Scavenger Hunt--March into April

Hi all! 

Any new entries in our March scavenger hunt, signs of spring?  (Around here, we're starting to see fewer heavy coats, anyway!)

And any suggestions for April's hunt? 

Scavenger Hunt...signs of spring in my town

Every year on March 1, the Dari-B opens...this year HUNDREDS of people stood in line for ice cream on a snowy day.  Nuts, yes?  But...spring!

March Scavenger Hunt--signs of spring!

All the birds were at my urban feeder the other day--yes, even the red-winged blackbird, which always says spring to me!

I've got another plan in mind to sketch for this hunt, perhaps later today while the snow's still on the ground...what says "spring" to you??  Getting the boat ready for the season?  People shopping without coats?  The zoo opening? 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Old North and Old South--Boston Steeples

Perhaps the most noted steeple in American history is the Old North Church in Boston. From where on the night of April 18, 1775, a signal of 2 lanterns was shown, warning other Patriots that the British were crossing the Charles River to do battle at Lexington and Concord. It was the night of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride. I did this watercolor November 28, 201. Unseasonably warm, I sat in the pre-Revolutionary Copps Burial Ground amongst the gravestones.

Right, a view of Boston's Copley Square from Commonwealth Avenue, also painted November 2011. I'm not sure if the tower of Old South Church--nestled in the vee of darker trees, backdropped by pyramid-topped Berkeley Building and dwarfed by the John Hancock Tower--qualifies as a steeple. I took a liberty and included it in our scavenger hunt challenge.



And a bonus steeple (because February is almost over and therefore our Steeple Scavenger Hunt): Trinity Lutheran Church in Waterloo, Iowa, with its next door neighbor the Firestone Tire Store. Painted October 2010.        
                                                          

Eureka!

I really had to hunt to find this to join the scavenger hunt!

This is a sketch of St. Lad's in Chicago. I did it several years ago while waiting in the parking lot. It was a chilly late-fall afternoon.

2 Steeples for February Scavenger Hunt

2 Steeples in Winter

When the leaves are off the trees, looking north from my second floor bedroom window, I can see the steeples of St Patrick Catholic Church on the right and First United Methodist Church on the left. This is a Neocolor II water soluble wax pastel done at the end of January 2012.

Here's the same 2 steeples from a different angle and a different season in watercolor.

2 Steeples Autumn

February Scavenger Hunt!

Hi all!  Teri Casper suggested church steeples for this month...fun!

Here's one I did a few years ago, a really quick sketch down the alley by our post office.  That's my friend Bishop David's American Orthodox church in the background, originally the Catholic church in our town.

(You may have seen that one before if you've taken my Quick Sketch 2 mini-class!)

So let's see what catches YOUR eye!  Let's broaden our focus a bit...maybe your own church, an old Spanish mission, a spectacular mosque, an ashram, a retreat? 

Scavenger Hunts!

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

Our first scavenger hunt subject is your favorite restaurants or cafes!  A few people have added their posts...please, let's have more.

We just ate at one of my longtime favorites, A Streetcar Named Desire...I've eaten there since it was in their original location, on Main St. south of the Plaza.  (I won't even TELL you how long ago that was, but dinosaurs roamed the earth.)  It really WAS a streetcar once...and it still has wonderful burgers!

What will February's scavenger hunt subject be??  Any suggestions?

Virtual Sketchcrawl--Ray's Diner

It was all decked out for Christmas, but then it ALWAYS looks festive.

Anybody interested in a "scavenger hunt" virtual sketchcrawl?  We didn't get to meet up this month, so how about sketching your favorite diner/restaurant/cafe and sharing it here??

There's more on our parent blog about the why and how of this sketch, inspired by David Gentleman's new book, London, You're Beautiful!