Had a leisurely paintout a few weeks ago with a few local friends. It was my turn to organize, so I chose the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden and nearby Rosicrucian Park as the venue.

Most of the roses weren't quite in bloom yet, but the garden was a lovely setting for painting and a picnic on the lawn.





My energy was flagging in the afternoon, so I only managed a quick ink sketch of the trees and succulents in the labyrinth at Rosicrucian Park.

Yes, I'm pretty lucky to be able to go out our back gate, walk along the trail in Santa Teresa County Park, and see this.



It feels simultaneously urban and rural up there. Those agave blooms are so striking against the sky.

As I was going back home, I did a few rapid captures with a Sharpie pen while walking.



No animal sightings at that hour, other than birds and a few deer in the distance. Where do you like to hike and sketch?

Every year, the San Jose Symphonic Choir hosts a You-Sing-It Handel's Messiah at the California Theatre. As I was getting over a cold, I wasn't quite up to singing this time but I followed along on the score. I also sketched various members of the San Jose Baroque Orchestra with the fountain pen I got at the art supply swap. It's red because the pen happened to have red ink in it.



This group always does the entire Messiah instead of just Part I (the Christmas section) so it runs very long. Both last year and this year we've left at intermission. So I've never actually stuck around to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. Which is sad, because that's the best part!

Urban sketcher Suhita Shirodkar had the bright idea of hosting an art supply swap the other week. It was a great excuse to clean out my studio and part ways with superfluous sketchbooks, pencils, and paints.

Of course, I didn't come home empty-handed! My haul from the art swap? The composite sketch above, plus a Platinum fountain pen, a bottle of ink, a set of Kuretake pan watercolors ... you get the picture.

After the art swap, M. and I drove south into Morgan Hill (it gets rural very quickly just a few miles from my home) in search of barn owls. Squee! I do believe they were just hanging out on fence posts waiting to be drawn. They sat posing for their portraits, turning their heads this way and that in the glare of the car headlights.

Got my paintings back after the awards ceremony for Santa Clara County's Plein Air Art in the Parks event (see my previous post). This is the watercolor I painted during the Quick Draw competition, at the Martial Cottle life estate. We had to paint it, name it, and frame it on site. I titled it "Old But Not Forgotten."

A lone redwood, surrounded by other trees and vegetation. I was drawn to its cinnamon light in the dappled shade. It stands in Santa Teresa County Park, near the Laurel Canyon waterfall. That's right, there's a waterfall barely a mile from our house. We've been here two years and only just went up that trail today!

Our property is adjacent to Santa Teresa County Park, so we sort of have a really big backyard.



Here's my painting of a tree in the park (oil on panel). When I started painting it, there were cows on the hill. A few minutes later, they were gone. I'll just say I left them out so I can title it something clever like "Where Did All the Cows Go?"

...to sketch. OK, yes, it's sad that I've lived next to a golf course for two years and am only just discovering its pleasures. I still don't know how to golf, but it's really fun to draw other people practicing their swings and putts.

My paintings of the hills behind our house are done and framed and up on the wall!



Golden Open acrylic on canvas. Really pleased with the gold floater frames from PictureFrames.com. Here's how they look in the room.

It's a wrap. Started out with sketches after breakfast at the office cafe.



Continued through the messy commuter hour.



Ended with the grooves of Open Mic Night at Hub's Cafe.





Thanks Marc and Liz for this fantastic challenge!

I've now completed 52 sketches for #OneWeek100People2017! Drawing people makes you notice the characters all around you.

It's been raining a lot here in California this winter, so we outdoor sketchers do what we can. We sketch indoors, even from television if necessary.



And sometimes there is a break in the clouds, so we take advantage of it. Even on a weekday, on the way to work.

Interested in learning about urban sketching or sharpening your skills? Check out Urban Sketchers' 10x10 -- a series of workshops around the world to celebrate the nonprofit's 10th anniversary.

Here in the Bay Area, you can take workshops from ten awesome artists throughout 2017. Sign up for as many as you like. They're just 3 hours each -- perfect for busy schedules.

The workshop I'm teaching is in San Jose on June 24, titled Putting the "urban" in urban sketching. We'll draw what we see around us and have some fun incorporating signage, textures, and found materials into our sketchbook pages. So excited!











If you'd like to know more, stop by and see us at the 10x10 launch party on Saturday, February 11. The event starts off with a sketching meet-up at San Francisco’s Mission Creek Park Pavilion at noon. At 1:30 pm, we'll head over to Arch, where we'll introduce the instructors and the workshops. You'll get a chance to meet and mingle with all the artists and register for the classes.

Learn more about the workshops and how to sign up here.

Last weekend, I challenged myself to paint close to home. As in right outside my door! I'm really enjoying water-soluble oils for plein air work. This was painted with Winsor & Newton Artisan oils on a small gessoed panel.

Saw the fantastic "Nutz Re-Mixed" at the Hammer Theatre a few weeks ago, featuring the a cappella group SoVoSo.

Their singing was a perfect complement to the acrobatics of the performers.

Unlike in 2015, I wasn't as diligent about sketching every single day for this year's Inktober. Distractions included the ongoing soap opera that is our election. Still, I managed to crank out a good number of drawings.

Here's a quick portrait of M. done with a bottle of Higgins Blue waterproof ink that I found at a tag sale ages ago.



A quick one of Santa Teresa County Park on an overcast day.



And the KQED building in downtown San Jose.



The interior of a deli in Carmel.



The third and final Clinton-Trump debate.



Faces from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.



The corner of 18th and Guerrero in San Francisco's Mission district, while waiting for a dinner reservation.



A carpet beetle, to serve as the reference for my Halloween costume.



A quick prep sketch for a commission I'm working on.



The Mountain View train station, while waiting for the MVGO shuttle to the office.



Inktober wouldn't be Inktober without some surreal word association sketches (M. opens vintage National Geographic magazines and gives me five words at random; my task is to tie them together in a drawing).







Some faces from TV.





And last but not least, a little Halloween sketch.



That's it for this year's installment of Inktober!

Another year, another Inktober! Every day in October, a new sketch in ink.