Tag Archives: CA

Sealed with a kiss

I’ve never done Highway One in the summer, so I’ve never seen it the way most people do—choked with tourists and traffic. I prefer to see the coast highway in the winter, where the only teeming hordes to contend with are those of the pinniped variety.

The elephant seal breeding ground on the Big Sur coast is worth pretty much any detour at this time of year. Be warned, though: don’t have too many other things on your agenda that day. Because you’re going to be so fascinated (and a little freaked out) by the spectacle before you that you’re going to want to throw your plans out the window and stay all day.

Study in blue-grey

Today is the last day of CODEX, after which I’ll be hitting the road again for points south. This evening, though, I’m looking forward to a few hours of downtime in the city with friends. It’s easy to forget in a bustling place like San Francisco, but there are plenty of quiet pockets to sit and let the world around you slow down for a moment.

Books and bay views

The main event for my California trip is happening this week, as I exhibit my work at the biennial CODEX International Bookfair. If you happen to be in the Bay Area, CODEX is really worth the trip. For one thing, it’s in a venue that is absolutely out of this world, with stunning views of the Bay and San Francisco.

For another, being able to stand in a room with hundreds of pieces of art—art that you can touch, while you have a conversation with the artist who made it—is an incredible experience. CODEX showcases the work of some of the best book artists, printmakers, paper artists and typographers working today—the result is an astounding display of artwork and ephemera from all over the world.

So if you’re local, stop by and say hello! You’ll find me at the Anagram Press table (#84), most likely with sketchbook in hand.

Fifth CODEX International Bookfair
February 8-11, 2015
Craneway Pavilion, Richmond, CA
Open today and Tuesday 12:30 to 6; Wednesday 10 to 3
Admission: $10 per day ($5 students) or $30 for multi-day pass

In season

One thing I always look forward to about driving to California is watching the seasons change as I go. It never ceases to amaze me that you can go from winter…

…to spring, sometimes in the course of a single hour.

These two sketches were done on the same day, just over 60 miles apart. For this year’s trip, I’m planning to cover much more ground, and head much further south. Dare I ask? Will summer be waiting for me at the end of the line?

Folds and faults

If you were to page through my California sketchbooks, you’d think I had some serious A.D.D.—thematically they’re all over the place, because the state just has so many different things that interest me. But what I keep coming back to, time and time again, are the landscapes themselves. There is just something about the hills and valleys there that grabs hold of my heart and refuses to let go.

California or bust

As it turned out, I didn’t get to do a whole lot of traveling last year—which was a bit of an adjustment, especially compared with previous years. It’s looking like 2015, though, is going to be another big travel year—which to me feels more like normal life.

Tomorrow morning I’m hitting the road again … and I think you can guess the destination. I have some very specific goals for the trip, which I hope will play out here in a few weeks. For the next few posts, though, I’m going to run a few of my favorite sketches from my last roadtrip to the Golden State.

Enjoy, and see you on the other side!

Get me to the church on time

Of course, if you really want the feeling of sketching a cathedral…you could just go sketch a cathedral. I figure that’s just as valid a way to go about it. And considering that I scored an absolutely rock star parking space on a busy thoroughfare in the middle of San Francisco to do this sketch (stopping along your way to draw is hard in a place where a car is a burden)—well, I was feeling pretty blessed that morning!

Orange you glad

Apparently these giant orange stands (which are actually ducks) used to be so common along the old Pacific Highway that by the time you got thirsty on your journey, you’d have arrived at the next one. There are just a handful remaining today, and I was extra lucky to discover that this one was actually still a functioning juice stand (though inside the attached building, no longer the orange itself).

Because let me tell you, this is one advertising ploy that must have worked well: by the time we reached the door, we were ready to shell out any amount for fresh orange juice.

Summer stripes

On the day I was here, the calendar said it was winter. But between the warm sun, the blue sky, the sea air and the festive stripes, I could have sworn it was the perfect summer day.

The road ahead

Tomorrow this little travel blog turns one year old. In that time, I’ve jumped around in time and place, in hopes of showing you as many different sketches as I could: country scenes, cityscapes, vintage kitsch, wildlife, you name it. But while I love me some roadside attractions, I must confess that my very favorite thing to draw might just be the road itself.

My sketchbooks are absolutely full of road sketches—either full scenes that I take time over, or little margin notes that I jot down quickly from the passenger seat as the car moves ahead. I just can’t get enough of them. I’m fascinated by how the road moves with the land, following hills and curves. As I race to put each vista down in the book, the actual road at my feet seems to transform into a painted line—tracing the landscape like a sketchbook drawing on the grandest scale imaginable.

In the past year, I know I’ve shown you quite a few of these road drawings, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I have in my sketchbooks. And that’s because even after nearly a lifetime of taking road trips, and many years of drawing them, I still feel like I’m only just getting started.

So here’s to the next year of this blog, and to the road ahead. Thank you for coming along with me for the ride.