The City of Trees

The urban sketching I enjoy most is about spending time to really get to know a place–to just observe with sketchbook in hand, watching the rhythm of a place and the people who live there.  In preparing to teach a future workshop, I’ve been spending time in the town of South Pasadena–just 6 miles from downtown Los Angeles, but it is another world, as if from another time and place.  In fact, for many years it’s been a popular film and TV location because of its small town feeling.  This is no accident–the community of South Pasadena calls itself the City of Trees, and for many years has fought successfully to preserve its historic buildings and abundant trees, and prevent a freeway from carving its way through the town…

Last week I sketched at a Classic Car Show on Mission Street…

About 10 years ago, South Pasadena became a stop on the Los Angeles County Metro Gold Line…and now the train breezes through regularly!  I love the energy it seems to bring…

And in the “City of Trees”, there’s one that’s particularly special…the enormous Moreton Bay Fig that graces the library park, the center for many community gatherings.  It seems to be at the heart of the town…