Beside the Sea at Santa Monica

By Pete Scully, in Santa Monica, California

Last month I went on a work trip to Los Angeles, at an Academic Advising Conference at UCLA, and since I had a weekend at the end of it I stuck around and went to Santa Monica, on the Pacific Ocean.On my last afternoon there I met with fellow urban sketcher Shiho Nakaza for a quick sketch down at the Pier, before catching my flight back home. The surf was up, and the waves crashed against the wooden supports, as the fairground rides gave me something colourful to draw. The day before I had stood on the cliffs by the edge of the ocean and sketched this same scene from afar, stood in the shade of a palm while the wind tested my patience. I really love this view, and could have stood there all day long, but I wanted to go and watch the new Avengers movie, which I loved a little bit more.

On a previous trip in 2007 I had visited a restaurant on Main Street, in the historic Ocean Park area of Santa Monica, called the Galley. It dates from the 1930s and is decorated in a nautical theme, with the interior looking like the inside of a boat, but lit by thousands of christmas lights. I sketched the view below from the Edgemar Center opposite, allowing me an elevated view, but the night before I had gone there and sketched the bar area. It was pretty busy when I walked in, but a guy I spoke to at the bar said “Oh, you don’t know what you’ve let yourself in for tonight!” He told me that one of the staff was leaving after five years and there was a celebration going on for her, so it would be a fun party in there. I took a seat at the corner of the bar and did my best to sketch the amazing scene of lights and nautical decoration, and I chatted to locals – this is a place very popular with locals – and staff and had a very nice time. I think they liked my sketch, and I was invited to join them at another local bar set inside an old Victorian further down the street.

On the walk back to my motel through the Ocean Park neighbourhood, I did sketch a fire hydrant, because of course I did. It was yellow, but someone had tried to paint it green.