I met up with Urban Sketchers Los Angeles at Santa Monica Pier yesterday; it was much easier to sketch the seated sketchers than the tourists walking by!
sketchy business
Tag: urbansketchersla
Kuruvunga Springs
Would you drink from a spring in the middle of Los Angeles? I did. It tasted fairly neutral, and I didn’t get sick. In fact, someone in the museum told my friend the water was reputed to be heal joint and muscle pain. Regardless, it was nice to drink water straight from the ground in the middle of a metropolis, with no ill-effects.
dracaena
I went to my first Urban Sketchers event in a year; we met at Kuruvunga Village Springs, which is only a 30 minute drive from home, but I’d somehow never heard of it before. This very large dragon tree caught my attention.
A couple of fun things happened when I arrived. First I saw a guy I worked with years ago, and his wife, and we had a nice catchup. He was just randomly visiting the springs that day, nothing to do with USK. Then, I overheard one of the other sketchers mention John Muir Laws, so I sidled over and told her about our new nature journal club. She was very interested and said she’ll come along. Yay!
silver lake skyline
I made a rare trip deep into the metropolis to catch up with some loved ones in Silver Lake and Echo Park. Rising tall and skinny above the traffic, graffiti, noise and grit—palm trees as far as the eye can see.
Kalaveras
I went to a new-to-me Mexican restaurant for lunch; my meal was delicious. I wondered at the preponderance of skulls in the decor, until I looked up the meaning of the establishment’s name and it all made sense.
Pleurotus eryngii
While in town yesterday, I made a special stop at the Japanese market to get mirin, but they wouldn’t sell it to me without photo ID, which I’d accidentally left at home. However, the visit wasn’t wasted … king oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii) were on sale.
Above the lagoon
The horseshoe-shaped mansion on the hill above Malibu lagoon and pier was previously owned by Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, now vice-president of Equatorial Guinea. “Known for his lavish lifestyle, he has been the subject of a number of international criminal charges and sanctions for alleged embezzlement and corruption.” (source) The US Justice Department forced him to sell this property in 2016, and the sale itself is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit … but that’s another story.
front seat sketching
Fast sketch from the car while waiting for a friend.
aloe arborescens
The Aloe aborescens is going off like fireworks!
waiting room
I spent some time in a light-filled chemo ward yesterday (I’m fine, I was there with a friend). Everyone who came through, both patients and staff, seemed cheerful and gentle. There was an air of optimism that felt good. I think it was partly the design of the space, and partly, I suppose, the quality of care. Patients are there to get better, and that was reflected in everyone’s tone. It was actually quite a lovely place to wait an hour or two.
hashiworks 