More Sketches at Echo Park

...still getting ready for my workshop at the Urban Sketchers Symposium!  I'll be posting sketches from Barcelona very soon (sorry to be late in updating here!)

A panorama view of the lake and the fountain with downtown Los Angeles in the background.  Echo Park reopened in June after being closed for 2 years while the lake was drained.  Today it looks fresh and beautiful!

 I fed the ducks here as a child...this fellow was clearly hoping I had a snack for him, and let me sketch him for a bit...

Two views of the "Lady of the Lake" who presides over the park...a 1930's WPA-era statue by Ada May Sharpless...

 Around noon on a hot summer day you begin to hear the bells ringing--the popsicle sellers start making the rounds of the park with their carts.  A great way to beat the heat--a mango chile popsicle!











Before the park closed, the garden of floating lotuses that practically filled the lake in late summer mysteriously disappeared.  Happily, they are returning!  On a very hot day, in spite of the "no swimming" signs, many just couldn't resist a dip in that fresh-looking lake...

 

I was preparing to leave the park, and a vision appeared across the lake...a Quinceanera arrived with her attendants and photographer in a magnicent turquoise float of a gown. Her damas wore paler shades of turquoise, and her chambelanes were elegant in black suits in spite of the hot afternoon...

And finally, a panorama sketch that was part of a step by step process of moving into color while thinking in values with a limited palette of complimentary colors...

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...