pole to pole

October 17, 2011October 17, 20116 Comments

The corner of 3rd and University, sketched last week on a lovely sunny lunchtime. Those seven bollards seem to represent some sort of boundary between campus world and downtown world, though in reality there’s another block until UCD actually begins. That’s the Davis Copy Shop in the background. The trainers hanging from the telegraph pole, I don’t know what boundary that marks but I have heard that in other cities it marks street gang boundaries. That’s a chore, isn’t it, having to throw those things up there. I imagine the gangster’s roster system on a monday morning, “Ok you, you’re in charge of drive-bys today; you, you’re on popping-caps-in-asses; you, you can throw the shoes over the telegraph lines, no don’t complain, very important job. Don’t use Reebok.” I’ve seen it in a few places in Davis so it must be true. Maybe countries should adopt that system, but the bureaucrats will always be involved. “Well no look according to the Basel Convention we have to use shoes with laces, I’m sorry but wooden clogs just won’t do. And no you can’t use two ‘left’ shoes, article 13(b) clearly states that the shoes must be left and right.” And what if there are no telegraph lines? And they can’t be easy to get down, can they. Still, they add decoration, and if you fill them with nuts and seeds it gives the birds something to eat in the cold winters (it’s been in the mid-80s here this week, brrr).

putah creek crawdads

October 14, 2011October 14, 2011Leave a comment

I’m taking advantage of the amazing October weather, and last Saturday after a nice breakfast downtown with my family (I gorged myself on cinnamon roll french toast, oh yeah) I went to the Farmer’s Market for some sketching. I don’t get there to sketch very often so it was a good opportunity. There was a band playing very old-style songs, they were called the Putah Creek Crawdads and it was lovely music to listen to while sketching. Some of the songs, old folk songs, I hadn’t heard since I was a kid (when they were sung by old Irish singers my mum used to listen to). I drew them from behind, facing the market itself, as it seemed to be an interesting angle (and I had somewhere to sit in the shade). I showed them afterwards, and though I didn’t have space to fit all of the musicians in (there were six) I think they quite liked it. They’re next playing at Ludy’s Main St BBQ in Woodland on Friday October 21, so if you’re in Woodland, check them out.

Putah Creek Crawdads

let’s draw hidden davis!

October 13, 20112 Comments

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

duel of the freights

October 11, 2011Leave a comment

I finally got around to drawing the freight trains. Ever since moving to Davis I have lived near the railroads, and every day and every night epically long trains of freight cars rumble away across the continent, where if they’re lucky travelling hobos and cats will stow away on board and tell stories through the night until they arrive in some dusty town in Georgia. Well that is how I imagine it. This is a really big place, America. The trains really can be more than a mile long and I got used to their ever-present rumbling a long time ago. These freight trains are moored on the railroads that run alongside 2nd Street. Sometimes we drive down there so that my freight-train-loving son can see them. And yes, if you look closely, some of the graffiti says ‘Feck’. I don’t know what the rest says, but it probably says ‘Drink’ and ‘Arse’.

Drawn on strathmore hot press paper with a uniball vision micro, and watercolour. I drew it on sunday, the 9th, but wrote the date wrong. I did that in my drawings all weekend. Perhaps I’m ahead of my time? Or maybe I just need to check the calendar every now and then.

do backflow preventers dream of electric sheep?

October 10, 2011October 10, 20115 Comments

Last Friday after work, I took advantage of the still-daylight-hours of eary October to draw downtown, another larger drawing. I have drawn this scene before a couple of times, but it’s an interesting building on E Street with an even more interesting metal-pipe-thing in front of it. I sat outside the Natsoulas Gallery, and it was a gorgeous evening, with many people out and about. Occasionally people would come up to me and say, “ooh, that’s nice”, which is always nice. One guy loved that I was drawing the pipes. I told him I’ve drawn lots of them. They’re like art sculptures all over the town, he said, and I agree. I’ve always though they kind of look like robotic animals, this perhaps being some sort of camel. “Backflow Preventers,” I told him they are called, as I was told a while back by someone who works with them. Very technical beasts they are too. What do they do, he asked. Prevent backflows, I suppose, whatever that means. I don’t really know. I prefer to be ignorant of what they actually do, it’s like magic, it just has its function in the world. But I do love how they look.

redrum she wrote

October 7, 20113 Comments

The diner formerly known as Murder Burger. It had to change its name many years ago due to some out-of-towner complaining. Perhaps it should read ‘so good they’re to diet for’? Drew this place this week. I don’t go there often, but they do killer milkshakes.

Speaking of names, I heard that Arsenal FC are suing a lady who runs a hat shop in Seville of all places because its name apparently infringes their property rights. It’s called ‘Arsenale’, which as I’m sure you have spotted, is not the same word, it is spellt differently. It’s also an Italian word, likely referring to the Arsenale district of cities like Venice where ships were built (this hat shop is in Seville’s old ship building district). Is that absolutely mental or what? I mean seriously are they kidding? Is someone going to confuse a Sevillan hat shop with a poor underperforming team from Islington? Are they having a laugh? Apparently the Spanish judge is siding with Arsenal! Perhaps the hat-shop should call on a famous half-way line Gunners conqueror to represent them in court: Nayim. That’s a courtroom battle I’d like to see.

I wonder if a certain famous dead race horse is thinking, hmmm, maybe I should sue this diner in Davis for using my name? (“I know just the guy to represent me in court: Neigh-im“). No, that would be silly. But it could happen…

you saw the whole of the moon

October 6, 2011October 6, 20113 Comments

Davis Community Church, by Central Park in Davis. Drawn on a nice Sunday afternoon, while there was live music playing in the park behind me. The band were tecnhically very good, though I’m not sure about the choice of songs they played. They did play some cool stuff by Elvis Costello, but there was a fair bit of 80s rock, and when they played “You Saw the Whole of the Moon” all I could think of was that episode of Father Ted, when Father Noel (Graham Norton) was singing it dancing around that tiny caravan. Appropriately, I was drawing a church. I’ve drawn it before a couple of times, a couple of years apart each time.

thank you for the music

October 6, 2011August 26, 20161 Comment

This big old building on campus, right by the Music Building, has been set for redevelopment for some time now but doesn’t appear to be moving along. It is supposed to be knocked down and turned into something modern and fantastic. I like this building though. I have drawn the rusty pipes on the side before, and this view is the rear, drawn from the path that runs by the Arboretum (Cushing Way).

I just wanted to point out, because it needs pointing out, that Spurs beat Arsenal this past weekend. I just wanted to mention it. Nothing to do with the drawing.

This, as were many other in this ongoing series, was drawn on a piece of 8″x10″ hot press Strathmore watercolour paper, with a micron pigma pen and some watercolours.

riding along in my automobile

October 5, 2011October 4, 20114 Comments

More classic cars from the Antique Automobile Club of America, who were showing off their golden oldie vehicles at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in Santa Rosa last weekend. I had some nice chat with some of the car owners, who were all very excited about these cars, as was I. I’ve said it before, you think of America, you think of cars like this, big and swanky, not the beige Toyotas that everyone here drives (including us). These aren’t simply ‘cars’, they are Automobiles. It’s worth saying all those extra syllables. I even recognize the sparkling whitewall tyres (thank you ‘Cars’, or rather thank you my three-year-old-son). The blue automobile above is a 1955 Ford Fairline Sunliner, ah 1955, I remember it well from Back to the Future. (Actually I saw an actual DeLorean a couple of months ago, on the Freeway, I’ve never seen a real one before! It was heavy) While sketching, someone did ask me why I chose to draw this one, and not, for example, the more interesting looking car next to it (a green Kaiser Dragon). This one, he said, was one of the less interesting of the cars on display. I told him, well it’s pretty interesting to me, but mostly it’s because I could see ll of it; the Dragon was partly hidden by a display board (and by this car). I tell you what I found interesting, there is only one wing mirror, on the driver’s side.

This however was the car that everyone seemed to rave about, and it’s easy to see why. The big, powerful red 1936 Cord is like something out of a retro sci-fi fantasy, less of a car than a comic book come alive. Those metal pipes coming from the side make me suspect that this is in fact a Time Machine, what Doc Brown would have made if he had a better budget. How could I resist? I must admit, I’d never heard of Cord automobiles before. This looks like a Cord 812, though I may be wrong. As someone who usually can’t tell one car from the other (having been stuck in car parks full of beige Toyotas looking for a beige Toyota), I love the variety in design of the old cars. They don’t make ’em like they used to (but we probably get better mileage nowadays).

you better slow your mustang down

October 4, 2011October 3, 201110 Comments

We went to the Sonoma County Harvest Fair at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds this weekend, to see the Grape Stomping (some people are very serious about that), the Pumpkin Tossing (actually I didn’t see that this time, but my son did some pumpkin bowling), make scarecrows, and of course draw old antique cars. I love drawing old cars, but don’t do it very often – last year’s Harvets Festival was in fact the first and last time. I chatted with some of the car owners, one of whom was an artist of cars and buildings himself. I started off drawing a red 1967 Ford Mustang. It reminded me of 1970s cops, on the edge. Even though this is so very American, I kept humming the theme tune to the Professionals. You really need to screech up a kerb and knock over some bins before sliding across the bonnet and taking out some crook with a couple of right hooks with a car like this, don’t you. You see all these SUVs and Hummers and trucks these days, but those are just compensating, macho nonsense; none of them say ‘tough guy’ like a car like this does. Anyway, it was fun to draw.