I started a small Meetup group last September. At our third meeting we hit the local mall. I was pleased with the turnout! There were 5 of us total, two of whom showed up last minute. There are some pretty talented people out there! I finally got around to scanning some of my sketches, none of which are especially great, but it was really fun to meet a bunch of nice people who like to draw and paint and be creative. We’ll connect again in January, sometime after the new year.
3:30 p.m. The wind shifted from blowing all the smoke from the Thomas Fire (now over 245,000 acres burned) offshore to inland . . . in a matter of a couple of hours, a clear day had moved to this. Our eyes are stinging and watering. It’s only going to get worse.
Nothing like the power of the crop tool in your photo processing software. This is a pretty bad sketch, but it was part of a lot of sketches done at the local mall. On the original page it is all lost in space, but with a square crop, it turned out okay – just okay – but much more presentable.
This morning, I met up with a friend and we went up to one of my favorite local places, the botanical garden a few miles from my house. Before you knew it, 2.5 hours had passed, filled with sketching, painting, chit-chat, and coffee. Not a bad way to spend a sunny morning!
Yesterday’s image is on the left side of this panorama. On the right, you can see smouldering hillsides. The distance from right to left is easily 30 miles / 50 km. Beyond the towering smoke clouds the fire is moving into wilder territory which is harder to control and into Santa Barbara County. For reference purposes, Ventura County is the coastal county directly north of Los Angeles County.
To date, 230,000 acres burned, 1000 buildings destroyed. Here in Ventura County, there is a real concern that much of the economy is being destroyed as there are large swaths of orchards, citrus and avocados, which have been destroyed.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 