merry christmas everyone

December 25, 2011December 26, 20112 Comments

This is our Christmas Tree. It’s a real tree, my first since we moved out to America. I cut it down myself, with a big pole-mounted saw at a local Christmas Tree Farm a couple of weeks ago. I had never cut down a tree before! Okay it’s no bigger than Gimli the Dwarf but still, a macho achievement nonetheless. Now it sits decorated in pride of place in our living room, topping off the festive feeling. I sketched it finally on Christmas Eve, just before hitting the hay.

And today is Christmas Day! And it has been very fun; great times with great family. I love Christmas.

Merry Christmas everyone, all over the world!

the answer my friend is blowing in the hair-dryer

December 23, 20112 Comments

How did a hair-dryer save my computer’s life?

It’s a fairly old computer as pcs go, six years old now and very cranky. It gets so dusty inside an periodically I have to clean it out (not with a hairdryer though) to stop it making that awful loud fan noise. Anyway, after the last time cleaning it out, I tried to turn it back on again, but got nothing. “Please, man,” I said, but no response. I am not a techie and didn’t know what to do. I need a new computer, been on the list for a while, but I also wanted to get back those items which hadn’t yet been backed up (including a load of hi-res scans of work that’s now at the Pence). Mostly I wanted to turn the machine on so I could just tell it to sod off, one last time. Ok, it’s not the worst machine in the world, not that slow, every now and then it plays up but it’s still got a fair bit of life in it, and lots of memory. There haven’t been any operating system issues. So what was wrong, had I broken some important tiny part inside it?

Thankfully I have a iPod and was able to google the symptoms straight away. On the back of the machine a little green light was flashing, which would otherwise be green. I love that you can google this stuff, and that so many people have had this exact same issue. Apparently it was something to do with the power source unit, and most of the places I looked said to replace it. Yes very helpful, I thought, but kept looking. Some forums said to go inside the machine and unplug this and reconnect that and put a paper clip here and hold down a button there, and all of this seemed very confusing and unecessary. Then someone said, just get your wife’s hair dryer, aim it at the power source unit, blow on full power for two minutes, and bingo, back to life. Nah, come off it, I thought, but it was followed by about a hundred comments that all said, “oh wow it actually works! Oh wow my computer hadn’t worked in months but two minutes with a hair dryer, and it’s back to life, it’s a miracle!” And words to that effect. Even then, thought, surely not, butwell I had nothing to lose.

I tried it out on cool air at first, but that had no effect. Then I did it on warm, again no effect. I remembered that it had to be hot – this was not just about the air blowing, but about the heat. I was convinced I would cause something to blow up, but I came back, hair dryer in hand, and aimed.

Two minutes later, the green light came back on! I pressed the power button, and the computer was back, as good as before. Back from the dead, like that fellow ET. Who would have thought? It’s a Christmas miracle!

I wish it would work on my awful cold though…

brings to us all both joy and glee

December 22, 20112 Comments

“It’s Chriiiiistmaaaaas!” Here is the Davis Christmas Tree on the E Street Plaza, downtown. I didn’t go to the Davis Downtown Christmas thing at the start of the month; I have been before, and it’s a bit crazy to be honest. I love all the decorations everywhere here though, and people’s houses get truly decked out. Last night we went to one street that must be vying for the title ‘Christmas Lane’, a little cul-de-sac in north Davis completely covered in all sorts of decorations, and very tastefully done, each house having some sort of theme in its wooden garden ornaments, and hundreds of lights and baubles on every tree. Of course it was a terribly windy night last night, so those baubles were flying off and rolling down the street. It was pleasant at lunchtime though, when I popped out to sketch this, after a thick foggy morning when even Rudolf would have had trouble.

Merry Christmas, everybody! (More Christmas tree stories to come by the way…)

i’ll be back for breakfast

December 19, 2011December 19, 2011Leave a comment

While in San Francisco we stayed by Union Square, and had breakfast at the popular Lori’s Diner right by the hotel. The hotel was the King George, in case you’re wondering, which I chose because a friend of mine from England stayed there once and liked it (he said at the time he chose a room on the 7th floor, so that no spiders such as black widows would be able to get to him – because the one thing spider can’t do is climb walls, eh…). This diner also came highly recommended by him, as he’d eaten a great breakfast there, and I can certainly vouch for their waffles, which were very tasty (if a little pricey). I loved the red and white and black decor, and the checkered floor, so pulled out the San Francisco moleskine (it’s one of those travel guide ones, which has maps and loads of empty pages to fill in as you go along), and did a quick sketch. It was bustling, and felt both festive and American. I guess they’re open 24 hours. Being located where it is, right outside you get the local shuffling shouting nutters ambling about the streets, who move about as if part of some slow zombie uprising; it’s very specific to this area, not a behavioural pattern I’ve noticed anywhere else, not even on Oxford Street in London. One of them shouted at me as he shuffled by, “Why don’t you go and live in Sacramento!” which I thought was remarkably close. You’ve gotta love Union Square. Well, maybe not love, but it has character.

how sweet the sound

December 17, 20114 Comments

This year, I was given the honour of illustrating the Christmas Concert Series brochure of Grace Cathedral, in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighbourhood. Last Sunday, with my Mum who was visiting from London, I went down to San Francisco and attended their show ‘A Cathedral Christmas’, performed by the purple-clad Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. It was a surreal experience seeing so many people clutching copies of a drawing that I had done! My Mum, as mums naturally do, pointed out to a few people, “he did that!” After being introduced to the Dean of the Cathedral, we took our seats and listened to the amazing concert, and what a location! Immediately I got my sketchbook out – it’s not every day I get to attempt a cathedral from the inside. I intend to go back and practise some more! I drew during all the traditional Christmas music, including some pieces by Handel (I’m no expert on this sort of thing, but it was pretty good; I also learnt from my Mum that Handel lived in Edgware for a bit, so we were near-neighbours, a couple of centuries apart) (Good job he never went to Edgware School though, with a name like that he’d have had a pretty obvious nickname).

Many thanks to Bruce and Abby for this wonderful opportunity, and for inviting me to the show. Here’s the Grace Cathedral website: http://www.gracecathedral.org/. And here are the remaining concerts they have this Christmas season, click here. If you’re in San Francisco, I recommend it!

And Merry Christmas everyone! Just another week now, and last week I chopped down my first Christmas Tree (well I say ‘chopped’, I mean ‘sawed’) – there it is in the background of my photo above…

for whom the bell tolls

December 16, 2011December 16, 2011Leave a comment

I hadn’t been to Berkeley in ages. I don’t even remember the last time I sketched there. I took the train down with my mum during her visit to California last week, as she’d never been there. We looked around downtown and explored the UC campus, going to the top of Sather Tower, the massive Campanile bell tower. I really must go back and draw a panorama! I couldn’t resist getting my sketchbook out, and a blue pen, and sketching while I had a moment. What a moment, it was five minutes to twelve. Before long, and out of the blue for some reason, the bell in the bell tower struck twelve, and it was LOOOUUUUD. And for some reason, it struck like twelve times. By the end of it my knees were kind of made of jelly. Again, obviously a totally unexpected surprise what with it being midday, but I did feel quite scard of heights all of a sudden. That soon passed, when the carillion player came up and started playing pop songs on the carillion. Lady Gaga, apparently, not that I know what a Lady Gaga sounds like. Anyway, nice view.

take me to the place where you go

December 16, 20114 Comments

Sorry for the lack of sketchbloggery this past week; I have been quite busy, and quite tired! But to report on last Friday’s show (and in fact the exhibit in general) – what a success! So many people came, my voice was getting hoarse from all the talking. Thank you so much to everybody who stopped by, I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed the event. I brought along a few sketchbooks for random people to flick through (I know, heart palpitations, but people were gentle), and quite a few of my drawings on exhibit have sold now too.

Afterwards I needed a beer. Just the one, but a big one. Next day I went and chopped down a Christmas tree, and the day after that I went to see a show at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, where everybody was walking around holding a drawing that I had done… Much more posting to be done, stay tuned!!!

tonight! come and see my drawings…

December 9, 20113 Comments

This is the exhibit of my drawings upstairs at the Pence Gallery. I popped by the other day for a quick sketch. Tonight (Friday Dec 9) is the Artist’s Reception, when I will be there with my sketchbooks out, talking away. It starts at 6pm until 9pm. If you’re in the area, please come by!

christmas is coming…

December 4, 201111 Comments

This year I drew an Advent Calendar for my son. It’s approximately 13″ x 11″ in size, and was drawn on the saturday after Thanksgiving when we got back to Davis, and were feeling all Christmassy. It has been a big hit, to say the least! Behind the windows are pictures of my son’s favourite things (tv characters, cartoons etc). I drew it on two or three sheets of watercolour paper which I then cut and collaged togather, against a background of black construction paper. It’s all coloured with watercolours and drawn in uniball vision micro pen.

Merry Christmas!!

is it merry black friday or happy black friday?

December 3, 20111 Comment

Black Friday. It’s the day when the U.S. economy takes a brief break from it’s colossal downturn, and when Christmas lists are checked and checked off, the post-thanksgiving sales. It seems that Black Friday is getting earlier every year; it used to be the 4am lining up in the cold outside Best Buy, then it was mmidnight opening, now big stores like Toys R Us are opening at 9pm on Thanksgiving, with lines around the block. Thanksgiving is America’s favourite holiday, but it almost feels as if Black Friday is becoming more focal, especially given its importance to the economy. I am personally not built for Black Friday. I stay home with my son during the morning time, watching Cars and Charlie Brown. I did the early sales once, never again. It’s all very overwhelming; I might get out in the afternoon for a bit, but, like this year, I am usually just drawing stuff. Above and below, fourth street in downtown Santa Rosa. That evening, we went to Santa Rosa’s courthouse square for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, with music and activities for kids and photos with Santa, who rode in on a fire truck (inspiring my advent calendar). And it was all free, even the photos! A very nice evening. That’s the one thing about Black Friday, as the day after Thanskgiving, it’s traditionally the first day of Christmas time.

Below, my wife, my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law busy checking the ads on Thanksgiving afternoon, pre-turkey dinner. I do like Thanksgiving, love a bit of turkey and stuffing, lubbly jubbly.