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...

More downtown views...

...at some favorite places to visit and draw in downtown Los Angeles...

I always love returning to the Grand Central Market to shop (and sketch, of course!)...

 

Valeria's is the greatest place to buy chiles...and other interesting things...

...and another sketch at Olvera Street, the oldest street in Los Angeles, and the center of El Pueblo De Los Angeles...these last two made during a Worldwide Sketchcrawl with the Los Angeles group...

...across the street at Union Station...

Drawing at the Huntington

A favorite location for many years has been Huntington Gardens...in all seasons...

Here I was experimenting with telling
a "story" in multiple panels and limited palette..

The Japanese Garden in spring...

                                       

A plant sale, and a bacchante...

A very hot summer day...

Films and TV are often shot at the Huntington
here's an elaborate movie set...

 

...and my favorite season, Chinese
New Year at the Huntington,
with persimmon-colored lanterns
hanging everywhere...

More Driving (Passenger!) Drawings...

...Here are more high-speed drawings, generally made on road trips, where I'm fortunate to be the passenger...

Driving in and out of town, morning and night...

Driving to Ventura County 

in the fall...

Driving east to the desert in the morning...

Going to Arizona on a quiet stretch of back road--wonderful, empty expanses!

at dusk...

at night...

going home...

More Drawing in the Desert

Driving out to Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park several times a year is something I really look forward to--such a contrast to my usual urban landscape...here are some recent drawings in the desert...

I never get enough of the sculpture of these Joshua Tree rocks against that blue sky...as the clouds move,,,the colors can change dramatically on the rocks...

 drawing the ruins of miners' cabins in Joshua Tree, and sketching on a walking tour of the Desert Queen Mine...

 On the outskirts of the desert town of Twentynine Palms...there's a wonderful feeling of space...

...and the cloud show changes every day!

The Mojave in spring...I sat on a hill and drew with an old rusted nail I found dipped in paint, and sloshed a bit of wash on with a Chinese brush...