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.