Sketching the past

[Suhita Shirodkar in California] The things that interest me seem to fall on two opposite sides of the spectrum: There are energy-filled places full of people that I love drawing. And when I’m not doing that, I am drawn to old relics from another time. Quiet, forgotten corners, fading signs, and stately old houses, sometimes beautifully maintained but often crumbling and peeling. Lately I have been sketching mostly on that peeling-paint side of the spectrum.

I love wires. Loopy, messy, tangled and balled up. Slicing the sky like someone took an exacto knife to it.

Old homes. Even in Silicon Valley, where everything looks so new, you can find gorgeous Victorian homes that once stood in orchards. This beautiful specimen in San Jose is from the 1800s.

Theater marquees are a perennial favorite. Like this beautiful one for the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto.

But my favorites are always the decrepit signs in the forgotten corners of the city