Oakland Museum of California, 2nd round!

 I headed to the Oakland Museum of California with the SF Sketchers meetup. I've only been here on a previous sketching trip with the SF Bay Area Urban Sketchers, but the quality of the exhibitions left a good impression on me. 

While I was waiting for a friend to join me, I started sketching on the roof (although technically it is also the ground floor since the entrance is on the roof-level and everything else is underneath), which offers a good view of Lake Merritt. (Since last time I came it was after dark, so I had no idea it had such a good view) there were also a few people practicing skateboard in the small square to the left. When I showed this piece to my parents, my dad could instantly tell that the hills in the background are the East Bay hills, even though he's never been to Lake Merritt...only possible after years of driving up and down Berkeley

This was my most memorable exhibit from...I think 2 years ago? I'm glad to see it is still there :D

The intense expression on the animals were so captivating that I decided to do another sketch of it, this time in B&W with my new favourite brush pen.

Displays from Oakland Museum of California - Natural Sciences Gallery

Sutter Buttes: The mini mountain range (in Central California Valley) formed by volcanic activities 

Sandhill Crane (migratory bird)

American Bittern (migratory bird)

Desert Cottontail (hiding from predators in the undergrowth)

Yosemite - Alpine Zone

Coyote vs. Wolverine (battling for a marmot, which I was too laze to fill in)

There was "pencil only" signs in front of all the galleries, so I had to ditch my beloved pen for pencil. But the results were much better than I thought! (The colours and energy definitely stood out more!)

Nightfall at Fentons Creamery

First time sketching in the new sketchbook I sew together! And first time drawing on professional 140lb paper! (hence the shaky brushstrokes lol) This is the view across from Fentons creamery. The sun was still visible when I coloured the church on the left, but it was completely dark when I got to the right. (my ice-cream totally melted when I was too absorbed in the drawing...)

This time looking towards the creamery when standing in front of the church! First attempt in capturing a night scene in colour! (definitely needs a lot of work!)

Sketchcrawl at Preservation Park & Pardee Home Museum (Oakland, CA)

I went for a day sketching with the Bay Area Urban Sketchers at the Preservation Park and the Pardee Home Museum right across from the street! Apparently neither of them are normally open to public... It was quite a surprise to find such a serene and perfectly maintained neighbourhood (or more like an extended driveway) in Oakland! But there was barely anyone except the 10 or so sketchers scattered around the neighbourhood. Judging from the nameplates, almost all of the buildings are over 100 years old, most of them now rented out as offices. (The one in the drawing in the White House, built in 1875, now serving as the office of Preservation park and cafe)

Couldn't resist doing a panorama of part of the place. Judging from everyone's sketchbook at the end, the palm tree was clearly the crowd favourite lol! (from 10AM onwards, there were people continuously trickling into the Nile Hall, apparently a speech or rally is going on there. And everyone who drove past were giving us sketchers the @@; confused look)

I'm actually not sure what this structure is for....but it is in the backyard of Pardee Home Museum, the original resident of former Oakland mayor (also Californian Governor) George Pardee. The slanting sun was amazing! but also gave me vicious sunburns ;A;