Drawn the Road Again

Tag: west

  • Take the leap

    Take the leap

    I was really hoping I might have had a sketch of a neon leaping frog (or something similar) for today’s post, but no such luck. Still, a leaping trout ain’t too shabby. Hope your extra day shines like a neon beacon…happy leap year!

  • Somewhere to lean on

    Somewhere to lean on

    This post is part of an ongoing series called 66 Fridays, which explores the wonders of old Route 66. Click on the preceding “66 Fridays” link to view all posts in the series, or visit the initial overview post here. I crossed Texas twice last year: once at its widest point (where we logged over…

  • Arch-itecture

    Arch-itecture

    I didn’t have a ton of time this day, as I was actually playing hooky on a lecture to do this sketch. So I didn’t have time to explore much of the Cal campus, but at least I stole a few moments to stand on the threshold and get something down on paper.

  • Trains of thought

    Trains of thought

    I love traveling by rail, though these days I don’t often get the chance to do it. So the next best thing is hanging out with historic trains—and sketching them, of course. Besides, you know I’m a sucker for vintage lettering and logos—and a logo hound at a train museum is like a kid in…

  • 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…

  • 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…