4th of July Parade Sketches, Clayton, California

It was a great day to just sketch around town today as I sat on a brick wall under a shady oak tree to keep out of the sun. Here's a couple of sketches I drew as I watched the 4th of July parade go down Main Street in Clayton, CA. It's still a small town parade with lots of enthusiasm and civic pride. So many people involved! Happy Birthday America!

Born to be Wired

A birthday card for a guy who has everything. Every gadget I mean.

San Francisco Victorian

Sketch I drew of a typical San Francisco Victorian.

Sketchbook: Victorian Sketch

A watercolor and colored pencil sketch from my sketchbook. Happy New Year everyone. May you have a most joyful and prosperous new year ever!

Sketchbook: Wheww

Sometimes you just have to chill! I've always liked this sketch in my sketchbook, so here it is. I like the looseness and confidence of the colors and line work of this watercolor sketch. It want to pursue this spontaneity in my future artwork. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sketchbook: Architectural Sketch

Here's an architectural gem that caught my eye from my sister-in-law's living room in Kensington, CA. I just had to paint it!

Sketchbook: Open Mike Singer

I sketched this while watching a bluegrass group during an open mike session at a local cafe. I drew it a couple of months back but never posted it. While flipping through my sketchbook, it jumped out at me so here it is. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving E-card

Sketchbook: Concord Garage near the Movie Theater

Having a little spare time, I drew this in my sketchbook while waiting for my friend Claudio to watch a movie. It's a parking garage that's across the street from the local theater. It's in the center of my town of Concord, CA. It's in the downtown shopping area and blends in with the surrounding architecture of the area. I believe Concord has the best downtown plaza compared to all the surrounding towns. I'll have to draw more sketches of the plaza to show you. Through these quick sketches, I'm learning to use the economy of line with simplified darks to communicate volume.

Terry Parker High Reunion Drawings

Does anyone know "smoke signal"?

More drawings for my 30 year high school reunion. See it colored in another posting.

Sketchbook: APE Experiment

I went to the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco yesterday and it inspired me to put this together. I painted the image on my trip back to "suburbia-land" on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train. I wanted to put my architecture and cartoony stuff together. Wow, there were certainly a lot of good artists there today. A source of great inspiration!

Sketchbook: Saint James Church

Here's another gem. Sketched across the street from St. James Church on 23rd and Gerrero. Then, Photoshop enhanced when I got home.

Sketchbook: La Boheme Cafe at 24th and Mission

A quick sketch while sipping coffee in a San Francisco coffee shop: La Boheme in the Mission district at 24th Avenue and Mission Street. It's an old cafe that's been there forever. Sketching alongside a new artist friend of mine named Rick King. As an experiment, I took along my old fashioned crow quill pen and bottle of India ink. I seemed to have liked the results. I'll have to do it more often. There's nothing that has more richness then an old San Francisco cafe I came to realize. It's a great stress reliever too which I've been experiencing a lot of lately.

Terry Parker High Reunion Invititation

My thirty year high school class reunion is currently being planned and I was asked to draw up an invite. Whewww, time flies (when you're having fun)! I can't believe all these years have gone by so quickly. It's for Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Ahhh, the good '0l days. Oh yeah, our team mascots were the "Braves" which explains the guy and gal with the megaphones.

BTW, it must be Barack Obama's reunion year too. I keep hearing on the newscasts that he's the same age as me. I know I'm getting up there in the years when a candidate for president is the same age. Sheesh.

Creekside Artists: First Plein Air Outing

For the first time, my hometown artist group (Creekside Artists in Clayton, CA) had a Plein Air outing. We set up our chairs and easels near the flower stand at the weekly farmer's market down a bustling downtown street. The wind was brisk, but the coffee and friendships warmed the heart. It's nice to see our little town getting more involved with the art scene. A special thanks to Arlene and Alice for putting this all together. Hopefully this is the first of many. Happy painting everyone.

Sketchbook: The Redwood Empire Ice Arena

I painted this while at "The Redwood Empire Ice Arena" next to the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. It was built by Mr. & Mrs. Schultz in the late 60's, built for their love of ice skating being from their home state of Minnesota. Here's the link.

Sketchbook: Saratoga Archway

Experimenting with watercolors, lineart, and Photoshop. I painted this outside of a Starbuck's coffee shop admiring an architectural archway across the street.

A special thanks to Alina this weekend for inspiring me with her wonderful sketchbook.

Sketchbook: Top Floor of the San Francisco Center

This Labor Day weekend, my family and I went to the San Francisco Center to do a bit of shopping. This is a fourth floor view looking onto an existing Beaus Arts dome below. I like the result of the drawing since I didn't use a pencil to sketch everything out prior to inking. My pen just followed the lines as I saw them. The drawing seemed to have taken on a life of it's own.

Illustration Friday: Sail

Here's something I painted while observing the San Francisco Bay. Not quite my usual image style, but it's fun to try other things sometimes! The scenery just inspired me at the time, so I painted it. Enjoy.

Sketchbook Entry: Eye on the Ball

A little something I found in my files. I drew this several years ago but thought it would be fun to share with you.