… at the LA central library due to rain.  It’s been a while since I participated and it was a lot of fun with good turn out.

the grand rotanda area with Dean Cornwell’s murals.

children’s book area with big lamps and stuffed animals.

– last but not least, the women’s room was really cool.

It was great meeting artists, but also on exhibit at the library was the “world of William Joyce” and “Sketches and drawings of  Neutra”.  Both really inspirational.  To top it off, I went to the opening of “Curiouser and Curiouser: Inspired by ‘Alice In Wonderland” show at Gallery Nucleus with Vivian and Chito.

very rare Arroyo – when a river actually looks like a river!

Wayne Thiebaud: 70 years of Painting

few years ago, I didn’t care much for his paintings.   I can appreciate his works today. Also on view were portraits by Ray Turner.

i was very inspired today.

unfortunately overcast, but a picture perfect family shot at Disneyland

Awesome show at Santa Monica pier.

the left wing -

metrolink

NJ transit – what are you doing out here?

This year, instead of competing for hotels by the convention center, we stayed at Old Town which is accessible by the trolley.

we also stopped by the SD natural history museum to see William Stout’s murals.

the great Fig tree sketch outside the museum

An annual pilgrimage to the comic con.  Getting crazy every year where you can’t move down the aisle to get to a booth.  Here are some sketches -

view from the convention center.

waiting for portfolio review and panels.

outside Ballroom 20 – tons of people and costumes everywhere.

Went to the Huntington to look at some plants.

trying to capture the light pattern in the bamboo area.

I focused on the dessert plant area.

- these guys reminded me of a character from moomin

- and this looks like mononoke

- and this guy just begged for a mouth to be drawn.

Little did I know that Michael Jackson was dieing while I was sketching ..

We signed up for a private tour and got to see behind the scenes of cheatahs, lions, and in-depth tour of the africa area.  After seeing all the species co-exist in their natural living environemnt and running around, I felt bad for the animals at the regular zoo. They have nutritionists that figure out specific diet for each species.   The lions here are well fed (Natural Balance carnivoiur food) and they looked real plump compared to the scrawny ones at LA Zoo.  What really struck me was that a lot of species are beyond “rescue”.  Under guidance of Species Survival Plan, any babies born within the instutions are carefully matched for mating.  These species, close to extinction, can not be returned to the wild because of local hunting etc.  We saw 2 of maybe 6 remaining Northern white Rhinos.  The Zoo’s are swarmed with controvercy, but one of their major role will be to educate the public.

they also had a fun attraction called Dino Mountain.  Pretty convincing this one ..

went to MonsterPalooza and UP presentation by story artist Ronnie Del Carmen.

part of the Museums of the Arroyo Day

Victorian homes from down town were moved to this location to give way for development back in the 1900s. Some sketches below of the houses and interior.

—- at Natural History Museum.  The crowd and kids were more than I can handle.  But seeing these large and beautiful insects were inspiring.  It felt a little cruel to me after a while..  pinned down and displayed and sold..

These walking sticks and huge katydids reminded me of faeries and creatures from Pans Labrynth.  Origami artist Robert Lang was there presenting the math behind folding something from 1 peice of paper.  His origami insects were on display.  Simply amazing..

check out his website

I am stuck in a creative “low”.. i can’t draw, I can’t paint, can’t read more than a page of a book, wah wah wah.  kinda like stuck in muddy water instead of being in a rapid stream.

so instead of my blog being a “sketch blog”, here are some rants and what I’ve been up to.

5/9 – Went to see the California art club show at PMCA.  But I was more impressed with the works at Michael Hollis gallery.  Really nice works from Robert Watts and John Budicin to name a few. We went there as a part of South Pasadena art festival.
=================================
5/10 – It’s been a while since we went to a theater to watch a movie instead of a DVD at home.  startrek was definitely something that should be watched on a big screen.  I’ve never been a treckie, but really enjoyed the movie.
=================================
5/12 – watched “space shuttle disaster” on PBS nova.  As we speak, the real astronauts are in space fixing the Hubble.  yyuep. I was suppose to be one of them.  How I ended up down on earth creating crappy art, I don’t know..
NASA Astronaut Watches New Star Trek Movie in Space

The Science of Star Trek
=================================
5/15 -  went to Skirball to see

“ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938–1950″ .  Duncan also signed up for a special screening of Solomon Kane.  I didn’t know anything about it, but it’s another creation by the conan guy Robert E Howard.
Saw this house in BeveryHills

Cool stuff I saw at the Huntington Library – Edison’s light bulbs

went to see a show called “Celestial Ash | Ancient Gods and Modern Politics” at the Craft and Folk Museum.  Found object, collage, installation stuff.

A sketch of Oasis theater I saw on the way:

Fun day on the LA river tour by the Friends of LA river.  The history behind the river and the city was interesting, but best of all, I enjoyed the access to places most people just drive by.

The water level was exceptionally high.

Arroyo Seco meets LA river

A little abstract photo – guess where?

awesome show..

A semi private open house for a fund raiser.  I made these guys for a silent auction.  At the end of the day, they all found a home

Tango with Cows – Book art of Russian avant-garde

Dialogue among Giants: Carleton Watkins and the Rise of Photography in California

A Light Touch: Exploring Humor in Drawing

This event spans Highland park, Eagle rock and we had to just choose 1 or 2 sections.  the artists were all inspiring, and I personally enjoyed discovering the neighborhoods that you wouldn’t know exsisted.

went to a Gris Grimly event that was held at the Magic Castle.  It was a really cool night with original art exhibit, magic shows and close up parlor.  I liked the castle itself and the interiors too.  No cameras unfortunately.  Some sketches from the night -

Went to see an exhibit on Japanese art from the Edo period.  This is the first time I saw works by an artist names Ito Jakucchu and was very inspired.

some studies I did from the exhibit.  The long vertical format creates very interesting compositions

Ito Jackchu’s study of cranes in simplified shapes.