Octopus in a Bottle

Park Perusal

I really love spending time in Golden Gate Park. Specifically, I love spending time at the museums and the arboretum and the tea garden, which is what I did today. I went through the Gaultier exhibit at the De Young--sorry, no sketches there--and then hit the science museum. Here's two sketches from my wanderings.

Sea Dragons in the Steinhart Aquarium. Little buggers are hard to sketch because they are in a low-light area and swim around, so you have to sketch them one segment at a time. The security guard finally told me it was okay to take a picture as long as I didn't use a flash. (I was so glad, because I've never photographed 'em before, due to the No Photography signs. Turns out iPhone cameras are okay if no flash.)

Detail from the arch area over the amphitheatre on the Music Concourse.

More Sketches

The kitchen lounge area at Gibraltar Point's Artscape Center.

Steps near the hummingbird pool in the Strybing Arboretum.

La-La-La-Lembas!

I like to think that lembas tastes like madeline cookies.

Sketchbook Dump

Finally decanting all my sketches so far from my sketchbook. First, the Bernini Medusa sketches. I took lots of notes too about what visitors were saying, details of the sculpture, details of the room it was in, etc.

Miscellaneous Strybing Arboretum sketches, mostly taken during my walks for the 100 mile challenge.

Academy of Science sketches. The view from the underwater tunnel in the Steinhart Aquarium, branch in a cage, face, rodent skulls....

Dog Skull

From a sketch earlier this year. The California Academy of Sciences has a specimen room where you can sketch or examine things like skulls or shells or insects...etc.

Experiments and Grandma

Sketch of Grandma

My grandmother died the day after my birthday, and from Thursday to this morning, I was in Utah visiting with my family. During the funeral, I sketched this, and when I got home, I scanned it and started painting it.

It's still pretty rough right now, but thought I'd post an in prog shot:

Nautilus

From the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences.

Our friend, the chambered nautilus. I sketched him and took notes for colouring.

You aren't supposed to take flash photos of them because of light sensitivity. I DID take a non-flash photo with my iPhone before I saw the sign, but fortunately, not with a flash. Anyway, he was holding still and I thought it was a good sketching opportunity. Waaaay easier than the Seattle Aquarium where I constantly had people walking in front of me, even though I'd taken care to pick a tank with multiple vantage points.

This one had some really interesting cracks in his shell, and the banding pattern doesn't go all the way round, like it does on some of the other nautiluses. (Nautilii?)

Painted in Photoshop. The colour isn't strictly accurate--I have a couple layers where I painted the shell creamier, but in the end, I liked the dramatic colouring. (If you'd like to see what more accurate colouring looks like, here's a shot from the California Academy of Sciences: www.flickr.com/photos/calacademy/4463407840/in/set-721576... )