Road to Palooza

...another great show directed by Stefan Haves, Comic Act Designer with Cirque du Soleil, this time at the Pasadena Playhouse.  It was a kind of modern vaudeville variety show, featuring artists who have starred in Cirque du Soleil shows around the world, mixed with local comics, magicians, jugglers, acrobats and musicians.  I loved trying to catch the action by sketching non-stop...

 Street performers greeted us in the
courtyard of the theater...

My favorite act was this very surreal, giant puppet-clown with impossibly long arms balancing his red balloon ball...on either side here, a troupe of "Stomp" style performers with percussive washing machines...

 A tap dancer extraordinaire, and broom-juggling "janitor"...

This guy was billed as the "world's greatest hula hoop artist", and I don't doubt it...

People

...in a panoramic sketchbook format, thinking of ways to create more of a story...

At the Getty Center...

India Sweet and Spices, a big Indian grocery store with a vegetarian restaurant...a picture of Yogananda smiles beneficently from behind the counter and a grandmother sits and watches all that happens.  All kinds of people shop in here for treats and delicacies, and watch musicals from Bollywood...















At the eastern end of Echo Park on Sunset is a great taco restaurant...Guisados.  Office workers from downtown gather here for lunch...

Olvera Street, the oldest part of Los Angeles...a great place for a post-Barcelona Urban Sketchers reunion with Shiho, Chris and John...

  ...and then in anticipation of teaching a sketching on location workshop at Descanso Gardens again, I spent some time in the garden, making small sketches, back to the basics of line, shape and tone (which I never get tired of!)

           

Back at The Drawing Club...

Daniella brings grace and style to her portrayal of the Cabaret performer...at The Drawing Club...

...and Steve as the French Chef...

...and just for fun, a view of the artists
of The Drawing Club with the Chef onstage...

Quick-sketching people in Barcelona...

In July, I was delighted to be part of the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Barcelona as a workshop instructor.  "Drink and Draw" (as well as "eat and draw") was the favorite evening activity--nice to be in company where it wasn't at all rude to stop talking, and just sketch your dinner companions!  I did just a few...

On my first jet-lagged night...

...and the next night at the local tapas bar...










...and during a spectacular late night vegetarian feast...











It was great to also take workshops from artists I really admire, Melanie Reim and Luis Ruiz.
During Melanie's workshop "Channeling Picasso", I sketched
what appeared about to be a police action on Las Ramblas...







...and people in the quieter Pla dels Angels as part of Luis Ruiz's workshop "Actors and Stage"...

Some quick sketching in the wonderful marketplace, La Boqueria...












....and a relaxed morning after the Symposium at the Parc del Laberint d'Horta, the Labyrinth Park, a lovely historical garden with an maze, palace and pavilions...

More sketches of Barcelona may be found at my location sketching blog.

Summer People

Some very quick sketches made at the newly reopened Echo Park-- people out enjoying summer.  These were made on several days with record heat.  Too much for some to just look at that beautiful water, they just had to wade in!

Here I'm focusing on people as part of an urban landscape, but sometimes their individual stories just ask for attention...

It is so wonderful to see the lotuses returning...and the popsicle sellers making the rounds of the park with cart bells tinkling...

...and the magic of seeing a Quinceanera party across the lake...the Quinceanera herself in a lovely turquoise gown, and her damas, chambelanes and photographer surrounding her...

Quick-sketching people...

I have a huge respect for fashion illustrators who can sketch a semblance of what they see as the model struts a runway!  I made an attempt at the Otis Student Fashion Show in May, as models moved around on stage.  The students work with industry mentors, and present their work as groupings--fabulous work!  I tried to catch at least a silhouette or 2...here are a few...

More quick sketching, this time at the Southern California Renaissance Faire...
fun to draw people in and out of costume and character!

 Sketching people out and about...having breakfast in La Canada, a family enjoying Descanso Gardens, and visitors to the Santa Monica Pier...