antiques

Viva Calle SJ: Open Streets in San Jose

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Viva Calle SJ - Bikes at Japantown

Last Sunday, San Jose closed six miles of streets to car traffic, creating a pedestrian- and bike-friendly urban playground. M. and I took our bikes and joined in the fun. The heat was intense, so I only got a few sketches in. Here are my impressions of Japantown, where we visited vendor booths and watched San Jose Taiko, our local kumidaiko (Japanese ensemble drumming) troupe.

Viva Calle SJ - Japantown hub

Viva Calle SJ - San Jose Taiko

Later I sketched the flea market near Burbank Antiques on W. San Carlos Street while M. fixed a flat on his bike.

Viva Calle SJ - Burbank antiques flea market

I noticed that there were more bikes than pedestrians this year -- perhaps due to the expanded route. Hope they increase the frequency of the event -- we discovered a lot of businesses along the way that we didn't even know existed!

"work in progress"

What's on the Easel: California Hills Diptych

Saturday, September 17, 2016

In progress: Santa Teresa diptych

I've been working on a pair of paintings of the hills behind our house. Took the reference photos on a hike and sketched it out quite a while ago. Now committing it to canvas using Golden Open Acrylics and the biggest brushes I can find in my studio. I'm starting with a red underpainting and laying in big blocks of color.

Lake Union

Birthday Weekend: Seattle

Saturday, September 03, 2016

After the sketch crawl in Tacoma, we headed to Seattle for the rest of the weekend.

Dinner at Wild Ginger was followed by a visit to The Triple Door's Musicquarium to hear the roots/blues sound of the JD Hobson Band.

JD Hobson at Triple Door Seattle 1

JD Hobson at Triple Door Seattle 2

So much fun! We really should catch live music acts more often.

The next day, M. surprised me with a rowboat ride at the Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union. I drew Gasworks Park and one of the bridges as he rowed me around, dodging the fast-landing seaplanes all around.

Gasworks Park Seattle from Lake Union

Bridge from Lake Union Seattle