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| 9/27/26 Berkeley (Although I didn't see much color in warmer San Jose, trees were on their way to turning in cooler Berkeley.) |
For the second half of my trip, I moved to Berkeley to be near
Cathy – friend, urban sketcher, and tour guide extraordinaire. This was
not the first time Cathy had provided her touring services: Back in 2018 when Greg
and I were on our way to Yosemite, we spent a fun day with Cathy in Alameda,
which she had recommended as a scenic neighborhood to stay and sketch in. A Bay
Area native and lifelong resident, she knows the region well, both its history
and current attractions. (She also knows where the best pastries and ice cream
in town are located!) |
| 10/1/26 (This was technically my first InkTober sketch) |
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| 9/29/26 A tree I met on a golden-hour walk |
Renting an apartment in her very walkable neighborhood, I
had opportunities to sketch trees and architecture whichever way I looked. A
short walk away was Solano Avenue, which is full of good restaurants, shops
(including Payn’s Stationery, a shop with traditional stationery as well
as some art supplies), bakeries, ice cream, coffee shops and, well, what else
would you need? Whenever my next visit to Berkeley is, I will definitely stay
in that neighborhood again.
One day Cathy showed me around University of California Berkeley’s
campus, which was about as different from Stanford as a campus could be.
In fact, UC Berkeley reminded me of the University of Washington in appearance
and geography, with more eclectic architecture and organically arranged
walkways rather than Stanford’s symmetrical grids.
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| A very old California buckeye tree on UC Berkeley campus is known for inspiring Japanese American artist Chiura Obata, who taught there. I didn't know anything about Obata's art until I learned about this tree from Cathy. He is also known for publishing a book of sketches he made while incarcerated during WW II. |
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| The Campanile, UC Berkeley |
The most amazing architecture I saw in Berkeley was
in the area just outside UC Berkeley’s campus. A block of private homes resembled traditional houses in Normandy. We had so much to see that I didn’t
sketch any, but I snapped plenty of photos. Below are just a few.
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| A Victorian beauty |
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| Normandy or Berkeley? |
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| Entrance to UC Berkeley |
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| I was tickled by the hooked-together letters on many academic buildings. |
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