adventures in Santa Cruz

After my jaunt in San Francisco, I made my way south to the Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz area where my friend June lives. She's working on her Master's degree in marine science - it's a nice change to hang out with a scientist who is also on my level creatively. Someday we're going to collaborate on something amazing. But for now, it's always really fun to hike and drive around with her. I'm truly grateful for my friends who accommodate my sketching addiction.

We decided to spend a day hiking in the redwoods just a 10 minute drive away from where June lives: The Forest of Nisene Marks. The land was bought from a lumber company by the Marks family in hopes of finding oil. Turns out there was no oil to be found, so they donated it to the state in the name of their nature loving matriarch, Nisene. Good job guys! We walked for 5 hours in there & were constantly confused about where we were on the map & had to turn back before we reached the waterfall, but it was really nice anyway.

After the long hike I was craving a beer, so we went out to one of the local breweries. As soon as I started sketching, a bartender notified us it was last call, so I gave up on doing a "good" drawing and just had fun drawing people in the large party across from us. Couldn't figure out what they were celebrating though. Overheard one guy, apparently working in real estate, talking about one property's interesting amenity...

My final full day in California had a rainy forecast, so we took it easy and spent our time in the small town where June's marine lab is located: Moss Landing, pop. ~750. It's a strange little oceanside town surrounded by produce fields - you’ve definitely eaten food grown here in the fertile Salinas Valley. Formerly a fishing village, now more and more a tourist destination, visited for attractions like good waves, kayaking, and whale watching, though it's pretty sleepy in the wintertime. This is a view from between the town and the sea, looking over windswept bushes. 

This bright blue façade closer to the center of town caught my eye. Once a post office, then an antiques shop, now just a boarded up building. Some things here still haven't really recovered from the massive 6.9 Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, not sure if that's the reason it's closed or if it's just someone waiting for a buyer (I'll take the cute little attached house please). 

On my last morning, I killed a couple hours in Santa Cruz, waiting for the San Jose airport-bound bus. The Mission-style architecture in the downtown area is really charming. It was pouring rain but I was really happy with the views from this cafe, Verve Coffee Roasters — the sketch at the top of this post is also from here. The red tile roofs remind me to be excited about going to Europe in a few months.

Escape to SF

San Francisco is really one of the most beautiful cities anywhere. Definitely not without its flaws, but the combination of the architecture, steep hills, natural surroundings, and that golden California light is heavenly. I could probably paint there forever. One of my good friends lives in SF now, which gives me a good reason to visit, but honestly I'd be living there now...if only I could afford it. that income inequality tho 😩

I barely made it out of SeaTac. Snowmageddon began as I was waiting at the security checkpoint, and then we sat on the runway for a couple hours waiting to be de-iced. Passengers around me were starting to lose it, but I had a window seat and a sketchbook, and I tricked myself into being less impatient by sketching the view out the window — instead of being desperate for the plane to move, I was appreciative of the fixed viewpoint. Apparently we were the last SEA plane allowed into SF's airport that afternoon. Blessed!

First full day in the city! It was supposed to rain the whole weekend, but when we woke up it was sunny. I bolted upright from bed, threw on some clothes, and went out on the town to make the most of the small window of not-rain with my friend Lauren. We went to this great brunch spot called Greens, in an old warehouse/former Navy area on the water. The views of the marina are pretty great from here, seen through a whole wall made of windows. The food was also excellent!

Lauren knows the best spots, one reason I love to visit her. We split the most expensive bottle of wine I've ever purchased (thanks S.F.) and watched the sun set over the hills from this sky bar called The View on the top of the Marriott downtown. Another place with really striking windows. Though once the sun set, there was very minimal lighting so I couldn't see what I was painting, and of course the light is constantly changing at this time of day, not to mention the weather - sunny one minute, raining the next, and on.

Next day, I did a solo sketchwalk for a couple hours around one of my favorite neighborhoods in SF, Nob Hill. It's extra steep, just how I like it. I didn't have much time here, so on this sketch I went straight to ink – using up some colored water soluble ink cartridges (the kind that are made for the parallel pens) instead of my usual permanent Carbon Black or rapidograph inks. Trying to play with the soft/hardness you get when applying water selectively, but it's sad when you really like that underdrawing and it just melts away...

I want to capture the golden light I see in California (and to a lesser extent in Seattle too) but it's truly elusive. I can't really explain it, but I could point it out to you when it's there. Do you know what I mean? There is definitely a difference between the west coast light and the east coast light, especially later in the days when it's clear out.

Ina Coolbrith Park: a place I'm intimately familiar with, yet never set foot in until last week. I was commissioned to illustrate the view from here last year, a project I remember being super frustrating despite the appealing subject matter; I spent (too many) hours staring at photos and street view here. It's quite a strange feeling to know a place so well but without having been there. Anyway, it's a wonderful viewpoint – this is only a fraction of what you can see from this small hillside park!

Endless Blue

Last week I took a trip to Orange County, California.  The endless blue of the sky and ocean is curiously exhilarating and calming at the same time. I felt raring to go outside yet very peaceful inside. Hat and sunglasses required as the sun is relentlessly brilliant and hot, at least while I was there.

Parking lot palms

Basically a follower, my first experience was to wait for my companion at a coffee shop.  Like Seattle, building projects proliferate in the OC.   Hacienda style is mandatory with red tile roofs, white stucco walls and palm trees or succulents as landscape accent.  As I sketched from an outdoor seat in the shopping center, palm trees fanned out in orderly fashion creating a regal look for a not-so-humble parking lot.

Doheny State Beach, Dana Point, CA

Taken to the beach as promised, I sketched under the shade of an umbrella at Doheny State Beach until we noticed a crowd gathering at the cove to watch the 2016 Pacific Paddle Games.  Paddle boarders from around the world, places like Tahiti, Australia and Brazil, joined enthusiasts from the area for the games. Women and men competed in separate events paddling out through the surf, around an obstacle course, and back again 3 times.  If a paddle boarder surges ahead going out, the same paddle boarder falls behind if a competitor catches a wave coming back.  The strength and athleticism of the contestants braving the powerful elements of the Pacific amazed me.  Cameras and drones surrounded the beach. Loudspeakers boomed with play-by-play action reports adding to the excitement of the event.

Replica of the Pilgrim at Ocean Institute, Dana Point, CA

During the Tacoma West Coast Sketch Crawl I met many sketchers from the San Diego group.  After hearing of my plans to visit Dana Point, one of the sketchers recommended I read Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. to learn about the early marine trading days along the California coast.  Following her advice, I procured the book and became completely immersed in the story of a mariner’s journey aboard the tall ship Pilgrim.  Dropped off at Dana Point Harbor to sketch, I discovered a replica of the Pilgrim docked in the harbor. The Pilgrim replica is a living history classroom for the Ocean Institute located at the harbor.  The original Pilgrim docked at San Juan Bay (Dana Point) several times.  Hundreds of school children marched past my sketching perch on their way to the institute.  At 90 ft., the Pilgrim seemed very small for the amount of action on board as it traded up and down the coast.  It’s hard to imagine working aboard this ship in 1835 with 9 other sailors for one or two years at a time.  The descriptions in the book about the sails and masts during storms at high sea resonated as I tried to draw the dangling ropes.  Now that I know a replica exists, I hope to go to a re-enactment some day.

Abbot Kinney

It's been a whirlwind since Thanksgiving for me. It started when we spent a delightful Hanukkah in Santa Monica. I've enjoyed singing that song since I first heard it in 2004 and finally got to actualize the lyrics. I did a few sketches which I haven't scanned yet but on our last day there I did this quick sketch Abbot Kinney Street in Venice. 

We paid our dues when we returned from 70 degrees to a frosty 31 on December 3. 

Extreme sketching

Joshua Tree National Park