Only a few more days till we're in November! Need to catch up on my scanning and posting. Here's Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE magazine & Maker Faire, being interviewed by science writer Kara Platoni at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park.



We have lots of deer in our neighborhood (though none in our yard, thankfully). I sketched this one from a photo I took.



And here's a little corner of our study/guest bedroom.



Yes, I confess I've been a bit on-again, off-again with my Inktober sketches this year.

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

Spent a day last weekend meandering along the Mendocino Coast (psst... just as beautiful as Big Sur, fewer cars). It was a challenge to capture the light and shadows on the rocks.

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.





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



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!

Plein air acrylic, painted on a hot afternoon while dodging bees at Almaden Lake Park in San Jose. Not quite done with it -- needs a few studio touchups.

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.

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.





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.

When I found out that this year's annual West Coast Sketch Crawl would be in Tacoma, Washington, over my birthday weekend, I thought, hey -- what a great excuse to go to Seattle! Well, turns out Tacoma is a great place to explore and sketch in its own right.



There are picturesque buildings and sparkling marinas framed by the deep greens of the Pacific Northwest's conifers.



The Museum of Glass has a hot shop where you can watch the glassblowers in action. I enjoyed listening to the narrator talk about how the teams worked together to create a piece.



The city is home to UW Tacoma...



...and the fantastic Tinkertopia, a "creative reuse" shop that sells all kinds of odds and ends perfect for upcycling into artwork -- wallpaper samples, acrylic offcuts, paint chips, you name it. I rummaged through a bin full of colored pencils and snapped up several vintage Berol Prismacolors for a song.



Of course, I couldn't leave Tacoma without sketching the iconic Union Station rotunda/courthouse.



Thanks Urban Sketchers Tacoma for organizing this year's crawl and introducing me to your wonderful city!

Joined the South Bay urban sketching Meetup group in Palo Alto's California Avenue business district a few weeks ago. There wasn't a whole lot to sketch there, but this bar's umbrellas caught my eye.

After a year of anticipation, #USKManchester2016 was finally upon us! The symposium opened on a Wednesday evening with a reception at the stunning Manchester Town Hall. Looking around, I was reminded of how amazing it was to have 500 of us from around the world all there in one place.

M. captured it perfectly in this photo.



I was too busy catching up with friends and meeting people to sketch, but several people had their sketchbooks and pens out already, not wanting to miss a moment.

Even our hotel seemed to celebrate our collective love of line. Check out the headboard in our room at Innside Manchester:



Thursday

Manchester turned out to be a treasure trove for sketchers -- red brick and glass, canals and cathedrals. My first sketch was the following morning, at Mike Daikubara's workshop "Sketch Now, Think Later."



Mike gave us tips for keeping our kit portable (e.g., try using a sponge to wipe brushes instead of paper towels) and asked us to dive right in. Since it was raining, we were inside the Museum of Science and Industry. I like looking at planes and cars, but drawing them is another story.



I was more interested in the families who had chosen the museum to escape the downpour outside, slickers and galoshes still dripping.



I spent the afternoon getting slightly lost, having comfort food at Indian Tiffin Room, and then attending a fantastic lecture by Brazilian anthropologist Karina Kuschnir on teaching ethnography students to sketch. As I walked to the elevator after the talk, I was drawn to the view outside, so I had to stop for a quick thumbnail.



After dinner, a few of us went to what became the "mascot" pub of the symposium, Peveril of the Peak.

Unlike everyone else, I didn't draw the exterior. But I did sketch some of the patrons!



Friday

The day dawned overcast and drizzly. I stole off to the Northern Quarter, a lively area of restaurants and boutique shops. I stopped in at Fred Aldous and H. Blyth & Co., with their drool-worthy sketchbooks and art supplies.





Time to sketch the ubiquitous red brick! I grabbed a drink at Foundation Coffee and set out my watercolor kit for a few sketches.







In the afternoon, I attended Daniel Green's demo on painting reflections in watercolor. Here he's showing us his custom-cut Plexiglas easel tray.



I also helped out with The Big Crit, organized by illustrator Fred Lynch, where experienced sketchers offer to review symposium attendees' work and share tips for development.

In the evening, the Urban Sketchers board officers and coordinators had dinner at the canalside restaurant Albert's Shed, chosen by the one and only Simone Ridyard, our indefatigable USk Manchester chapter leader. Hats off to her for bringing us all to her fantastic hometown.

Saturday

The next morning, I was back in the Northern Quarter. I sketched as M. got a haircut at The Corner Barber Shop.



As we walked around, I stopped to get in a few more sketches. One symposium tradition I love is the local logo stamp we have each year, for everyone to add to their sketches. Isn't the Manchester logo great?





Too soon, it was time to wrap things up. A few of us set up for the silent auction and then ran out to be part of the massive group picture. (Thanks to M. for the pics.) What a huge crowd! It was a perfect opportunity for sketchers with selfie sticks.



The closing party featured a costumed band (which immediately became the subject of several people's sketches).



It was hard to believe that #USkManchester2016 would soon be just a memory. But just as the evening came to a close, we made the announcement everyone was waiting for: See you all next year at...#USkChicago2017!!!!