Madison Ave House

It's been a very long time since I'd uploaded anything on here.  I have been doing some sketches off and on over the years. 

This is my latest sketch of a house out on Madison Ave.  As you can see, I'm starting to experiment more with layout and lettering. 

Sweet Moses

Went early this morning before there would be a lot of cars parked along Detroit Avenue that would block my view.  Also, to avoid temptation from the incredible ice cream inside Sweet Moses.

Sweet Moses has been open about 5 years at this point.  I've gone several times, and each time it was a fond memory because of the food and the friends.  One of the first visits I'd made was with my sketching buddies after we'd sketched the Garden Walk on Clinton.  We all got ice cream cones and sat outside eating. 

Jay Avenue

International Children's Theater Festival and ANTS

Playhouse Square hosted the International Children's Theater Festival on Mothere's Day where they had plenty of activities for families.  It was our second sketch outing for the spring, and luckily, both days we'd scored beautiful weather, just a slight chill in the breeze. 

The Ants performed the top of the hour, moving breadcrumbs.  They little kids had to figure out how to help the Ants move the crumbs and how to set them up.  The Ants never spoke, and just made clicking noises.  One of the other sketchers noticed that the people in the costumes must have really studied ants, because they moved their heads in a manner that made them very convincing. 

It was good to get out with the sketchers for a good sunny day and catch some sun.  It was the first time we actually needed sunscreen.  And, people laugh, but my car always has a snow shovel and sunscreen in it.  Because, well, you never know!

August Sketch Outing

Went out with my sketching group on Sunday, August 30th, 2015 to sketch Franklin Castle on the near west side of Cleveland.  After a quick sketch on that location, I walked down a few blocks to a house I saw on a corner with giant sunflowers.  This was a nice and quiet location with some decent shade.  Although there were threats of rain and thunderstorms, during our outing we were pretty rain free.  It had only started to sprinkle as we were all packing up.

Gypsy Bean

 

Wow, it has been a very long time since I've posted on here, so I got some catching up to do.  Here's a sketch I did a couple of weeks back when I met a sketching buddy on Detroit Ave at a coffee shop to sketch.  It was threatening to rain, so we sketched inside.  Of course, it never actually rained until we were heading home. Well, that's what happens with sketching, right?

Playhouse Square and Chandelier

This is from the sketch outing of the Urban Sketchers Cleveland this past June.  Never got around to posting them.  I was happy to get 2 sketches done, that's more than I usually get accomplished in the time we're there.  It was a great showing of sketchers, several new ones.

The chandelier was installed this year over the intersection of Euclid Ave and East 14th.  It's really big, and a lot of people showed up the night of the first light up.  It's really stricking, and the buildings around there are very detailed and historic.  I think that's why so many people showed up to sketch that day. 

Charlie's Restaurant

This was one of the busiest areas that I've ever sketched.  Though, just cars.  Only one person passed me while I was drawing, and he offered to get me a drink.  It took a little longer to draw, just because there were times when there was enough traffic blocking my view when the lights would change.

I've been wanting to draw this little place for a long time.  It's in the corner of a shopping strip parking lot, facing the street, it's back to the parking lot.  I just love how half of it looks like a dog house and has two howling dogs painted on it.

It's one of those places that I couldn't get any other sketchers to join me at, so I went myself this morning. 

I'm going to run out of days where it's comfortable to sketch soon.  Today, it wasn't cold, but I did have to wear a serious coat.  You know the winter weather is coming, look at the ad I drew for a coat that is "like a down jacket, but stronger." 

The rear end of a red car you see, that's mine.

Another Tremont House

Here's another house within walking distance of where I live.  I really like how the siding is vertical, nice and different from most houses around here. 

Clover Avenue

The tan house on the left is where I live, and the green house on the right is another house on the street.  This is a short street, and it'd be great to sketch them all, but so many of them are almost completely obstructed by trees.  That's a good thing, usually, unless you want to get a good sketch of it from across the street.

 

Scranton Road House

This house is on Scranton Road in the Tremont area of the city.  There are a lot of houses of this style, but they all look different.  This one is one of my favorites.  It was such a nice morning today to be outside and sketching, so I "jumped" at the chance.  And, by "jumped," I mean that it took me a bit to get moving this morning, but it's always one of those things that I'm happier when I've gone out and sketched, than if I didn't. 

The sun was getting high in the sky, making it a bit hard to see toward the end, but as always, people were very nice when I'm out and sketching.

It was weird, but then I ran a couple errands, and everyone out and about in Tremont and Ohio City were all so nice today.  At the grocery store, people were dancing around the aisles to the store's music and chatting up with each other.  When I went to go to the bakery (which was closed), people were stopping to wave me in and out of traffic.  The guy at the car wash let me go before him. 

You can't beat these final nice days of the year.  Everyone's a little nicer.

Steelyard Commons

I have to admit, I sketch at Steelyard Commons because it's easy.  It's very close, and I can sketch from my car when it's rainy or chilly.  There are a lot of things down there to sketch, because there are relics from the old steelyard that used to inhabit that part of the city.

Sokolowski's University Inn

I drew Sokolowski's early one Sunday morning.  That way I wouldn't be tempted by the great smells wafting from inside.  It is great food, but it's heavy food.  They serve in a cafeteria line where you get dessert first.

It's Still Jacobs Field to Us

I usually go to one Indias' game a year.  I do enjoy being at the ballpark, but it's not all that affordable, so I only go when the tickets are free.  I got 2 free tickets from buying gas over the summer from BP, so I invited a good friend to go with me.  We were sitting way up at the top, like may be 8 or 9 rows from the top.  The park isn't all that big, so you could still see very well.

Now, here's the thing about things in Cleveland.  Even though it's been Progressive Field for a couple of years now, everyone in Cleveland still calls it Jacobs' Field, which was its original name when it opened in 1994.  It's not that we're making a statement against Progressive Insurance, mind you.  It's just that we do that with everything.  In fact, old schoolers around here, refer to Macy's as May Company, and those stores haven't been May Company probably for 30 years (and they were Kaufmann's in between), and they referred to Dillard's as Higbees.  Quicken Loans Arena is still call the Gund, and let's face it, that's going to stick because Quicken Loans doesn't roll off of the tongue at all.  I'm sure it's confusing when we give directions to people, because when we tell them to pass Jacob's Field or the Jake, they'll never find it. 

Wendy Park

Sketching last Sunday along the Cuyahoga River was great.  The weather was sunny, but not too hot, a nice breeze, and some good shade.  Sketched with some of the other urban sketchers, and it was great to see a couple people that I haven't seen in a while.  Wendy Park is an odd location, because it's out in the open, but tricky for people to find. 

You can see how worth it the trip is, though.  The sights of the city are quite amazing.  To the left of what I sketched is Browns' stadium and to the right is the Terminal Tower and more of downtown.  It's hard to decide on one thing to sketch.  One of the ladies also drew some of the fishermen (some of which had more luck than others). 

The only bad part was that I forgot my bagged lunch at home.  :-(

Garden Walk Cleveland 2013

Sketched out on Clinton Ave. for the Garden Walk Cleveland 2013.  Houses are chosen that have wonderful gardens to be featured on the walk, and people from all over visit private and public gardens.  This house was wonderful, and the owner said that she was quite crafty.  You could tell.  She had paper stars hanging out front, wreaths, and a nice board in the back that explained what all was in her vegetable patch. 

Townhouse Near MetroHealth

Caught a bit of a sunburn..... Not sure what I was thinking when I sat in the clear sun with no sunscreen on.  This building is adorable, and it's on a little side alley near MetroHealth.  I just love how the doors are all different colors and are so vibrant.  The building is a little more orange than I portrayed in the sketch.

I just love walking and exploring, because you can always find the neatest little gems to sketch.  And, it's sometimes something that seems perfectly ordinary, like this row of townhouses.

I did get nervous while sketching, because two people came along and were going to go grocery shopping, and one asked the other, "Should we take the truck or walk?"  I was drawing the green SUV at the time, and I was worried that they were going to haul it away.  But, they decided to walk. . . . .Plus, that might not have been their truck anyhow.

West 25th and Meyer

Not far from where I live now on the near west side is this great warehouse with a terrific water tower on top.  I've driven by it for years, and I've always wanted to sketch it.  And, as I've learned in the past, never put these things off, because things get torn down with no notice or can burn down.

Slyman's

This little building on St. Clair is a food institution in Cleveland.  It's Slyman's, best known for their giant corned beef sandwiches.  There doesn't appear to be much else around them, except at lunch time, there can be quite a long line to get in.  The only thing bigger than that, is the line for corned beef on St. Patrick's Day.

Euclid Ave. Steeple

If you drive on Euclid Avenue around the Cleveland Clinic, you've probably passed this steeple.  It's just behind the parking lot of the CVS.  I always really liked this kind of thing, and I am so glad that it hasn't been torn down.