Green, lots of green, and lots and lots of green - Berlin Parks

Swung by 2 parks after reorganizing my pallette a little the day before. I introduced "Bordeaux 362", which turned out to be a very powerful cool red, and "Naples yellow" (in designer gouache), to help with my opaque needs, and took away "Sepia Brown" (I can't even remember when I last used it)

Bürgerpark Pankow. I was surprised by how peaceful it was, even at the goat pen! There was even some nice music

Volkspark Friedrichshain. This one was a little more lively, but there were still a lot of quiet spots. The shadows from the tree were the most entertaining! It wasn't always sunny, but the sun was out often enough for me to capture the (occassional) shadows

 

Spring in San Jose: Rose Garden and Rosicrucian Park

It has been quite a while since I was last at the San Jose Municipal Garden. I vaguely remember a unsatisfactory ink drawing of the fountain and being jokingly asked to include a portrait when I was working on a rose. Even though it is really close to where I live, I still preferred driving 1 hr one way to San Francisco than staring at roses and trees all day. That said, I was still looking forward to painting with fellow sketchers in South Bay.

There were a lot of merry-making people in the park, including families and friends taking commemorative photos. I thought most of the flowers would be gone after the rain storm the previous day, but the flowers were surprisingly resilient and I saw plenty still fully blooming.

We moved over to the Rosicrucian Park/Egyptian Museum a block away after lunch. It is an entirely different gardening style from the Rose Garden, with several walkways criss-crossing the foliages. I sat down on a bench in the shade (because digesting lunch was taking up too much of my energy) and chose a scene that is of my weakness. (not a lot of clear shapes, complex details) But since I was sitting and sunlight was consistent, I patiently worked my way through the layers of plants.

Very very early on a Sunday: Santa Clara Mission Cemetery

I was able to join a few sketchers/painters in South Bay for a paint out at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery a few weekends ago, thanks to my manager canceling my work trip the night before. I never really painted much around the area I live, so I was pleasantly surprised that this beautiful and serene location was only 10 mins away from my apartment. 

On my own I would probably never come by because it is not my normal painting subject, but it was a nice change of pace to wander around the old cemetery and capture details that normally went unseen.

This little bird stopped atop the angel right as I was about to finish the piece, so I promptly added it in. One of the nice things about having extra long exposure time...aka, painting instead of taking a photograph, you always get plenty of time for the key players to gather. 

As the sun hid underneath the clouds in the afternoon, I started looking for scenes with more structure to compensate for the lack of light/shadow. This is the front view to the Old Mausoleum. The rows of tombstones, trees, and distant mountains really make it a very orderly scene...as well as a systematic painting process.

Another fine afternoon in Campbell - Heritage Village Offices

I accidentally biked past this building on my way home a few weeks ago and remembered to come back this time for a sketch. It is right next to the Campbell Heritage Theatre I drew last time, except that this one does not show up in google searches for nearby points of interest... (maybe it doesn't serve any cultural functions anymore?) 

Anyway, save for a few people gathering at the entrance of the building (mostly looking down at their phones, so I assume it might be Pokemon Go related activities?), I had the sunset to myself. The tree in front of the roundabout was also quite formidable and had some nice textures.

On to discover more neighbourhood oddities!

Picking a shadow to hide: Los Gatos Creek Trail

On one scorching afternoon (Back in early June), I headed straight for the shades of Los Gatos Creek Trail on my bike (and hid there until the sun was down) 

I rarely draw on near square paper size, but it was a nice change!

Rehabilitation time!

Coming back after another 2-week stint out of town. I usually bring all necessary painting supplies with me on trips, never giving up on the hope that I might, just might, have a day or two down time that I can wonder around town and sketch. Unfortunately two weeks went by again with my brush un-wet and palette untouched (the only day I got off work was spent lying sick in bed) Even though the glamour of Macau is only 20 mins away (according to the locals), I could only gaze upon its lights from afar...

 For rehabilitation of course, I biked to my usual spot, Los Gatos Creek Trail, so I could exercise my body and brain at the same time. As with suburban life, you could never get away from trees from this part of town.

An overview of the Vasona Reservoir that the bike trail loops around

Now that Summer is Almost Here...

Right next to bustling downtown Berkeley, the walkway to central campus is quiet and shady with overhanging branches and shadows. A very enjoyable walk, that is, after you get used to the occasional smell of marijuana in the background and stop distressing over the ever-so-weak flow of Strawberry Creek under the bridge...

Le Conte / Birge Hall (Physics building) Loved the glass walkway here since 1st year college!