Tag: musicians

bayern some time

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bavarian band at little prague, davis

I had to draw this Bavarian band that has been playing occasionally at Little Prague in Davis during this past month or so for Oktoberfest  – I finally went there to sketch them. They played interesting German-style music, sometimes donning a sombrero to add some Mexican into it. I sketched alongside fellow Davis sketcher Steve, and after the band finished our photos were taken by the singer’s wife with our sketches and the band.

The band wasn’t called ‘Bayern’ by the way, I just felt the need to write that up there. I like Bavaria – my wife and I spent a couple of weeks there back in 2005, partly in Munich, partly driving around the Alpenstrasse, to small towns and lakes, popping into Switzerland (where I spent an afternoon studying the Abrogans, a 1200-year-old manuscript and the oldest thing in German language), and then back into Bayern and up the Romantische Strasse. I loved that each town had its own beer, and we ate only local food (I had the most amazaing roast duck in Schliersee), and castles and timber-framed chalets and the odd hilarious name (there was a mountain called ‘Wank’). And it was truly ‘Bavaria’, not just another part of Germany, it felt like its own country, with that blue and white flag everywhere and the Bavarian dialect everywhere. I wouldn’t mind going back some day.

sketchcrawling central park, davis

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sketchcrawl 29

And so (after many fliers and several emails and the odd tweet) the 29th Worldwide Sketchcrawl came to Davis. I met up with several sketchers, some of whom were brand new to Davis (just as I was on my first ‘crawl here at the end of 05), while some were long time locals. We started at the Carousel, davis-mom-central, and when people started arriving I tried my hand at standing and sketching and talking – I’m trying to get the hang of multi-tasking! And sketching people – I figured I’d focus more on that today, hence meeting by the Farmer’s Market.

gold rush kettle korn

It was a nice warm day – not like the mid-90s weather we’ve had all week, but still not feeling autumnal in the slightest. I sketched the Kettle Korn stall while people ambled past – I even met and spoke briefly with Michael Corbett, who I had sketched the week before at his book talk.

rahman sketching

This is Rahman Azari, a colleague of mine and great artist (I went to see his work exhibited a few weeks ago at the Stonegate ArtFest), trying out the Koi waterbrush and paint set that I had recommended. I also tried a portrait of another sketcher, Mary Hook, who told me about the Davis Civic Arts Foundation (I think they are called) – something for me to check out.
mormons in central park

And here are some Mormons, who (with quite a few others) were playing music in the park. They were very pleased to see the quick sketch I’d done of them, so I gave them a sketchcrawl leaflet and told them to check us out. Actually I quite liked the blue guitar, and I am specifically trying to sketch musicians these days.

More to come!!! 

See more from around the world: 29th Worldwide Sketchcrawl Forum

art, music and architecture about

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gary at avid reader

On Friday I went to the 2nd Davis Art About. I say ‘went to’, it is in fact a whole collection of evening exhibitions in stores and businesses around downtown Davis, exhibits of local artists, and art events, and it was a lot of fun. I wish I hadn’t eaten so much at dinner though, because they all had snacks and wine. I liked the oil paintings of Davis by Andrew Dorn, which were on show at the USE Credit union, and also the large close-ups of freight trains by Marieke De Waard, displayed at clothing store Riki. I ended up at the Avid Reader on 2nd Street (where I worked, once upon a time), and admired the pastels of Kathryn Esterly. I did a sketch of Gary, local KDVS DJ and a guy I’ve known for years, playing his ukelele as he does every Friday at the bookstore. I used to enjoy those Friday evenings at the boosktore listening to that gentle music.  

michael corbett at avid reader

I decided to stick around for the book talk, which was to be given by Michael Corbett. I’m glad I did, for it was very interesting – Corbett is a famous architect, who designed the groundbreaking Village Homes in west Davis. He is also a former Mayor of Davis, and is responsible for a lot of how the city I draw daily actually looks today. His new book, “The Poetry of Architecture”, is a look at how architecture affects our ability to think, and explores architecture across Europe – it looks like a great read. I sketched him talking; he is very tall.

Look at me drawing people. I hope to draw some more. After this, I went to Little Prague to draw the German band I hoped to sketch, but they were just finishing up; I’ll have to go back in two weeks.

modern art makes me want to rock out

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artfest guitarist artfest stradipearius

Last Friday I went out to the far western edge of Davis, to the fourth annual Stonegate Art Fest. It’s an exhibition of artwork – paintings, sculptures, photography – put on by the residents of the Stonegate area. I went to see the work of my colleague Rahman Azari and his wife (both are excellent artists), and do some sketching, and also spread the word about the upcoming Davis sketchcrawl on October 16. I met some interesting local artists and spent a lot of time talking, so only managed two sketches. I drew the guitarist (Kit Sodergren), who played an acoustic set; he was playing “If I Fell” by the Beatles as I sketched this. The other drawing is called “Stradipearius”, a piece by Eric Nelson which was part of the ‘box project’ the stonegate artists were invited to do. Each was given a small wooden box and asked to create something from it, with diverse results. Afterwards, I cycled home, through a Davis which is now full of people and new students, past frat houses which are ‘rushing’, and a downtown full of music and the excitement of the new school year. Summer is over*, and Fall is here at last.

(*when I say Summer is over, I say it while it’s like, 95 degrees outside)

down the market

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davis farmers market
musicians at the farmers marketI don’t go very often to the Davis Farmer’s Market. It’s not very big – not compared with the sort of markets I used to go to in London, Belgium, France – but it can be pretty busy, with lots of things going on. Because it takes place in Central Park, Davis, between two playground, there are always lots of kids and parents about, it’s very much a family place. There is a carousel, and people making balloon swords and dogs, and organic chocolate, and so on.  

There is usually music too, and so I sat and tried to sketch the musicians, very quickly.

Then I sketched the market itself, and look at me drawing loads of people! I am inspired by the symposium, you see. It’s hard to believe it was a month ago already! That means it’s only eleven months until the next one (in Lisbon).

I must confess, when I was a kid I hated markets. I hated being dragged around them, that slow walking, looking at stuff I was just never that interested in. Car boot sales were one thing, regular markets another, but I didn’t like any of them. The Saturday Market in my native Burnt Oak I hated, accessible via an old alley and piss-slippery steps. I remember going to Chapel Street or Church Street or one of them as a kid, pretty young I was, and stopping at a Pie and Mash shop afterwards and throwing up (I hate pie and mash too; some cockney I am). Then there was Wembley market, a gargantuan affair clustered in the shadow of the stadium, my enduring memory of it being so packed all I could see were people’s behinds, all those people at Wembley without the excitement of seeing an actual football match. I got tall, and still avoided markets (and Camden Town station on a Sunday), but I did learn to appreciate them when I lived on the continent: the one in Charleroi which covered the entire town on Sundays, the near-daily ones in Aix which were always better places to buy food than the stores, that amazing one in central Munich with beer and wurst and music everywhere. These helped me enjoy the markets back in London more: Borough, Portobello, Spitalfields. Next time I’m back, I’ll probably sketch them. I still don’t like crowds, but (since sketching the market in Portland) I’m getting more excited about sketching markets as important places of human existence. (Well, I say that now…) 

and the band begins to play

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More sketches from San Francisco. I trotted into Washington Square, at the heart of North Beach, where nearby there were many bars and cafes, and all around me there were green-t-shirted revellers galloping (for want of a better word) from pub to pub in honour of St. Patrick’s Day. I sat and drew the church of Saints Peter and Paul. 

washington square

I saw an unpleasant sight. One of the gallopers in green, a rather plump lady, had some embarassing sweatmarks on her shirt. Not just coming from under the armpits, but around the whole bra area. A hoop of dark sweat around a lurid green t-shirt. It was a pretty cold day, I might add. I recomposed, and walked down a street where some interesting jazz or whatever (cool old men with trumpets and a big double bass, and an oboe and stuff) wafted out of an old looking pub, the Savoy Tivoli. savoy tivoli jazz bandIt was pretty cool, so I went in and got a drink and attempted to capture the scene, failing spectacularly; however, I was trying different pens and a different style, and I don’t normally draw musicians, so funny enough I quite like the results, unmannered though they are. 

There weren’t as many St.Patrick’s drinkers in there, but plenty more everywhere else. America really goes mad for it, more so even than in Irish north London which is my background. It’s ironic; years ago, St.Patrick’s day was the one day in Ireland when pubs were closed (presumably, people go out drinking because they think that’s all the Irish do or something). It’s funny how in America, people get very sensitive on tv and in advertising with the word ‘Christmas’, or even ‘Easter’, yet nobody bats an eyelid at exclamations celebrating the religious day of a famous saint. And all this ‘luck of the Irish’ stuff you see everywhere? I don’t get it, over the years the Irish have been one of the unluckiest peoples in history (living next to the English didn’t help much); possibly all of the four-leaf clovers plastered everywhere means that people don’t realise it’s the three-leafed shamrock that symbolises Ireland. And another irony: St.Patrick’s colour was actually blue.

I did my bit though; got myself a nice big green margarita, shortly after sketching my last urban scene of the day, a cable-car waiting on California St. Back to my typical old way of sketching. More to come.

a cable car on california