SketchCrawl 21

We returned to San Francisco a week ago. Something about getting on a plane in winter-y Toronto on the 4th of January, traversing the whole continent and arriving in a greener, warmer, sunnier place makes me feel just like I did when we first arrived, on January 4th 2007. Which in turn triggers a desire to trek around the city and explore its neighborhoods like we did without fail every weekend of those first few months.

I have spent the last week reliving my first impressions here - not a bad thing to remember! That must be why I suggested to James, and friends Ric and Adrian to hike across half of San Francisco in the name of SketchCrawl; from Hayes Valley, through The Mission, The Castro, Cole Valley, The Haight and Golden Gate Park. It was perfect, at least for me!
As for the others - aching muscles, please forgive me!

Here's a sketchbook page, unfinished.


And here's another, from YSL at The De Young! Go see it and you'll recognize many famous outfits, like the one from Buñuel's "Belle De jour".

Humboldt, Hornung

Hello.

It's been so long since my last appearance... Updates are due, sure, but I'd rather not write much. How about a couple of drawings?
This one was done last weekend, in a curious little place called "Finnish Country Sauna and Tubs" located in a curious little town called Arcata, up in foggy Humboldt County.


Marker Pen
8" X 12"

This second one is of a building I really like, here in the Mission. I drew it today during SketchCrawl.
Enjoy! And so long for now.


Marker Pen
12" X 8"

Golden Gate Bridge

GGB seen from Fort Point, June 21st (and just finished today).

Pencil, Marker Pen and Gouache
6.5" X 10"

The Girls of Portsmouth Square

How long have they been here?

SketchCrawl

To paraphrase its creator Enrico Casarosa, SketchCrawl is simply "a day-long drawing marathon" - a sort of intense visual record-keeping of the happenings in one day.
When I was back in Toronto, seeing Enrico's painted drawings of palm trees, exotic tea gardens and hidden public staircases felt magical and foreign. And the idea of so many people invading the streets with their pens and sketchbooks kind of made me chuckle. Is there anything more paradoxical than a small army of artists?
Anyway, I'm here now and I live on a boulevard lined with palm trees, I've enjoyed the Golden Gate gardens and I've climbed up, UP, UP! the Filbert steps. Man!
Last Sunday was the sixteenth Sketchcrawl - my third - and for me at least it was very much a crawl. So much so that I only did one drawing! But to be fair, I spent a lot of time talking to James and Pat, and hanging out with Emma and Erin.
Here's the drawing and its painted "adaptation". I did some preliminaries in Photoshop, and I painted the final in gouache, to produce VERY different results.

One, Two, Three... GO!

Oh my! You're here already!

Hi. I'm Dani. I've been trying to introduce myself to you for a few days now but I simply couldn't think of a good way to do it. (I spend most of my time drawing you see, and I happen to know very little about introductions.) I thought of starting at the very beginning and show you some of the scribbles I was doing at the age of six; mostly princesses and the occasional bear. Perhaps you'd like to see a little later? I also considered telling you all about my drawing heritage and how I came here from Bulgaria, through Canada, and how that changed everything. But we don't know each other that well, so this too I'll save for another time.
I even read about the etiquette of introductions, which by the way was very, very complicated in the 1920s, if rather obsolete today.
Nothing would quite do.

Except that now you're here and just like that, we've met!
And I've been saving something to show you!
I hope you like it.