I had a short, uneventful doctor appointment today. Still, it’s funny how long they keep you in those little rooms. The experience would have been quite a bit more challenging if it weren’t for the handy sketchbook. At one point I was hoping the doctor would delay coming in so I could finish the sketch – ha.
We took a hike along with three other families yesterday to Switzer Falls. It was great, probably 10 kids in all, hiking along the creek and up over a 100 foot ridge (a little scary). At the end of the trail is a small waterfall that empties into a pool. We had lunch and a little swim. I did some hasty sketching.
There was a big, fallen tree leaning against the rock wall near the falls. The highlight of the hike came during the walk back. There was a three-foot rattlesnake that slithered off the path and into the stream! I’ve never actually seen one outside of the zoo.
Today we all went to a deli-market place with a beautifully landscaped little patio area in the back with so many ferns and trees that I got overwhelmed. I had this idea of putting poor Howard’s head at the bottom of the page to make room for folliage. (I’m trying to do the “click to enlarge” more often now.)
No exaggeration in scale here, I swear. The fact that I was sitting down and he was closer to me probably helped emphasize their size differences.
I left the studio momentarily to walk across the street for a cup of coffee. After ordering my double-latte I noticed that two out of the three people sitting in there were reading movie scripts. This guy was taking notes on his. Hollywood.
Well, that was it for the “uploadable” camping pictures. Back to the urban / suburban reality of Los Angeles. Vacations are great for bringing on new ideas, thinking up new thoughts and having weird dreams…
The kids caught this monster then let him (her?) back loose in the wilds exactly where they found it. I just spent 15 minutes during my lunch hour coloring it (the original sketch here). I’ve been needing to practice using digital color and sometimes these sketches prove to be perfect guinea pigs (guinea bugs?). We couldn’t resist taking a picture of this bug while my son Jack held it. Click here to see – WARNING: not for the squeamish!
That’s Joan in the foreground left holding the flashlight reading to the kids before bedtime.
Anthony Zierhut 
