Plastic-coated wicker

It's a spaceship.  I mean a real spaceship.  It has a soul and could tell tales.  But up close it looks like plastic-coated wicker!  With steam-punk engines no less.  But still incredible to be there with it.  Props to SIGGRAPH for having the reception with a real spaceship.

one down one to go

Symposium done. Now for SIGGRAPH.

Chicago symphony

Hot dogs and dinosaurs

I started the day by sketching a hot dog.  I think that might be new even for me.  It was a Chicago-style dog, of course, and it's a case where you eat your still life.  Then you draw in the skyline behind it.  More to the point, you put the hot dog in Chicago.  Fun to draw!  Here's a process shot and the final throwdown of everyone's work.

Since we were right by the Field Museum, I had to drop by and say hello to Sue, along with a few of her friends. I also managed to find a power outlet in the Jurassic that was conveniently located near a bench so I could sketch while I charged my phone.

The afternoon was playing with art supplies, and then I went for a walk by the lake - high tide!  When the wind kicks in you could go surfing on the lake.

Opening ceremonies and goodies

We started the day with a requisite sketch of the bean, and of course saw a number of other sketchers there.

Then we headed over to the Art Institute for a quick visit to Nighthawks, along with fleeting but passionate affairs with William Merritt Chase, James McNeil Whistler, Cezanne and others.

Then it was time to check in to the Symposium and pick up our goody bags.  Wow!  It's like Christmas and Halloween combined.  They did an amazing job getting sponsors.  We got sketchbooks and pencils and paints and papers.  The sponsors also had tables showing off their new stuff and of course we had to do some shopping and get some more.  Daniel smith even brought some rocks - the actual rocks that the pigments are made from (OK, "minerals").

After dinner they had the actual opening with Gabi giving a brief talk on the birth of Urban Sketchers and for once Anna and I weren't the only folks in the audience of a talk drawing - 570 sketchers from 34 countries were doing the same thing.

Then of course we went to the Argo Tea shop to sketch.  Phew!  I'm tired and classes start tomorrow bright and early.

Beans

Pre-sketching

Went down to Lincoln Park to see some plants and animals and get some pre-sketching in before the symposium starts.  Then we went to a local park to... you guessed it!  Do some sketching.  I did some experiments with markers along with my usual ball-point pen and watercolor.

A relaxed gorilla...

Locals at the park - left is watercolor with ball-point pen and the right is copic marker.

I also went for a little walk along the lake...

Sketching at the conservatory

Some clouds to make up for it

Super-hot today. But some nice sunset clouds this evening to make up for it.

Milk and Honey

No, wait, it's Mints & Honey.  I discovered a new breakfast/brunch place nearby.  Baked goods and tea and coffee.  They have milk tea and boba tea along with just tea.  I got an oolong milk tea and the avocado and egg bread.  Really, really good!  Also nice little ambiance and some pretty good sketching.

Also had a really hot weekend, so along with a zillion other people, I went to a movie.   And because I just missed the bus home after, I also went to Peet's for a quick sketch (but only a quick one so I didn't miss the next bus!)

I also seem to keep running into Line People wherever I go.  Go figure.  I think I like drawing them without their chairs - you get a better sense of the pose that way.

Horses, cars, and fireworks

Well I went to the big Redwood City 4h of July festival again.  Much cooler this year than last.  I only watched part of the parade:  It's 2 hours long and there were large gaps between the different parties.  I did see a marching band and some robots, and when the horses went by, that was my cue to get some lunch before the restaurants got too crowded.  Turned out to be a good call since the line was out the door and there were no tables left as I was finishing up.  I walked over to the square and checked out the chalk art, and there were a couple of nice pieces done by people on their hands-and-knees in the baking sun:

I thought I'd check out the classic cars lineup - I'm not much for cars but they can be interesting to draw.  There are some folks out there who do great car drawings, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  Fun, and a new challenge - they have all these rounded edges so you have to get the perspective right then figure out the curves.  For bonus points, there's a Peet's right by where the cars were lined up, so I got to do my usual sketching-while-sipping-tea-at-Peet's routine.  Different Peet's and different subject, but it was nice to sit in the shade with a cup of tea.

I headed home after that since it was getting hot.  Later on when it was time for the fireworks, I decided to try the Best Buy parking lot.  Good call!  The fireworks were right across the bay from there and it was actually a good view.  Also, it was only a 15-minute walk and the crowd was relaxed.  The freeway is actually a little below where the lot is, so it didn't interfere with the view, but added a certain something in the long-exposure phone pics.

And just because, here's a few drawings from the last few weeks at my local Peet's.