Exploring Los Angeles Neighborhoods

...continuing west on Sunset Blvd. through the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake...small cafes and shops, and lots of interesting people!


At an intersection on Sunset,
there's a tiny, green polka-dotted plaza
called "L.A.'s first pedestrian plaza conversion".
Local residents shoot a few hoops
while others enjoy the summer afternoon...

...at a small, weekday farmer's
market, the bluesman sets the mood
with some casual riffs...

...a block south of Sunset on Vendome, a narrow side street, is an important Los Angeles cultural site...the original location for Laurel and Hardy's 1932 film, "The Music Box"...what a treasure!  It's used by neighborhood people walking their dogs, and film fans regularly visit.  You can't help but wonder how they ever got a piano up those steps!

Exploring Los Angeles Neighborhoods

...heading west on Sunset Blvd. next takes you through Silver Lake.  I spent the first 7 years of my life in this neighborhood...perhaps it wasn't as hip then, but it's always been the home of artists, film makers and other creative people...

The hilly neighborhood just north
of Sunset as you leave Echo Park
heading towards Silver Lake...

When you're out drawing on location, you never know what you'll see!  I was sitting at the corner of Sunset and Silver Lake Blvd., almost finished with my sketch of this green jewel of a hamburger restaurant...

...when around the corner came a group of bicyclists whooping and hooting...as you'll notice, minus the usual bicycle gear!  I later discovered that I just happened to witness the "Los Angeles World Naked Bike Ride"!  This was going on in cities around the world that day...






A few blocks west, I found a corner with interesting views in all directions...El 7 Mares, old and new houses across the street, and street-side "antiques" for sale on Sunset Blvd...

Exploring Los Angeles Neighborhoods

...my favorite subject is the city where I was born, Los Angeles.  It is sprawling, ever-changing, so there's always opportunity to discover new neighborhoods or re-discover old ones...I have been drawing Los Angeles by neighborhoods...here are some sketches of Echo Park...

I remember when the lake had lotuses...which seemed to suddenly and mysteriously disappear.  Last year it was still a favorite spot for families to gather.  It has now been drained, and is undergoing reconstruction. Hope to see the paddle boats and the lotuses return some day!








Echo Park is an interesting neighborhood of vintage clothing, antiques, music, botanicas, many ethnic cafes--some views along Sunset Blvd...

Evening into Night

...is a favorite subject of mine--fading daylight, when colors shift and then deepening into night...

 early evening on Sunset Blvd.
along the bluffs between Echo Park
and Silver Lake...

 a watercolor sketch at sunset...

fading sunset on a Los Angeles
neighborhood street...

last light on the longest day of the year, last June...

night in Los Angeles neighborhoods...

July 4th fireworks seen over the freeway...

and Christmas lights...

Exotic Los Angeles Buildings

...is a subject I've only begun to explore!  As a Los Angeles native, I love the "anything goes" attitude that extends even to architecture...from very modern to numerous "revival" styles...and of course the truly exotic buildings...

Drawing downtown...two views of Gehry's Disney Concert Hall..I will tackle this fabulous building again!

I love the shapes and colors in Meier's Getty Center...

...and the slightly eccentric Japanese Gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art by Bruce Goff...

The Hollyhock House was Frank Lloyd Wright's first building in Los Angeles, commissioned by Aline Barnsdall and built in 1921--now part of Barnsdall Park--is often referred to as "Mayan Revival".  He called it "California Romanza"...

...and the Self-Realization Fellowship with its lotus finials on  Sunset Blvd...

The spires of the Holy Transfiguration Russian Orthodox Church rise above a derelict super market...from Sunset Blvd.

Griffith Observatory

There are many wonderful buildings in Los Angeles, but my favorite for many reasons is the Griffith Observatory.  It sits like a crown jewel on a hill north of the city, looking down, as well as up at the stars.  I love the shape, deco-inspired style, and the fact that I, like every Los Angeles child, visited there on a school field trip.  I've sketched it from different locations over the years...and will likely do more...

A view from Sunset Blvd...

...view from a Kaiser waiting room...

...at the Observatory