The Christians

In San Francisco while waiting on the cable car at Market & California I would kill time by sketching the locals. There would be police standing around directing traffic or a construction worker in an orange vest stopping pedestrians from getting crushed by the cable car. Amid the chaos, standing quietly and patiently were the Christian representatives with their leaflet stands and bibles. They would be there in all weather. The masses scampering to or from work never engaged with them. About the only souls to interact with them were aggressive drunks who would hurl abuse but the Christians would remain stoic or smile politely.

Sketchcrawl-San Francisco Museums

Leaving San Francisco I'll miss its world-class museums. I saw some great exhibitions and there are countless artifacts to draw in their collections.

The DeYoung Museum

The Legion of Honor

'Hamadryas Baboon' ca. 1910 Rembrandt Bugatti

Asian Art Museum

Bay Area Sketchcrawl summer 2014

 The 'Russian Mansion' on Alamo Square.

 Haight and Masonic. The nudist strolled past and into my picture, his modesty preserved by a golden fig leaf! The freaks, hippies, beatniks and junkies still flourish in Haight Ashbury.

 A trip to Berkeley Marina. The pier above stretches 3000 ft into the Bay!

 Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero.

 A couple views from the top of Piedmont Cemetery with Downtown Oakland in the background and the Bay behind.

These old navy vets were in full uniform for a memorial service. They each carried a rifle and fired a salute for their departed brother.

Japantown

This house on 'Billionaire's Row' in Pacific Heights looks like a Greek temple.

Mansion over-looking the Bay on Lafayette Square. Apparently the largest private residence in San Francisco and owned by Danielle Steele.

San Francisco Noir

SF based illustrator Ben Walker and I went on a themed sketch-crawl over the July 4th holiday. Inspired by a recent article in the NY Times on Dashiel Hammett's connection to the city.

We trailed Hammett all over San Francisco. We started at 891 Post St where  Sam Spade's detective agency was based in the Tenderloin. Then on to Burritt Alley to see the site where Spade's partner was killed. A plaque marks “On approximately this spot, Miles Archer, Sam Spade’s partner, was done in by Brigid O’Shaughnessy.”

 This is a view from Dashiel Emmett alley

With still no sign of Hammett we broke for lunch at Lori's Diner, on Powell to compare notes.  We gum-shoed it down to the Flood Building on Market Street, where Hammett was employed as a private dick for the Pinkerton's.

Near Union Sq. we bribed the doorman of a downtown hotel where Hammett was known to stay. There's even a suite named after him. . . 

Around the corner is Hammett's favorite hang-out, John's Bar & Grill. Still in business as a restaurant and now the HQ of the Hammett Society. The author is said to have written much of 'The Maltese Falcon' at a booth here.

We went inside and smooth-talked the dame on the front desk. She let us go upstairs and find the famous falcon itself.

Pinkerton's were on to us so we high tailed it through the Stockton Tunnel and laid low in North Beach. We had a tip-off that Hammett liked to drink at Tosca cafe but we lost him in the crowd. We sat outside a cafe and observed the wild-life on Broadway.

He was elusive, kept to the shadows but we're gumshoes and we'll find him. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon ... 

Time-lapse inking

A friend commissioned me to work up a version of the sketch I made of North Beach landmarks Vesuvio's and City lights Book store. I roughed it out in pencil, threw down a light wash then while inking it I thought I'd try and record it in a time-lapse video.

Drawing San Francisco

Sketching around town . . .

 Film shoot in North Beach with fake snow

 

On Grant Avenue, Chinatown

 Mission Dolores cemetary

16th street

 Japantown

18th Street diner

Shoeshine booth on Market St.

Drawing in a Mission dive bar with JSG, Melodie & Matt Cruickshank. Crookie did a finger drawing of an artist painting outside the window.

Macabre

The spooks, freaks and ghouls were out in force early November for my favorite celebration of the Fall season -the Mexican Day of the Dead. Matt Cruickshank and I steeled our nerves, girded our loins, sharpened our pencils and unsheathed our Tombows to spend the evening sketching amongst the living dead.  

Halloween

An evening with the Tiger Lillies- haven't seen them since 'Shockheaded Peter' played London-early 2000s. They played legendary San Francisco nightspot Bimbo's. Sketches & lyrics. . .

I saw Iggy Pop play a small gig in San Jose in October- still full of beans!