Summer in Sonoma County

Fountain pen and watercolor in 8″ X 8″ hand.book w/c sketchbook (double spread)

There’s no better scene for people watching than a summer concert in the part and the Healdsburg Plaza never disappoints. I wanted to tell the story on the spot. At first we were seated, eating our pizza, in the area away from the stage, so I started sketching the guy in the blue pants eating a Souvlaki and the lady with a baby. Then I moved up closer to get the lead singer, a dancer and the other musicians. There’s nothing to do, but just add them in and hope the story gets told. The color was added when I got home.

This lovely red haired mermaid was waiting for a face at the Gravenstein Apple Festival in Sebastopol this weekend. The artist is Michael Coy, a great guy and talented artist and I couldn’t resist joining the children behind the mural to pose.

The Apple Festival has something for everyone. I sat down at a demonstration of how to make Farm to Bottle Fermented Hot Sauce (even though I doubt I’ll ever get around to that) and imagined the symphony of flavors I could enjoy.

There was plenty of shade under the oak trees at the Apple Stage to enjoy some excellent cowboy music and humor with Sourdough Slim and Robert.

And after seeing the arts and crafts exhibits, buying a new sunhat and eating a Honey Lavender Bacon and Gravenstein Apple melted sandwich, I headed back for more music. As I finished a young girl came up to compliment me on the sketch and I got to return a compliment. She had the first prize ribbon for the apple pie contest!