This is Matthews Creek, right outside my place…

Dupont State Forest, Brevard NC

Blue Ridge Parkway looking east

And the parkway looking west

I forgot what this mountain is called but you can see it clearly from the parkway lookout.

City Bakery is a nice independent bakery/coffee house right on the edge of downtown.  I like it for good pastries and a relaxed place to sit and draw.  They come to you!

I had lost my sketch book after this drawing and was real disappointed that I almost filled it up and now lost a years worth of work.  Thank goodness that I put my e-mail info and a nice gentleman contacted me and reunited me with it.  This sketch is a down shot which is rare for me as I don’t look down much…which is important as an artist to get all point of views and perspectives.  Though I love how I drew the tire on the car closest to us in a different perspective.  I always loathe drawing cars as they require such precision and detail.    Often I can only draw boring boxy cars and when I try to get sleek or interesting, they fall apart.  That’s why I guess I was never a automobile designer.  I do respect those designers as it is my weakest trait.

The Grove Arcade is a wonderful Neo-Gothic style with some interesting shops.  This is the first time I just sat and drew inside.

This is the Old World or Old European Cafe or something like that.  It’s usually crowded and the service is slow, so it’s rare that I go in.  But it has a great window seat as you are literally sitting in a bay window elevated so you can see everything.  This was a quick night sketch which is always a challenge since you have to render lights and subtle darks with quick cross hatching.  It was a hot humid night and a nice quick down pour came in.  When I feel lonely and isolated, sitting in a nice comfortable seat in Asheville helps alleviate the blues.

The Grove Park Inn is a wonderful escape.  Located on top of Asheville it was built in the early 1900′s and has seen multiple U.S. presidents and celebrities visit.  I love the big fire places that bookend the cozy and spacious lobby.  I tend to spend entire Sundays there as they sell the NY times.

The transition from Summer to Fall is bitter sweet, but up in the Blue Ridge you can see the transition much longer as Fall takes its sweet time reaching the valley in this part of the North America.

My good friend Bill and I went on a late summer kayak trip to the northern most tip of lake Jocassee.  This man made lake seems very natural and full of wonders.  Last year we saw a black bear on the shore while paddeling back.