In a Cemetery with South Bay Sketchers

On a recent Sunday I went sketching with my local sketch group, South Bay Sketchers, to the Santa Clara Mission Cemetery. It was a gorgeous no-clouds, blue-sky kinda day with brilliant sunshine and great shadows on the tombstones and sculptures. We sketched in the old part of the cemetery , with tombstones dating back to the 1800s.

Sometimes I’ll take just one brush along and decide to use only that. Why? As a way to not just revert to the usual, and to get to know what my less-used tools can do. This time I took along a 3/4 inch flat brush. Used in a 9×12″ ringbound Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook. I like this version because I can fold it over, or better still, let a still-wet page hang loose while I move on to my next piece.

I’ve never labelled my books so far, but now there are literally hundreds of them sitting on my shelf and it’s not fun to go find a sketch I want to scan sometimes( I don’t scan sketches on a regular basis: I find scanning boring and I sketch too much to do it, I only scan commissioned work or work I sell prints of. ) So I’ve started putting notes on the cover. Hardly a legit book classification system, but it’s a start.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and are looking for a group to go sketch with, consider joining the South Bay Sketchers. We’re a friendly bunch of Urban Sketchers who meet once a month at an organized location, sometimes once like this cemetery that require special permission and we’re open to just about anyone: no teaching, no skill level requirements, nothing. Just a time to sketch and meet other sketchers.