion Square on E Street, and explore the ‘hidden’ spots and courtyards of downtown Davis. Starting at Mansion Square, behind the historic Hunt-Boyer-Dresbach House, we’ll move on across the street to the charming Orange Court, for more sketching and maybe some lunch, before moving on to the curious alleys, cafes and shops between E / D st, and 2nd/3rd Sts. We’ll finish up at the Cloud Forest Cafe, near the red phonebox, to check out each other’s sketchbooks.

Everyone is welcome! All ages/levels. Just bring something to draw with and something to draw on. Invite your sketching friends!

For more info, please leave a comment below or send me a message.

Pete

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with ,

let’s draw uc davis

September 10, 2011 1 Comment

let's draw davis! september 17

Next week, it’s time for another sketchcrawl in Davis! This time on the UC Davis campus, which will be starting to bustle with the incoming new students.

START: 10:30am, Memorial Union bus terminal (by the red phonebox)

FINISH: 3:00pm, at the Eggheads near the Art Building

As always, this is free and everyone is welcome, all ages/levels. All you need is something to draw with and something to draw on!

For more info leave a comment below or visit our Facebook event page.

See you there!

Filed under sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , ,

lisbon symposium, day 3: worldwide sketchcrawl #32

August 15, 2011 Leave a comment

rua augusta, lisbon

The final afternoon of the Lisbon Urban Sketching Symposium was the 32nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl. For those of you who know, the worldwide sketchcrawl (see sketchcrawl.com) was started about seven years ago in San Francisco by Enrico Casarosa and quickly established itself across the world, encouraging sketchers to just meet up with other sketchers, pick a spot, spend all day drawing, then share the results online for the world to see. As you can see, I’m sharing rather later than I usually would (had a bit of a backlog!). Most sketchcrawls I’ve been on in the past have usually been finished by 4:30, but we had barely begun!

urban sketchers as far as the eye can see

We met at FBAUL and moved en masse, snaking down the hill (see above) to Praco Comercio, where we would be meeting with many non-symposium sketchers. I got distracted and sketched a fire hydrant, but made it down to the group eventually. I decided to sketch off on my own a little though, and drew the big arch from Rua Augusta (see top). As I sketched, people gathered around (one smart young lad pointing out how long it had taken me to draw the picture, by looking at the clock in the drawing!). At one point, a group of people were all around me taking photos. I wandered up Rua Augusta, I wanted to have a look around Baixa district not having explored this part of town much. It was full of shoppers and tourists (and pickpockets, quite likely), as well as street musicians like the one I sketched below, looking like a snake charmer. It was very ‘world music’ and not very good to be honest, quite repetitive, but people still stopped to watch (or sketch). I also sketched a dress in a shop window (oh no!), to illustrate that this is a shopping district.  

baixa dressbaixa street musician

What I REALLY wanted to draw though was the building below. Inever got a chance to go up the Elevador Santa Justa, but I was not going to leave Lisbon without attempting to draw it. I found a nice little spot, looked up and sketched away. It’s an interesting neo-Gothic building, essentially just a nicely decorated lift, with an impressive view from the top (one of the workshops I never attended, ‘Panoramania’ with Simo Capecchi, was held there – that would have been so cool! But I hear it was windy). It was built at the end of the 19th Century to get people up from Baixa to Largo do Carmo.  

elevador santa justa, lisbon

I sketched another hydrant (see previous post on fire hydrants), and went back up to FBAUL to meet with the returning sketchers for the final get-together, and to look at eveyone’s sketchbooks…

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , , ,

let’s draw davis: farmers market

April 22, 2011 1 Comment

let's draw davis: may 14 2011

Time to announce the next ‘Let’s Draw Davis’ sketchcrawl! If you’re interested in drawing and sketching, why not join us in capturing our little city on paper in pen, pencil, paint or whatever you choose! The event is free and open to everyone, regardless of drawing ability – from the humblest beginner to the humblest master. All you need is something to draw with and something to draw on. We’ve had good tur-outs at our previous sketchcrawls, and they are a nice way to meet (and learn from) other people who also like going about drawing stuff all day.

We’ll start off at 10:30 am sketching at the Farmer’s Market, and then sketch in the park and surrounding area all day until about 3:30 pm.

DATE: Saturday, May 14, 2011

START: 10:30 am, entrance to Farmer’s Market (3rd/C St)

FINISH: 3:30 pm, Central Park (by the Carousel)

The Davis ‘Tour de Cluck’ is also that day, so there may be some interesting folk about to sketch. See you on the 14th!

‘Let’s Draw Davis’ Facebook event  -  ‘Let’s Draw Davis’ Flickr group

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , ,

life is never dull, in your dreams

April 22, 2011 2 Comments

sc31 bay bridge

I left the Mission district with ages to spare (BART being a lot quicker than I thought, for some reason) and hung out by the Embarcadero for a while, watching the sunlight fade, and sipping an Anchor Steam beer on the outside terrace of the Americana hotel. Proper San Francisco beer for the end of the day. I sketched the Fery Building, glowing in the evening sun, and as the lights went on on the Bay Bridge I sat by the water’s edge and used the white gel pen to capture it.

sc31 ferry building at sunsetsc31 anchor steam

On the Amtrak train coming home, I read the comics I’d bought and flicked through the day’s sketches. there was time for one more; so I looked at my reflection in the window and sketched that.

sc31 self portrait

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

all the people, so many people

April 21, 2011 2 Comments

sc31 end meetup

The meet-up at the end of the sketchcrawl is always a lot of fun, a great chance to see and ‘wow’ at new work, and the San Francisco group being so big and varied it’s always a pleasure. We met at 4:30 back at the very crowded slopes of Dolores Park, as the Mission sun shone, and fog drifted around Sutro Tower above us. After seeing a few incredible sketchbooks, I decided to catch up on my people sketching. There were some familiar faces (see Jason above with the beard, I have sketched him a couple of times before) and lots of new faces. You can catch up with everybody’s great work on the Sketchcrawl website.

I realised that apart from a little orange and a brownie, I hadn’t actually eaten. So I ran off to a taqueria, El Toro on Valencia, and got myself a grilled salmon burrito (which was great, though next time I’ll not get so much refried beans). Gotta have a burrito in the Mission, eh. I do like a burrito. 

sc31 grilled salmon burrito

I left the Mission by BART, passing down the piss-stenched escalators at 16th & Mission,  and heading back to the Embarcadero. I kept sketching on the way home…more to come…

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , , , , ,

a thousand things i wanna say to you

April 20, 2011 Leave a comment

sc31 valencia postsc31 valencia musicians

Valencia Street is full of art and artists, drink and drinkers, food and eaters, and interesting folk. Strolling down on the way to Mission Comics and Art I was striuck by these great message posts up and down the street, places where people can post their flyers without getting all over the telegraph poles. Each was decorated with a different colourful headpiece. A little further down, some Mexican musicians were taking a break to tune up their instruments, so they got sketched as well.

Mission Comics and Art on 20th is a great store, one I had not been to before but whom I follow on Facebook. I had a good nose around there, and loved the gallery of Mission comic images at the back. I wanted to get one of Joey Alison Sayers’s zines; I love her stuff, it is hilarious (see her site here) but have had bad luck finding her zines (and I gave the first one I bought years ago to my nephew). When I met her at her stall at SF ZineFest last September, I had already spent most of my money on other (less interesting) zines so only bought one then. I was pleased then to find another one at Mission Comics, “Just So You Know”, which was a lot of fun to read on the train home.

sc31 mission theatresc31 mission corner shop

And then into Mission Street itself. It’s a little bit rougher here, but it’s funny, because it reminds me of London a bit, Kilburn High Road or somewhere. Not the Latin-American feel – you can’t get good proper Mission burritos in London, for sure – more the rough edges. Definitely not the palm trees. I sketched the old Mission theatre, and then a corner shop. I wasn’t finished sketching for the day, but it was time to go and meet up with the other sketchcrawlers at Dolores Park… (to be continued)

Filed under sketchbloggery, sketchcrawl Tagged with , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 147 other followers