Category: The Best Coast

Neon butterflyCentralia, WA

Highway 99 butterfly sign sketch by Chandler O'Leary

Speaking of the Chinese new year, I’m reminded of this beauty along old Highway 99. The restaurant is still very much alive, and its current owners are doing a great job of stewardship when it comes to their vintage neon. So this week I’m wishing them a happy and prosperous new year, too.

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Mission: AccomplishedSonoma, CA

Mission San Francisco Solano sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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)… More

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Pretty in pinkSan Rafael, CA

Mission San Rafael Arcángel sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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… More

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Sturdy GertieTacoma, WA

Tacoma Narrows Bridge sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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… More

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Little GiantSan Francisco, CA

San Francisco sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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… More

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Pillar of the communitySan Francisco, CA

Mission San Francisco de Asís sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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… More

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Suburban pilgrimageFremont, CA

Mission San Jose sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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…. More

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The long viewMt. Tamalpais, CA

San Francisco Bay area sketch by Chandler O'Leary

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… More

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