Last week I went with to San Francisco with my friends Elissa and Laura. We wanted to catch the Turner exhibit at the De Young Museum before it was gone, so that was the catalyst for getting up there. Turns out, so was everyone else. The show was CROWDED to say the least.
Of course I'd photograph one with a palm tree
I confessed to Elissa and Laura that I was never a huge fan of Turner. I always thought his work was too atmospheric for me and maybe he used too many layers to get his point across.
We first went up to the tower to have the 360 degree view of San Francisco. It will always be one of my favorite cities. You can't beat the bay, hills, park and buildings. In the entryway to get up there, these Ruth Asawa pieces were hanging on display. I love sculptural installations like this. The shadows are gorgeous and the metal work so detailed.
A Turner watercolor
We moved into the Turner exhibit and were soon suffering from mild claustrophobia. It felt like solid people pushing forward to make a wall around each painting. "Wow!" I thought, "who knew everyone loved Tuner so much?" As we made our way through, I found myself far more draw to the watercolors than the oils. Seeing all those layers on paper only makes sense in person, but the photo above shows an example. There was also a room of unfinished works, which all of us like as well. Turner definitely grew on me after seeing the show.
Elissa and Laura checking out the velvet bordered paintings
We decided to head off to the rest of the collection and found this amazing, expansive breath of fresh air in the empty gallery spaces. From here on out, our day became super relaxing.
Elissa brought three blankets for us to sit on at Ocean Beach. I sketched people at the beach and a Sumi ink of cargo ships on the ocean.
Here's Elissa's beautiful landscape. I love all her layers and textures she gets with watercolor. I felt like we need to do this more often!
We stopped at Mollusk Surf Shop after we left the beach. I had been dying to come here, but always get here after they close. I guess I always spend too much time at the beach! They have the softest t-shirts with the coolest designs and beautiful built-ins like this treehouse.
We stumbled on this tiny shop The Last Straw. Don't expect me to link a website because the owner doesn't take credit cards and lets you purchase by cash, check or IOU. She was so sweet, reading her library book while we browsed her soaps, jewelry and other objects. The fence you see above protects the cute garden beds behind.
Good times! It was pure bliss being in San Francisco for the day. What a way to end the summer!
