Drawn the Road Again

Author: Chandler O’Leary

  • Through the rear-view mirror

    Through the rear-view mirror

    Since the year is about to end, I figured it was the perfect time to look back and see how far I’ve come this year. I did all my traveling in the first two-thirds of the year (the last third saw me stuck in the studio and chained to big projects and their deadlines, hence…

  • Red and green

    Red and green

    If you find yourself in a New Mexico restaurant, your server will ask you if you want red or green chili sauce with your entrée. If you happen to want both, you can answer “Christmas,” and they’ll know what you mean. Well, I didn’t happen to have a sketch of “Christmas” on a plate, but…

  • Like peas n’ carrots

    Like peas n’ carrots

    The air has gone from crisp to cold. The leaves are thinning on the trees. And apparently half the vegetables in Washington are currently in our root cellar. I think that means it’s November. We’ve already dipped into the pumpkins for tomorrow’s festivities—and if you find yourself in the States at the moment, here’s wishing…

  • Mission: Accomplished

    Mission: Accomplished

    This is the twenty-first and final installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Here we are, at long last! The very last California mission, in all its (understated)…

  • Pretty in pink

    Pretty in pink

    This is the twentieth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. This is yet another replica mission—making it compare less favorably to places like San Francisco or San…

  • Sturdy Gertie

    Sturdy Gertie

    Seventy-five years ago today, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in a spectacular tangle of twisted cables and swaying concrete. You can actually watch “Galloping Gertie” meet her doom on film (complete with cheeseball movie reel narration, sped-up footage and sound effects), readily accessible thanks to the magic of the internet. The only casualty was…

  • Little Giant

    Little Giant

    Just a couple of blocks from Mission Dolores is a tiny, inanimate hero—one that saved the Mission District from ruin over a century ago. The story of San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake is a famous one, but not everyone knows that it’s actually the fire which immediately followed that did most of the damage. With the…

  • Pillar of the community

    Pillar of the community

    This is the nineteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Mission San Francisco de Asís (or Mission Dolores, if you prefer the nickname) is the centerpiece and…

  • Suburban pilgrimage

    Suburban pilgrimage

    This is the eighteenth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. This place might be a little confusing if you let yourself get tripped up by the name.…

  • The long view

    The long view

    On the morning I did this sketch, I was supposed to be sitting in a darkened lecture hall, listening to a bunch of scholars talk about art. But I just couldn’t do it. On a day like that, it seemed criminal to pass up such a beautiful place. So I jumped in the car and…