Greek Salata and a Mythos Beer

For our first evening in Athens, we settled into an outdoor cafe for an early dinner. I ordered an open faced gyro, starting with a Greek salata: ripe tomatoes, tangy vinaigrette, red onions, kalamata olives, and a slab of seasoned feta. While I was enjoying my salad, a little girl, maybe eight-years old, approached us from the street carrying an accordion. She played a single note on the instrument and said in English, “Money please.” When we shook our heads no, she turned, without a blink of an eye or expression of disappointment, to the next table and repeated. It was very amusing.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin’s Grave, St Pancras Churchyard

Mary Shelley, who wrote the book Frankenstein, regularly visited her mother’s grave in the St Pancras Churchyard in London. Mary never had a chance to know her mother as she died of septicaemia a few days after Mary was born in 1797. Although her father remarried, Mary despised her stepmother for favoring her own children over her, and the peacefulness of the graveyard provided a welcome escape from the tense atmosphere back home. Mary would often pack a lunch and spend an entire afternoon at the grave eating, napping and reading her mothers books.

On occasion, Percy Shelley, Mary’s future husband, secretly met her at the gravesite. As their affections grew for each other, it was here that the two confessed their love for each other. Percy was already married, with one child and another on the way.

While on a layover in London on my way to Greece, I had just enough time to visit Ms. Goodwin’s gravesite. While there, I wondered around the churchyard and imagined Mary’s peaceful afternoons. Sitting next to Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin’s grave as Mary had done so long ago, I created this drawing in my Moleskine sketchbook.

Although Mary Goodwin’s remains were later moved to Bournemouth, England in 1851, her original tombstone still remains.

London House Hotel

With only a few minutes to spare before we had to head back to the airport, I had about one minute to sketch the old hotel where I use to work. Memories of the place flooded back to me while I drew. This hotel was one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had, even to this day. I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to write a book about my experiences there and maybe someday I will.

Flight to Athens

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.

Watercolor of my Travel Bags

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.

Bus to SFO/Airplane to London

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.

’57 Chevy

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.

Angora Goats in Sebastopol, California

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.