Saturday, July 29, 2017

Union Station

An impromptu outing, in honor of the symposium going on in Chicago.






Union Station from the other side of the pedestrian bridge, and the bridge itself.





Inside the station, a woman deeply engrossed in writing.  (She didn't board the train to Seattle that everyone else got on.  I hope she was taking a later train.)






And finally, Big Pink, on the other side of yet another construction site.














Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Symposium Week - Extreme West Edition - This Saturday!

As I write, some of the Portland sketchers are making their way to Chicago to attend the 8th Urban Sketchers Symposium, and many of the rest of us are watching from afar as early arrivals start posting their work on social media. They're going to have a grand time this week and weekend! We'll enjoy seeing their reports.

For those of us that can't attend the symposium this year, let's have a grand time here in Portland as well. Portland is connected to Chicago by Amtrak's Empire Builder train line -- 45 hours to Chicago from Union Station -- so in support of our friends in Chicago and Chicago's role as a central hub of train travel in the U.S., we'll gather at Portland's Union Station and sketch views of the Portland skyline and the rail lines.

(I know the attendees of our recent 10x10 Workshops may have sketched here recently, but there's much to see in this area and there will be no running out of great views.)

Saturday, July 29
 
10:00 am - Meet at Union Station, 800 NW 6th Ave, in the waiting area, for introductions. 

10:30 am - Sketch in or around the train station - some of us will be focusing on views from the nearby pedestrian bridge.

12:00 pm- Meet outside the main entrance for sketchbook sharing, then optional walk to nearby Ecotrust building (NW 10th & Johnson) for lunch.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

August 19 Sketch Crawl - Beth Israel

August 19 Sketch Crawl - Congregation Beth Israel

Let's sketch a piece of Portland history - Congregation Beth Israel.  The geometric forms will be a special treat to sketch.

Schedule:
10:00am - Meet at World Cup Coffee, 1740 NW Glisan St., for introductions, coffee, and snacks.
10:30am - Sketch around the Congregation Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders St.
12:00noon - OPTIONAL sketchbook sharing and lunch at Mcmenamins Blue Moon Tavern & Grill, 432 NW 21st Ave.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

July Sketchcrawl

I eyed Tilikum Bridge for a bit, but ended up walking around to the side of the OHSU building to try my hand at a bit of the messy construction going on next door.
And then, with just a little time left before the throw-down, did a quicky of the sculpture in front of the building.


A Beautiful Day for Sketching at Tilikum Crossing

We had a good turnout for today's sketch crawl, with 19 people, by my count.  There's a lot to draw in this area and the diversity of sketches reflects that. It's always so fun to see the variety of techniques, materials, and viewpoints when we share our sketches. I always get new ideas with the 'throw-down."




Notice Julie's extra tiny palette in the photo above.

Here's my sketch from before lunch...


and a grid of sketches from the afternoon.

Thanks for showing up, everyone!


Thursday, July 6, 2017

Yet more storm recovery

When my catalpa fell over in January's snowstorm, it busted a chunk of my sidewalk.  After a months-long delay, the people that I contracted to fix it finally started to work on it.
This was just the first step, breaking up the broken slab and hauling it off, and building forms for pouring the new slab.  Now we have to wait for an inspection before pouring concrete.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

The People You Meet

Recently, Deb and I sketched the PSU Native American Center and a couple asked for a photo of us and our sketches. We chatted and Jason told us that China was famous for T'ai Chi, Kung Fu, and calligraphy. He also told me that he could paint shrimp, so of course, I asked him to paint some in my sketchbook. The dagger brush wasn't the best for it, but he made a valiant attempt and we were delighted with the result.




Here's my sketch of the center. It's a really fascinating building with influences of several different tribes. It's tricky to get a view of the whole place, so this is one corner, with a modern totem structure that features our beloved salmon.