The San Mateo County History Museum in downtown Redwood City used to be the old county courthouse.

The light here in the peninsula is intense; sunglasses and a hat are a must. The blazing rays make lovely shadows to paint though, so I can't complain.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Julia Kay's Portrait Party -- a live one, at Alley Cat Books in the Mission. It was lovely to meet Julia Kay in person and to practice drawing fast portraits of people.

Last month I joined the SF Bay Urban Sketchers at the Old Mint. There were several people in costume promoting the ongoing History Expo. We enjoyed listening to their proclamations and chatting with the various role-players.