Noodlers Lexington Gray ink

Square trees?

I saw these carefully pruned trees in a commercial area of Pasadena the other day, and thought they were funny enough to sketch. After a while I kind of got upset, thinking, “Who does this to a tree?” My first thought was of someone so uncomfortable with Nature’s random beauty that they had to square it off. Then it occurred to me that these are probably not trees at all, in fact they’re more than likely shrubs that grew up to tree-size, and they were probably always squared off, so why stop? It’s actually very funny, intentionally or not. I’d like to think it’s intentional.

February 22, 2013 0

2 Freeway and Verdugo Rd

February 14, 2013 0

Car wash sketches

I got the old Ford washed over the weekend. I loaded my Noodlers Ahab fountain pen with Lexington Gray ink and did a little sketching.

It’s a little-known fact that in Southern California the hottest month of the year is in fact September. That’s more anecdotal than scientific, but I don’t care, I swear it’s true. It was nice to draw a bit and get my mind off the blistering heat.

I started to draw this man’s wife or girlfriend, but she got up and moved. Oh well…

UPDATE: I did a little color work on these just for fun:

September 19, 2012 0

Camping – 2010! Concert

We went to the Henry Miller Library to see Black Francis in concert there. It’s a great venue to see music. A couple years back we had seen John Doe and Peter Case there. Very small, intimate venue – folding chairs on the grass, probably a couple hundred people max. I was not familiar with Black Francis, but was informed by my wife and cousin Jerry that he was in the Pixies. It was a great show, and a nice experience only a couple miles from the campsite.