Yesterday Erik and I drove up to San Francisco to spend the day with Tamara (Tamgerines), and to do some life drawing. To our relief, the BART strike inconvenienced us very little, but then, we have a car and were able to avoid commute hours. We had a lovely day of conversation, window shopping, and vegetarian food.
Thanks Tamara and Erik for the photo!
Fun discoveries of the day:
Treehouses of the World, by Pete Nelson and Radek Kurzaj
(found at Paxton Gate)
I’ve determined not to acquire more books at present, but I’m going to look for this one (or its sequel) at the library.
The photo is of Beach Rock Treehouse in Okinawa, Japan.
Not far from Paxton Gate, this handsome gentleman awaited in a doorway on Valencia Street.
Homes along Valencia, looking quintessentially San Franciscan:
Delicious saffron-ginger scoop (and what a divine color!) at Xanath Ice Cream.
I also really liked the brown sugar banana cream with chocolate chips (I think I’ve got that name right!).
After dinner, Erik and I made our way to the edge of the Mission for our first session with Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. We’ve attended a casual Dr Sketchy’s event before in Toronto (after TCAF), but never a proper session. Our model was Roma Mafia, who has recently come to the Bay Area from Baltimore. Check out the Dr Sketchy’s SF flickr group for photos and other people’s artwork!
Five-minute poses:
One more five-minute on the left, then ten-minute poses:
Ten-minute poses:
Twenty minutes each:
It’s pretty crazy to think the last life drawing session I attended before this one was L’Académie de la Grande Chaumière. I’ve so enjoyed hanging out with artists and drawing models all over the world. Walking through the door of Chicken John’s Warehouse, I still felt an echo of the frisson of anxiety I used to get every time I entered a studio, but experience has given me confidence (which we can translate into unconcern with proving myself). I show up, I draw, I learn. It is good. (And it’s fun to see how I’ve improved over time!)
yes! feel free to add the photo! 🙂 i had such a great time yesterday ❤
Yay thanks! Me too. And I have many new thoughts from the day, which will I’m sure find their way into future posts. 🙂 ❤
PS: gagan and i went to xanath tonight for ice cream and i recommended he try the saffron ginger. he was initially skeptical but ended up getting some after liking the sample 😉
Oh yay!! 😀 What did you get? Did they have a different selection of flavors? (And I’ve heard enough about Gagan from you that I feel I should also ask, “And how is he? What is he up to?” ;b )
heh i should show him this exchange! 😛 the flavors were mostly the same but there were a few different ones. i got “madagascar vanilla” (different from the “mexican vanilla” i got before).
You just keep on showing up, lady! Great sketches….had to look at that last one closely though, to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. Oh boy! 🙂
That saffron ginger scoop looks delicious! You just whet my appetite talking about some banana cream chocolate chip thing-a-ma-jiggy. No fair! 🙂
🙂 I’ve been on such an ice cream kick this summer! I guess it was the same thing last summer though, in Toronto. Warm weather and that summer feeling just do it for me. 🙂
Hee, not sure exactly what you’re referring to with that last sketch (and no need to explain), but if it has anything to do with her lady-parts… man, I always have the worst time trying to depict that area. I don’t think it’s prudishness (inexperience though, maybe?) but it is just difficult to know what to do with shading and suggestion. ;b