From the Sketchbook: Private Beauty, Public Spaces

 

San Francisco Street near Presidio
8" x 8" on Fluid cold press paper, Field Watercolor Journal

The neighborhoods near the Presidio are posh and unaffordable for most of us. But the well-tended homes offer beauty for free for anyone who walks by. I was struck by these abundantly blooming rose bushes outside the home on the left and the way the yellow flowers were echoed by the yellow home on the right. 

I am trying to get back to more regular, quick sketches these days. With stand-alone paintings, I put a lot of pressure on myself to make them "good," but with the sketchbooks, the goal is just to capture a quick essence. 

The sketch may serve as a color or value study for a "real" painting...or it may just make me smile some day in the future. When I open this page I'll remember the fabulous day I had with my mate as we ate at Scoma's and then walked from Fisherman's Wharf to the Tunnel Tops Park in the Presidio.