I don't usually watch baseball, but it was the Cubs. In the World Series. In Cleveland! So yeah, we tuned in to see the last inning. And yeah, it was nice to watch it from California, because it didn't end in the middle of the night for us.
We are driving our car across the country (well, M. is driving; I'm just riding along and playing DJ) as part of our ongoing move from Connecticut to California.
Our first stop: Cleveland! We stayed at Clifford House B&B in Ohio City and walked to Bar Cento/Bier Markt for dinner. It was Kentucky Derby night, so the place was hopping. I sketched the patrons at the bar while we waited to be served.
The next morning I drew a few scenes in the neighborhood, including one of W. 25th Street with the new Mitchell's Ice Cream outpost -- yum.
To be continued...
Our first stop: Cleveland! We stayed at Clifford House B&B in Ohio City and walked to Bar Cento/Bier Markt for dinner. It was Kentucky Derby night, so the place was hopping. I sketched the patrons at the bar while we waited to be served.
The next morning I drew a few scenes in the neighborhood, including one of W. 25th Street with the new Mitchell's Ice Cream outpost -- yum.
To be continued...
There's something about Cleveland. And not because of that guy who left and came back. One of my favorite places to go on Saturday mornings is West Side Market. This time we found out we could climb up into the balcony overlooking the stalls. So we got crepes and perched there and ate (and I sketched) and watched the market slowly fill with people.
Before meeting a friend for brunch at Urban Farmer, I slipped into the Cleveland Public Library for a few minutes. How could I not have seen this place before? I could have stayed for hours. I was smitten by the John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection -- the world's largest chess/draughts library. And oh, those adorable miniature books!
While I couldn't meet up to draw with any of the Cleveland Urban Sketchers this time around, I did happen to meet illustrator Bruce Biddle at the library. Turns out CPL's fine arts collection is extensive, including shelves upon shelves of watercolor books. So many treasures.
S'why we keep going back. Any other Clevelandphiles out there? What are your faves?
I've spent the weekend getting ready for the annual office holiday bazaar. Since it's in Cleveland, I've been painting scenes of the city, inspired by photographs I took on previous trips.
I was in Cleveland again for work a few weeks ago. This was the view from the Aloft Hotel in the Flats - East Bank, before a day full of meetings.
Upon landing in Cleveland, I took a half-hour to sit on the desk in my fifth-floor room at the Aloft hotel and sketch the bright PanAm blue span of the Shoreway Bridge. The furnishings in this hotel aren't so luxe, but the expansive views compensate. I never get tired of watching the river traffic on the Cuyahoga, hearing the ding of the RTA Waterfront line at my feet, feeling the room quiver temblor-style as the miles-long freight trains rumble-roll past.
(Pitt marker and watercolors in Strathmore hardbound watercolor sketchbook)
Spent a chilly week in Cleveland since I had to be there for a work meeting (and, conveniently, there was a holiday bazaar being held at the office, so I got to sell some of my paintings and cards). Still managed to do a little sketching on the weekend.
The James A. Garfield Monument at Lake View Cemetery is an interesting place. Makes me want to read Candice Millard's Destiny of the Republic to find out more about the president's assassination.
As the wind whipped the trees, I sat in the car to do this quick sketch of the West Side Market:
Next time, I think, we'll drive there when it's a bit warmer!
The James A. Garfield Monument at Lake View Cemetery is an interesting place. Makes me want to read Candice Millard's Destiny of the Republic to find out more about the president's assassination.
As the wind whipped the trees, I sat in the car to do this quick sketch of the West Side Market:
Next time, I think, we'll drive there when it's a bit warmer!
The weather in Cleveland kept yo-yoing from balmy to bitterly cold this past week. Monday, as the sun lingered in the late afternoon, I sketched the views from the 19th floor of the Marriott Key Center where I was staying.
Later in the week I spent a half-hour at Erie Island Coffee Company sipping iced tea and drawing what I saw out the window on E. 4th Street.
In the last three weeks I've been in two countries and five states (seven, if you count airport layovers). My sketchbook came along for the ride, but it wasn't always easy to find time for drawing. And sometimes the weather was just plain uncooperative (NoLa, I'm lookin' at you).
My first jaunt was to Cleveland. Naturally I timed my arrival to coincide with that of the midges. They were everywhere -- swarming cars, storefronts and all. Still, I did manage to step outside and fend them off long enough to do a quick sketch of the skyline from the plaza outside the Marriott Key Center.
A week later, I was in London. No sketches this time -- was wandering a new neighborhood between back-to-back meetings and dinners.
The end of the week found me in New Orleans -- where it was hot, sticky, and uncomfortable. I mostly sketched from the coolness of the hotel room, 10 floors above the Mississippi River.
Oh, and I did manage to draw between courses during Sunday jazz brunch at Commander's Palace:
Hoping my next two trips -- back to London, and then to Lisbon -- will offer better weather...
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