Sketches: Poolside at Le Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort, 4/2026

Order a Mai Tai, sit on your lounger, and watch the clouds drift by at Le Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort. Now that's a vacation...

Poolside at Le Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort, 4/2026

CoWaBunGA! 

Sketches: Sunrise at Le Tahiti Pearl Resorts, 4/2026

Visited Tahiti recently to attend a niece's wedding. While waiting for the sun to come over the mountains, it was nice to sketch the my view of the black sand beach from our balcony.

Sunrise at Le Tahiti Pearl Resorts, 4/2026

CoWaBunGA! 

Art cabinet, from Fall 2006

Here's a blast from the past, about 20 years ago:

The previous owners of the house left me a cabinet with sliding front doors, a useful storage unit but not very attractive. Since we decided to use it as our art cabinet, I wanted to be able to see inside the cabinet to find materials for our art projects. Also, to upcycle the cabinet, I added trim to the cabinet box to make it more like furniture instead of utilitarian storage. Here are some highlights: 

Art cabinet, left from previous owners. I added a raised skirt base and crown molding.

Fabricated front double doors from scrap pieces of wood.

Art cabinet, painted and test placement in basement art workshop. It fits well and can hold lots of art materials.

Door glazing is one piece of acrylic plexiglass screwed into the back of the doors. Art materials are kept in tidy storage containers that just fit into the shelves. The doors close with magnetic catches.

The cabinet door pull is from Home Depot, a decorative piece to add flair.

The cabinet has served us well over the years and people mistake it for high end furniture, not a leftover discard that just needed some thoughtful care.

CoWaBunGA 

Garage gable vent, Front side - 3/2026

Following up from my last blog, here is the installation of the front gable vent. With both front and back gable vents, there is air flow through the garage interior, reducing condensation and minimizing temperature variation. Here are the highlights:   

Garage front, pre-installation of gable vent

Gable vent placement with hole template

Test fit to check final placement and plumbness. The garage has settled on the left side and the horizontal shingle lines are not quite level. I cut the hole slightly larger to allow for adjustments in placement in case the vent appears tilted. Luckily, only minor adjustments were needed to make the vent appear plumb and level.

Hole cut into plank sheathing. The front was easier because there was no stud blocking the opening. So, it was a simple cut with a jigsaw.

Gable vent installed with construction adhesive, reinforced with screws, and screw holes filled with sealant.

Gable vent with touchup paint, complete.

Now, I can start on the interior upgrades for a garage art studio/gallery.

CoWaBunGA!

Garage gable vent, 3/2026

And now, for something a little different...

I noticed that the warm air inside the garage had no way to vent to the outside, causing condensation on the smooth surfaces on the ceiling. As part of my engineering and architecture training, we always strove to eliminate moisture buildup in the interior of a building because it is a source of mold and mildew. So, I'm installing gable vents to allow the warm air to pass through to the outside. Here are some highlights:

Back of garage, without a gable vent. I can feel moisture buildup on the smooth surfaces of the ceiling. This can lead to all kinds of water damage, mold, and mildew.

Polyurethane exterior vent

The prefab vent is a block of polyurethane, but I wanted to hide the cut shingle edge with a rabbet around the perimeter. This will allow the vent to hide any miscuts or imperfections around the shingles. 

Rabbet cut using my tablesaw.

Using the vent mailing box, I created a template to trace the wall penetration.

Placing the template to locate the vent.

Since I don't own a multi-tool, I used a drill and chisel to "cut" the shingles within the template tracing. This takes longer than a multi-tool, but works well if you are careful with your drilling and chiseling.

Shingles removed, wall sheathing exposed and marked out for penetration. One hurdle is that the opening is blocked by a wall stud. I didn't want to relocate the stud, so I left it in place and modified the hole.

Sheathing cut, all exposed wood was sealed with primer.

Vent installed with construction adhesive and reinforced with screws.

I sealed the interior perimeter of the hole as a precaution for water infiltration. The bottom was not sealed to allow incidental water to drain out. 

Garage back gable vent installed and complete.

So, the next step is to install the garage front gable vent to allow cross flow for better air movement. Sometimes it's good to exercise your construction skills to keep your mind sharp and flexible.

CoWaBunGA!

Sketches: Bouquets to Art, DeYoung Museum - 3/2026

Last weekend's Bouquets to Art at the DeYoung Museum was festive and packed with visitors, typical for this annual event. Bouquets to Art is a celebration of DeYoung's art collection by local florists who create bouquets inspired by an artwork on display. The bouquets may reflect an artwork's colors and/or shapes, or an abstract concept.

This bouquet in the Oceanic art gallery caught my attention in how the flower stems reflected the arms of the sculpture.

Bouquets to Art, DeYoung Museum, 3/2026

Looking forward to next year's inspirations.

CoWaBunGA   

Cafe Sketches: The Caffe by Mr. Espresso, Oakland - 3/2026

You can see Oakland's coffee roaster Mr. Espresso when you ride BART through West Oakland. They have been supplying espresso equipment and beans to Bay Area businesses since the late 1970's. Well, Mr. Espresso recently opened their first retail location in downtown Oakland, The Caffe. As you enter, the decorative, curved slatted ceiling focuses your attention to the coffee bar in front of you.

The Caffe by Mr. Espresso, Oakland - 3/3026

There are no lines at The Caffe, so the ceiling feature directs you to hang out at the coffee bar and order your espresso.

CoWaBunGA