100 Views of Silicon Valley: Apple Park Visitor Center

I wanted to paint Apple Park for quite some time, looked into different options of approaching the building and even tried to talk security into letting me in so that I can have a good view at the new Apple Inc. headquarters a famous spaceship building from up close. But it did not work :) They were very nice though and pointed that there is a great view from the top of the visitor center - which is where I ended up.

100 Views of Silicon Valley: Mountain View Public Library and Little Free Library in Palo Alto.

I painted Mountain View Public Library and one of the "take a book - leave a book" - little free library houses that sprung in the valley during the last few years. It's a great system for book exchange - supported by neighborhoods and you can learn a lot about the people who live next to it if you look closely :)

Sketchbook #113: Trip to Bonaire - Underwater Sketching / Scuba Diving with a Sketchbook

On my recent trip to Bonaire, I spent quite a bit of time underwater sketching everything I saw. This year I decided to prepare my sketches from the underwater adventures in a way so that you could imagine how they look in real life when I just exited the water. Previously (and you can find more sketches in my Underwater Sketching Flick album or search this site by the "scuba diving with a sketchbook tag") I cleaned scans of my sketches as much as possible - but I believe it's interesting to see them this way sometimes :)

Sketchbook #113: Trip to Bonaire

Travel sketching is an amazing habit - I see more and better while I am on the road but also when I get home and scan everything - or look through my old sketchbooks - I get to re-live all the adventures :)

Sketchbook #113: Hummingbird Nest Story

One wonderfully sunny morning I saw a hummingbird dive into a tree just outside my kitchen window. And then again. And again. There were quite a few old leaves still on the tree and quite a few new ones - but with a bit of searching and binoculars I soon realized that there is a new nest in progress!


I was very excited and kept my observations (from a quiet spot), took notes on how often the bird would grab a piece of spiderweb from my succulents or how she would stop by the fuchsia flower for a snack. And I tried to sketch - though it was pretty hard - with the amount of camouflage and a need for binoculars to see even a little bit. You can see most of my sketches below.


Unfortunately at some point the nest was abandoned. There was a big rain and who knows what else might have contributed but the project was scrapped without investing into eggs.

I know that the bird is well as she keeps coming to take parts of this nest and flies away with them :)

Sketchbook #113: Wisteria in Gouache and Watercolor

Sketchbook #113: Treasures

I think this was a snapdragon flower :)

Sketchbook #113: People

More people in my sketchbook: Reading time, fellow sketcher I met in a cafe (we sketched each other but did not connect more than that - too many people in between :) and more from my life drawing class - which is working on a black belt in taekwondo right now :)

Sketchbook #113: Ocean

Sketchbook #113: Drawing People / Mothers Day 2018

Drawing people is hard for me - not the drawing itself but the way some people react to the results. I am happy with the sketch of a person if I can recall that moment, conversation, interaction - when I was drawing. If I feel that I got something about that person right - be it a curve of an eyebrow or a shape of a nostril or a turn of a head. It's a pretty low standard but it gets me drawing more. It also means that a lot of people cannot recognize themselves or their ear on the page. And sometimes they are so upset that I don't draw them any more. So - before this Mother's day I would like to thank my Mom who is always happy to be drawn/painted/sketched by me. Through the many years and many stages of my drawing abilities and habits I can always count on her enthusiasm. Thank you Mom!

Below are some recent examples of my most understanding subjects - fellow urban sketchers, kids, dogs and parents :)

Sketchbook #113: Lilac

I enjoyed this wonderful bouquet for almost two weeks before it found it's new home in a compost bin. It kept me company through many meals and teas. But I did not draw it enough.

Sketchbook #113: Lilac and Look at My Sketchbook in Unedited format.

I was super excited to find first lilac of the season in March and spent some time sitting by the bush and painting. People were passing me by and one of them made a comment and then did not go away. This happens sometimes - people hang around as I work and I usually don't pay attention. But then this guy started working on the bush and I realized that this is HIS LILAC :) We started talking, he shared some info about hummingbirds nests that were on my mind lately and I ended up getting a couple of amazing branches as a present :)


My sketchbooks live in my bag and get quite a bit of beating, in addition to this I like to keep all my sketches in the same place - so I end up taping / glueing / sticking in /making envelopes etc. to keep everything in one place. This is why my sketchbooks sometimes look like this (this is an unedited scan) :)

I will try and make a video flipping through some of them soon :)

Sketchbook #113: Black Belt Training

I try almost all the exercises that these black belt candidates do and find it extremely surprising that they can keep at them for such a long time. Though doing it on your own and in a group are two different things. Hopefully, all of them will make it to the black belt in June...

Sketchbook #113: My Life Drawing Class

Another series of quick gestured during the sparring. Black belt training continues.

100 Views of Silicon Valley: Los Altos