Sketchcrawl at Mecca on Main!

Please join us for the 24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. This is the third one hosted by Mecca on Main!
http://www.meccaonmain.com/

I am so crazily proud of this place, I can barely contain myself most days! Stop by the site for more information on the sketchcrawl, art classes, studio space, yoga classes, MECCA CAFE and and and...!!!

Hope to see you there tomorrow afternoon!
Lisa
meccaonmain@gmail.com

Austin Sketchers!

Sketchcrawl Austin Sketchers!, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

Here are some of the sketchers that joined in Austin. My sis, niece, Ed and Janet, Lara and Megan turned out for the first ever Austin sketchcrawl! Martha http://trumpetvine.com/sketchblog/ came all the way from Berkeley! We continued to crawl and I'll get those sketches posted in the days to come. A fun time was had by all!

Long Center-Thrill the World!

Sketchcrawl Austin Long Center, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We were there for the Thrill the World '08: A worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's THRILLER for a Guinness World Record
Hundreds of zombies gathered and danced in front of this building. I guess we weren't the only group gathering around the world! We didn't look as wild and crazy as they did---but we had just as much fun! I sketched the Long Center sans ghouls!

Sketchcrawl Austin Driscoll

Sketchcrawl Austin Driscoll, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We spent some time admiring the beautiful lobby of the Driscol Hotel in downtown Austin. I sketched one of this many gorgeous light fixtures. I seem to have a thing for lamps!

Sketching Stevie Ray

Sketchcrawl Austin Stevie Ray, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

Austin is known for many things, not the least of which is the great music scene. There is a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn on the banks of Lady Bird Lake and we stopped to sketch him. Stevie and I went to Kimball High School at the same time. He played music with some old friends of mine so that gives me less than six degrees of separation from one of the greats!

Sketchcrawl Austin Capital

Sketchcrawl Austin Capital, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

From below looking up at the magnificent rotunda at the Texas State Capital. It is built out of sunset red granite and will take your breath away. Yes, it is true, everything is bigger in Texas!

Sketchcrawl Austin

Sketchcrawl Austin Grid, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We did it! A group of us gathered in Austin for the World Wide sketchcrawl. We started on the steps of the State Capital and sketched for several hours, trekking across this great city, enjoying perfect fall weather. Here is some of what I put on paper that day.

World Wide Sketchcrawl--Austin Texas

A group of us gathered in Austin for the World Wide sketchcrawl. We started on the steps of the State Capital and sketched for several hours, trekking across this great city, enjoying perfect fall weather. Here is some of what I put on paper that day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisaloureed/2989006927/

Sketchcrawl #18

I went on my second Worldwide Sketchcrawl yesterday http://www.sketchcrawl.com/. Can you imagine people in 50 cities all mobilized at the same time to sketch the world as they see it? I am so priviledged to have had the chance to enjoy sketching in the glorious city of San Francisco. And, WOW, the number of talented and experienced artists that show up is incredible! Me, I just bumble along with my amateur sketches, enjoying the heck out of it!

Martha http://www.trumpetvine.com/ and I could have spent all day in the lobby of the charming Argonaut Hotel http://www.argonauthotel.com/index.html I am glad I got to see it again, as it was the first hotel that Charles and I stayed in when we began the process of moving to the Bay area, fours years ago. We are moving back to Texas in April so it was nice to have a little farewell sketching of the hotel and the city. The lobby is a design feast--every detail is impeccable. The furniture is all oversized and makes the place feel fantasy-like.

Stop by every now and then. My sketches will surely change flavor, as I start sketching my home state of Texas. Plus, Martha and I plan to meet around the globe for our own mini-crawls. How lucky I am to have made such a good friend in this world of sketching!

These sketches are just a tiny bit of how I saw San Francisco ...

Chinatown Alley

One of the things Martha, Cathy and I did on our Sketchcrawl was to explore the more quiet alleys in Chinatown. We went to the Fortune Cookie "Factory" which was so tiny, we had to stand single file to watch the one-woman process. Very cool....squirt...fold...cook. We resisted purchasing the "adult" fortune cookies and went for the chocolate ones! My fortune said, "Now is a good time for a new collection or hobby" :-)

Here is the way I saw the view of this short alley.

Sketchcrawl in Chinatown

What a grand day we had--75 sketchers crawling through Chinatown in San Francisco! I met my friend Martha at the Montgomery station and we proceeded to meet the group at a park before breaking out our sketchbooks. Turns out Martha is quite famous in the sketchworld! I couldn't draw worth a flip yesterday, so I didn't even share when we all met back up after a day of drawing. There was so much talent there, it was fantastic to see what everyone had done. I added a little watercolor to a couple of my sketches and am going ahead and posting them. I don't want to forget what a great day it was! There is just no better way to enjoy a small corner of the world than to look at it as if you were an artist!

Here is one of the delightful lamposts on Grant Street--at least that's the way I saw it!