Sketch of the Week: 38th Worldwide Sketchcrawl at Biltmore Hotel

For 37th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, Los Angeles group gathered in historical core of downtown, where early 20th-century buildings like Biltmore Hotel, Grand Central Market, and Central Library provided our group with endless things to draw. Some of us went to nearby Pershing Square to sketch ice skaters at a seasonal rink (ice skating on a sunny, 75-degree day is so L.A.)

My watercolor paint was spilling on the paper, and I was distracted with trying to narrow down things to draw, so I made the best of it. Here is a page of sketches from Biltmore Hotel, where I had fun sketching the details of ornate Beaux-Arts style decorations and lamps, and struggled to capture strong light and dark contrasts created by bright daylight seeping into rich interior. The sweeps of brownish color are "free-form" accidents.

The group moved onto Grand Central Market for lunch and outdoor sketching. Some of us went to Central Library for a little more sketching. (If you want to get a different take on those places, you can find my sketches at previous sketchcrawl at Grand Central Market and sketchcrawl at Central Library). I enjoyed drawing more architectural details and seeing a park and lush greenery next to highrises.