Top of Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral

Another trip joining the SF Sketchers on a sunny, but windy winter day. The sliver of light against the dark facade of the church was striking, so I refused the warmth inside the church and stood out on the sidewalk. (I put my water jars and other supplies on the stone side walls of the lawns, thinking it was convenient, but ended up annoying scores of children as they liked to walk on the higher curb, and had to jump down and start again when they met the obstacles I laid out...

 The afternoon sun was casting nice shadows across the building across from the cathedral (Pacific-Union Club) so I decided to stay for another piece. It also happens that the Transamerica Pyramid peeks through from between the buildings on the left. More than the scenery in front of me, the labyrinth behind me was constantly on my mind because of the non-stop feed steps. It sounds like that many of them are impatient children waiting for their guardians to get out of the cathedral, and walking the labyrinth was a pretty good time-killer...

The sun looks warm from the painting, but I was so cold I probably gulped down the cup of hot tea afterwards in matter of minutes

Biking with a mission: Los Gatos Creek Park

Biking and drawing require fine balance. Draw too long, body heat dissipates and my body gets too cold, bike too long, I run out of energy to concentrate on the paining. A nice way to keep the painting session concise though!

Rainy Day Conquered, All Thanks to Apple Store

To be honest I was skeptical when the meetup group suggested drawing from the Apple Store (at Union Square) if the rain doesn't stop. Surely they won't allow a stranger who has no intention of buying their products spending hours in their store taking up space, let along a group of them! Which was why I was surprised when I showed up a few minutes late, finding everyone comfortably seated on the store's second floor and the staff more than welcoming us to stay and draw...even when I refused to try drawing on the new iPads... such mystery. Several staff even came up and hi, which made me flattered and even more confused lol

 Looking down at a corner of union square, with some orange cones lined up on the bottom.

Goddess of Victory standing above the Christmas tree and the white tents for SantaCon. (When trying to describe the statue to my parents, I discovered that the monument commemorates American victory over the Spanish in the Philippines....history sure is complicated)

City Hall reboot, with food this time!

Went along with the SF sketchers Meetup group again, this time to the Asian Art Museum around the corner from San Francisco City Hall. There was a long line for the museum when I arrived (I thought it was because of the free admission Sunday, but it turns out they were lining up for a special Indian performance in the museum). Anyway, I decided to avoid the crowd first and worked on the City Hall. I vaguely remember that my previous and first time drawing the same subject was pretty nerve wracking because the plaza was eerily empty and only had people who were aimlessly wandering about...The statue in the foreground represents Plenty, part of the Pioneer Monument.

Maybe because of the farmers' market happening nearby, the place felt much more cheerful this time! I also grabbed a hefty bag of grapes (which took me a whole week to finish) and a nice bag of mushrooms.

Annual Figure Drawing Session!

Joined the annual figure drawing session at Fort Mason hosted by the Bay Area Model Guild. The morning session in the 1,2-minute pose room consisted of furiously scratching pencil (or charcoal), lightening fast page turning, and that dreadful sound of the alarm clock (signalling the end of a pose). I was going through my sketchbook so fast, that it took me almost 7-8 pages in to realize I'm drawing in the last of its kind, rare moleskine watercolour book that I grabbed up in China (by that time all North American outlets have phased into the new edition, which has a slightly different surface texture) So I ran out during the 5 min break, stormed into FLAX next door, and got myself whichever sketchbook I found first.

Another frantic 30 minute session later, I thought that was enough stress for the day and switched to the long pose room at the suggestion of a fellow sketcher. Truly it was a bless. No crowd, no stress. Since I draw quicker than the pose change (most other painters are using oil/acrylic), I move around myself to get different poses (hence the above result). Bonus point for having a sink to wash off the paints in the classroom!

On the Occasion of SF's New Tallest Structure

Joined the SF Sketchers to mark the occasion of the Salesforce Tower becoming the tallest building in SF. Light drizzle, construction noise, and curious glances from the construction workers (seeing a bunch of suspicious onlookers staring at them and furiously scribbling for an extended period of time)

 First time using a new brush I brought back from Japan (the only place that sells it in a brick-and-mortar store, albeit underground of course) It was softer than my previous brush, which explains the uncertain edges here and there.

Walked around the block to find a nice brick building with a stunning backdrop that is the Millennium Tower. I was originally planning for a fisheye lens effect towards the end (since using normal perspective will cut the top of the building off)...but since I forgot to bring a pencil, my grand plan still fell through. Oh well, next time!

Short Hop over the Pacific: Autumn in Japan

Done over a week-long trip to Japan, in between meeting up with friends and former colleagues

 Sunset over JR Osaka station was too stunning to ignore (I can never ignore good train station concourses!) So I sat down for 30 or so after getting off the bullet train, before dashing off to check-in at the hotel, before dashing off to meet my former colleagues; which, by pure luck or innate timetable planning ability, I made it within minutes of the arranged time, all with no pre-planning whatsoever. I really just finished having lunch with friend in Tokyo, thought it was about time, walked into Tokyo station, bought ticket for the next train to Osaka... Japan sure has trained me well

A view onto the narrow alleyway just outside friend's apartment. Always feeling self-conscious of being mistaken to be a stalker, I tried to find as inconspicuous a place as possible, so to avoid staring straight into some people's door.... (Which is always harder to find in bustling Tokyo) Despite how it looks, a garbage truck still made it through the narrow maze and collected all the trash while I was drawing the scene. Adding the overhead electric cables were always a bonus that I rarely get to enjoy in the US!