Jack London Square

Jack London in bronze, 4 PM.

We've created a subgroup on Facebook for Sketchbook Skolars who live in the San Francisco East Bay.  It's called East Bay Sketchers.  Our first outing was not the Lindsay Wildlife Museum but Jack London Square in Oakland. 

It was a Sunday and probably the last gloriously sunny, warm day for several months. The Square on Sunday boasts a very large, lively Farmer's Market with live music. It was perfect for sketching people since there were so many of them. 

We were 7 Sketchbook Skolars plus one friend who has been adopted in spite of never having taken one of the klasses.  The original triumvirate --

Aikya Param (moi)
Patricia Robinson
Dale Wolfe

--were there, of course. We were joined by


(L to R) Lynn Cohen, Aikya Param, Dale Wolfe, Valerie Sauban.

Priscilla Reid
Lynn Cohen
Margo Rivera-Weiss
Pat Tong
and Dale's friend, Valerie Sauban.

It was a first time meeting for all but the original three. 

Sketchers are very quiet, modest people.  Once they start to draw, they become so still, so absorbed,  that they nearly disappear.  The only way you can tell that they are not meditating is that they look up now and then, only to return to sketching.  Lynn Cohen is our only self-described extrovert and she is also still very quiet about it.

Father and Daughter with Hats by Aikya Param

As you see from the photograph of the last remaining four sketchers, sun hats were de rigeur. 

One of the high points of any sketchcrawl is a chance to check out other people's sketching equipment, including but not limited to: type of sketchbook, portable stools, pens, traveling watercolor kits, brushes, means of transporting water (if any), unique personal additions like spray bottles or blotting material. This we did at lunch and throughout the day.




Man on a Cell Phone by Aikya Param

Halo of Curls by Aikya Param

At lunch time, we delighted in looking at the art from other times and classes in each other's sketchbooks.  Lynn had brought her recently competed book from a trip through Europe, a treasure for her and a treat for us to view..  Although she had posted drawings from it as she completed them on her trip, the color was much more vivid when viewed in my own hands. Lynn is one who does sketch daily.

Dale shared her Fabriano Sketchbook which she has filled with charming colorful sketches that completely fill each page, both sides. Both Dale and Lynn have a charming sense of color that is unique to each.  
Pat Tong is a fine cartoonist.  She said she had done a book.  The cartoon characters have a definite dash, lots of movement.  Her sketches were impressive as well.  To me it looked like her pictures emerged methodically  from an image in her mind.


Margo Rivera-Weiss

Chatting in the Sun by Aikya Param

At present, I look a lot and sketch comparatively little. I left with a few sketches and others had done many more, including whole scenes. I must let myself be as I am for now and keep at it.


At lunch several of us began making portraits of each one in the group. I was, once again, slow on the uptake, but still I was pleased with the resulting sketch of Margo Rivera Weiss.  She said I'd made her look younger and that made her happy.

It was such a glorious day!  We were filled with sunshine, fresh air, the joy of meeting new friends and a few more sketches in each of our books.  The next get together will be in Clayton, a town Dale knows well.  It has some fine old buildings which are much less elaborate than John Muir house. I'll miss that and join again in January.