San Francisco, A Study Trip.

Towards the end of March of which seems a long while ago now, our illustration group went on a trip overseas to Sunny San Fran, in California. We only had 4 days there in which we had two projects to do and gather as much information as possible to continue the projects over the easter holdiay.

My project which I focused the most upon was "Destination Conversation" where we had to collect  references of social exchanges, such as conversations you hear on the street.
Over all I was very overwhelmed by the sheer Joy that people spread into others lives, the way everyone appeared to be so laid back , joyful and so friendly.

Here are a few illustrations that I created that reflected how I felt about San Francisco and the chatacters I met there :),

"The Joy of San Francisco"
all the characters here that I developed composed together in a final image. The colouring and feel for the houses concluded how I was going to handle the final look of the characters.

"Drumming For Street Kids"
This idea was from a conversation I over heard in a cafe whilst doodling away. A woman was chatting about a chartiy that organises drumming events for street kids, to help raise money with the children for the children.

"The Sax Priest""
On the Sunday of one of my visits I went to a jazz church near Japan town, this was an experiance I will never forget! The atmosphere was so lively and vibrant and is nothing ive ever experianced in a church before. They sure know how to worship!

"The Joy of Soy"
I found engravings in the pavement all over San Francisco and  was amused particularly at one that read "The joy of soy". Just nearby from this engraving was a dog sitting on a bench, looking quite sad that he had been left outside the shop alone without his master. Images formed in my head of this dog lapping up the words on the pavement as if he would be much happier if the soy was real.

"Tim"
This is an illustration of a homeless guy called Tim, he struck up a conversation with my group of friends and myself, initally chatted about music and where we were from. He was so taken back at how we all wanted to draw him and that he had no issues with this and he relished the oppertunity to get to know us. He bagan to talk about how it is that kindness for him is the greatest gift, and the greatest power in this world. The power to make someone smile is the strongest thing a human can do, and that being kind is meant to be in human nature. If we forget to be kind then who are we? Are we human at all? He told us never to forget what it is like to be human. For a homeless guy he was so pleased to be where he was in life, he was happy, he had friends and enjoyed being part of the city in San Francisco. He was happy that was all that mattered to him.