In Celebration of USk 10 Year Anniversary!

Joined the SF Sketchers in Union Square for the USk 24 hr Global Sketchwalk for the 10th anniversary of Urban Sketchers organization. As always, I arrived more than 1 hour late, so I started straight into painting after I got off the Bart station. It was an unusually warm autumn/winter day in SF... I remember I was huddling indoors about the same time last year. Also thanks to the low angle of the sunlight, a few buildings that are usually in shadows had some very nice sunlit surfaces.

What first caught my eyes were the crowded signs on the right, but the building in the background (Humboldt Bank Building, 1908, more info here: https://untappedcities.com/2012/03/30/architecture-spotlight-the-humboldt-bank-building/)  The dome in the sunlight looked very impressive!

After the group meet at the Apple Store, I hopped back down to Union Square (instead of getting some proper lunch) because there were so many interesting shadows criss-crossing the narrow streets there! I liked this one in particular because the shadow came down halfway on the "Hotel Stratford" sign. (I would like the red to be a little brighter, but it was too late when I realized...oh well) The tracks on the road are for the Powell Street Cable Cars.

Fall colours, at Forbes Flour Mill Museum

Stopped for a cycling break at the Forbes Flour Mill Museum. There was one shiny SUV parked right at the focal point of this piece, but it pulled away even before I finished with the pencil outlines... :(

Glad the other two cars cooperated until the end!

Autumn at the Piers

Followed the SF sketchers to the Embarcadero again over the weekend. Even though I was praying for rain (so I don't need to worry about washing my car anymore), having a perfect sunny day at the end of October felt nothing short of a privilege. Unlike summer months when I need to wait for hours until the sun start casting some shadows, the sun is noticeably slanted throughout the entire day, illuminating buildings that usually are shrouded in shadows. 

It was almost noon when I arrived at the Ferry building and the shadow was already stunning despite its being the middle of the day. I picked a spot perched above the sidewalk. There were quite a few homeless people lying on the grass around that area, but I found myself a spot right next to a bike rental stand. (I usually take Caltrain and bike whenever the meetup is along the bike path at the coast, but I am getting lazier by the day now that I have a car and could park conveniently at Daly City) 

I decided to add the streetcar that came in halfway through the painting, but it was a little hard to notice in the sea of warm colors lol. The sun did felt really warm though!

Second piece was done facing the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal and the Bay Bridge in the background. There was still a little bit of haze from the wild fire up north, so the East Bay is a little blurred from the view.