Sketching by the creek

There is a creek next to our new place in CA. I was on my house hunt trip when I first saw it. I was here after a huge storm just passed so the water level was very high and the current was strong. It didn't look like a stream where locals would go near. Now the rain has stopped, and the water level in the creek went down. I noticed some people do go down the creek for a walk. I thought it might be a good spot to sketch.

Very different from what I remembered, the creek is calm and clear. Although the scenery might not be interesting to some, I found it a nice spot to relax and do simple sketches.

On the same spot, I turned my stool around and saw this tree standing on the bank. I remembered Tina's report of Sue's workshop and decided to try identifying big shapes. Paying attention to the shape of sky helped me see the shapes of the tree and the river bank. I quite like how this sketch turned out. (Thanks, Tina!)

My own sketch crawl at Stanford University Part2

It is such a beautiful sunny day here in Palo Alto so I went back to Stanford University to continue my own sketch crawl.

I wanted to sketch Hoover Tower with the main road as the foreground. Unfortunately I couldn't find a spot to sit down without being run over by cars. In the end I settled on a bench in front of the tower. My Noodler's ink stained all over the paper and later spread everywhere when I applied watercolours (honestly the original sketch looks much dirtier than the photo). The sketch looked dirty and I got impatient with painting shadows and shades.

Feeling frustrated and annoyed, I moved to another spot and tried out a cheap Sheaffer fountain pen. I knew the calligraphy ink which comes with the pen would be water-soluble so it didn't surprise me when the ink spread under my waterbrush.

I'm not entirely sure about the blue ink. I guess I will have to sketch a few more times with it to see if I like it.

My own sketch crawl at Stanford University

I didn't join the sketch crawl held by South Bay Urban Sketchers Meetup yesterday as I wasn't that keen on sketching cafes (and buying coffee)in Palo Alto. To make it up to myself, I cycled around Stanford University for sketching today.

As always, I was lost even with Google Maps, but I found this clutter of cacti while trying to find my way to the main square. Surrounded by green-leafed trees, these cacti look a bit out of place.

Next I rode pass the Stanford Mausoleum. After reading the story on the sign, I decided to find and sketch the statue 'Angle of Grief', which sits quietly not far away from the mausoleum. 

There are so many corners at the university that I would like to put in my sketchbook but didn't have time to do so. I guess my own sketch crawl would have to be continued.

Looking out from the kitchen window

I miss many things about Seattle: the spectacular view of Mt. Rainier, Pike Place Market, my voluntary work and of course the USK Seattle Friday outings. There is, however, one thing I definitely don't miss: the apartment building where we lived.

Growing up in Taiwan, I think I'm quite used to living in an apartment. Somehow the apartment building James and I were in really put me off. Besides the thin walls, thin floor and young noisy drunk neighbours, the kitchen was a big no-no to me because there was no windows in it.

Now, I have a big window in the kitchen and I get to look at the sky, the trees and sometimes a couple of squirrels chasing each other in the back yard while preparing a meal. Cooking is much more enjoyable.

Finally getting back to sketching

I spent 6 weeks in Taiwan with my family and everyday I just played with my 1yr nephew. That means I did only 2 sketches in 6 weeks. One was done in Asakusa Temple in Tokyo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/143044170@N02/32550527780/in/dateposted-public/) and the other was a quick sketch of my nephew reading a book (https://www.flickr.com/photos/143044170@N02/32101516964/in/dateposted-public/)

Getting back in the States was a hectic process and it took me a while to feel settled enough for sketching. Today I packed my sketch kit and headed to Allied Arts Guild (http://www.alliedartsguild.org/) where I could spent a couple of quiet hours sketching in the garden. I might need a bit more time to get familiar with my watercolours again, but it felt so good to finally get to sketch in the sun again!

OneWeek100People...or less!

I spent all day playing with my nephew while in Taiwan so I only started the OneWeek100People project this week. I took Suhita's figure drawing class on Craftsy.com as my preparation for this project.

Instead of drawing 100 people, I decided to fill out every page of a cheap pocket notebook. I thought if I just draw in a cheap notebook, I wouldn't be worried about making mistakes while trying out the new techniques I learnt from Suhita's class.

In the end, I drew 36 people on location. Not even close to 100, I know, but it was fun and I made my goal of filling out the notebook with my new Penpal brush pen. Not every sketch was successful. Here are the few that I'm more inclined to upload.