We took the overnight flight (the only one available) to Athens. It was amazing to me how awake I felt even with so little sleep over the previous couple of days. I was able to get one drawing done before the lights on the plane dimmed and I decided to take a short nap. But my thirty minute doze was not a good decision because when I woke up, I could tell the lack of sleep was finally starting to hit me.
I painted my backpack and messenger bag (contains all my art supplies) while waiting to leave for Greece. I bought the backpack many years ago when I lived in London and I still use it regularly when I travel. The Timbuk2 messenger bag was a recent purchase and it has a good amount of internal compartments to hold my art supplies and the overall construction seems sturdy. I only have two complaints about this bag. First, the trim on the flap tends to stick to the velco and fray and second, the two water bottle holders on the sides of the bag are a little loose around the bottles I use. A good art supply bag is hard find because most are so poorly made, but overall the Timbuk2 bag is well made so I would recommend it. Lastly, my wide brim hat comes in handy when I’m drawing without a shade tree.
On the bus to the San Francisco airport, I finally relaxed and did a drawing along the way. I chose not to listen to music because I wanted to be immersed in real sounds, real time. Headphones create a barrier, keeping the world at a distance and I wanted to escape into the sites and sounds of my trip as much as possible.
From San Francisco International Airport, we flew British Airways to London, our only stop on our way to Athens, Greece. While the flight attendants were serving drinks, I drew this sketch of the interior of the airplane.
The Healdsburg Art Festival is one of the most beautiful art festivals around and it’s right in the heart of Sonoma County wine country. I’ve often participated as an exhibiting artist but since the economy has been so bad lately, I decided to take a year off. Even though I wasn’t showing my artwork, I found it difficult to stay away from the festivities and decided to hang out with my sketchbook under a shade tree. While sketching, I attracted a few passersby and I even sold a couple of my books The Artist on the Road that I had luckily tucked away in my messenger bag.
Last Sunday it was hot (almost as hot as last years 105° burn out) at The Great Hand Car Regatta in Santa Rosa, but the heat didn’t keep my wife and me away from this stylish feast of fashion. The event is best described as steam punk meets the wild west or Victorian science fiction a la Jules Verne. Either way, the Hand Car Regatta is this generation’s version of a Renaissance faire and it’s a blast. Many people were dressed in Victorian era fashion with Corsets, bowlers and top hats, pocket watches, and loads of aviator glasses. In other words, plenty to draw for those with an artistic eye and a sketchbook in hand.
Scattered throughout the event were large kinetic sculptures that were also shown at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert. I spent nearly an hour hiding from the sun in a rare shady spot and drew this large 30-40 foot tall butterfly sculpture (last year in 2009). It was a tough draw too because  the butterfly wings, along with other parts of this kinetic sculpture, rotated slowly in separate directions with the afternoon breeze.
With the sculpture drawing now done and my shade diminishing, I decided to braved the sun and gather with the crowds to watch the hand car races. These uniquely designed, hand made vehicles are powered along 700 yards of train track to the finish line by the passengers feet, hands or both. For the last two years I’ve come equipped with my sketchbook and recorded a few scenes from the event for as long as I can stand the heat. But regardless of how hot it is, every year I enjoy this whimsical, mechanical time warp.
Friday afternoon while doing a few errands, I stopped by the local grease monkey to get my oil changed. As I pulled into the parking lot, I was disappointed to see about six cars already queued up and the unfortunate thought of having to wait an hour entered in my mind. But then to my right, I saw a bright red, 57 Chevy Bel Air in the Autobaun Detail Shop next door and my mood lifted. After checking in with the technician, I parked myself on a shady curb and began to draw. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving in one of these old classic cars but it sure looks fun. Back in the ‘50s, my dad’s parents owned a ’57 Chevy and he use to borrow it while in High School to take girls out on dates. I bet this car would still work well on dates today.
Yesterday I gave a presentation at Santa Rosa Junior College about illustration. My only hope was to keep the interest of the students for the scheduled hour but they managed to keep me talking for almost two an a half hours. The subject I emphasized most was the importance of learning to draw in a sketchbook. Sketching I told them, will bring more life to their finished illustrations, giving them more depth, accuracy, and interest. The students responded well to my talk and spent a good amount of time looking through several of my sketchbooks and my published book, The Artist on the Road. It was a pleasure talking to this group of students and I hope I lit a fire in them get off the computer at some point during their week and sketch from life. (my illustration work can be seen here: Artstudios.com )
After my presentation I went over to the anatomy lab where my wife Marilyn was studying for an exam coming up. Although Marilyn graduated from college with a degree in English, she’s going back to school to get a medical assistant certificate. While hanging out with her for a few minutes in the lab, I drew a student studying a human skeleton.
Yesterday, I was out with the Sonoma Sketchers at Judith Lange’s ranch east of Sebastopol to draw some farm animals. She has quite a collection of grazing horses, chickens scratching in the dirt, sheep, goats, and of course barns, houses, and the like. But I was fascinated with three beautiful Angora Goats and chose to spend the morning drawing them. They weren’t the easiest subject to draw because they never stood still for long. But after a while, I learned to start one drawing and when the goat moved, start a new one. When the goat returned to a similar position I had already sketched, I would go back and continue the previous drawing.
All the rumors about goats having a strong oder are true, but the smell didn’t bother me too much. In fact, after a full morning of drawing, I headed home and on the way, picked up some Cypress Grove Chevre. Goat cheese anyone?
A big thanks to Judith for allowing us to sketch on her beautiful Sonoma County ranch.
