Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Hi, Kay and I had a sketch date in front of the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple on SW2 & Taylor.  This spread was pre textured (by me)  with Liqutex acrylic ink, raw sienna .

Rita I would like to see what you are doing. I will look on Instagram.

Ellie


another day, another view



I worked more on this sketch from Monday.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Hi everybody,
The Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple on SW 2nd and SW Taylor is in the process of being demolished. I went there today, only the top floor is gone. I think it will be a slow process.  I found a shady place to sit and sketched.


 I thought I did not have my watercolors,but found a small palette of gouache in my bag. So I used dilute gouache and various pens on pre textured paper in my Nostalgia Journal.

A little neighborhood sketch time




I went out this weekend to sketch this beautiful church in my neighborhood. I stayed out there for about an hour and a half before I had to go running for some air conditioning. I managed to get the pencil sketch done and I plan to go back and finish the sketch this weekend.

Washington Bank of Columbia River

Hi, all. I haven't checked in for a while. It's been a year of changes for me, but I am emerging from the distance now. A friend and I made a road day of the Columbia Gorge and stopped at Cascade Locks to bring out our paintboxes. Here is mine of the view across the river from Thunder Island:


Susan in Beavercreek.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Waiting for the eclipse...

I trudged up to Pittock Mansion through Hillside, only getting lost once, and found a crowd already gathered.  I sat down under a tree to wait, and, while waiting, started sketching everyone else, waiting.



I hadn't bothered to get eclipse glasses, planning on going old-school, and let the tree I was sitting under be my pinhole projector, throwing hundreds of images of the sun on the ground.






But the absolute best projections were the ones on the Wildwood Trail as I started down it.



Sunday, August 20, 2017

Congregation Beth Israel

Here are my sketches from the sketch crawl at Congregation Beth Israel. I saw lots of good ideas in the sketches yesterday and already I feel like returning to again tackle this voluminous and ornamented structure. It was a delight to sketch and chat with you all yesterday and to peer into your sketchbooks.




Today, outside the PAM, I once again drew the top of the First Congregational Church. Since most is masked by trees, it always looks so doable... and then the challenges arise!


September Sketch Crawl - Slabtown

3rd Saturday Sketchcrawl
September 16, 2017


Let's sketch Slabtown! This is another area that's been changing a lot lately. There are old stately homes nearby and brand new construction sites.

We will start and end in New Seasons Market.


Schedule:
10:00am - Meet at New Seasons Market, 2170 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR 97210, for introductions, coffee, and snacks.
10:30am - Sketch around the Slabtown area.
12:00noon - OPTIONAL sketchbook sharing and lunch at New Seasons.

Congregation Beth Israel

My addition to the collection from Saturdays gathering.  As always a great group of insperational, talented sketchers.  Thanks everyone.




Saturday, August 19, 2017

Congregation Beth Israel 8/18/17

What a wonderful day! Beautiful weather, sketch with great company good food at Blue Moon.  Thank you everyone!   I did this sketch in a Strathmore 500 series mixed media journal. I textured the spread (months ago) with Liqutex acrylic ink, raw sienna.


This month's sketchcrawl was to Beth Israel in NW.


I found a spot where I could sit in the shade and do the tower over one of the entrances.


And then got up and walked around, to unkink.  And, turning around, found a line of intent sketchers modeling for me.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Reminder: Saturday's Sketch Crawl


Hello!  This is a reminder about this Saturday's sketch crawl.

Also, I wanted to let you know about a relevant exhibit at the Oregon Jewish Museum called "Herman Brookman, Visualizing The Sacred". There are 40 drawings by architect Herman Brookman, the designer of Congregation Beth Israel. The Oregon Jewish Museum (724 NW Davis Street) is not too far from Congregation 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.
1:30pm - OPTIONAL visit to the Oregon Jewish Museum (724 NW Davis Street, http://www.ojmche.org) to see the architect's drawings.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Storm recovery - final chapter




The newly poured sidewalk passed the city's inspection.  So, over the weekend, a worker came by to break apart the forms and cart off the debris, along with all of the yellow tape and orange cones.

After he'd left I reinstalled the watering bag and filled it up.  (I'd spent a month watering the tree with a leaky bucket, to keep the workmen from tripping over, or puncturing, the bag.)  The crepe myrtle seems to have survived the upheaval.











And on the other side, the persimmon is fat and happy.  As in, it's got fruit.  One blossom fell off, but I've got four little green persimmons growing.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Glad I made it to the Union Station Sketch Crawl. Glad I figured out how to post!!!!

Bridges are Portland

The last couple of sketchcrawls in Portland have been located around bridges....and we love our bridges here in Portland!

The Tillicum Bridge is Portland's newest; dedicated to pedestrian, bike and public transportation only. It is a beautiful modern bridge and much admired by us all. On this day though I was interested in some of the new architecture and sculpture that has sprung up on the west-side.



watercolor, rainbow pencil, Kuretake brush pen

watercolor with Kuretake brush pen

watercolor, Kuretake brush pen, white acrylic One4all pen

Finally I turned to the bridge...the sun had highlighted some of its cables to a brilliant white. I wish I was able to do it justice but it is a challenging subject. I suspect that I will try again however....!

watercolor on Moleskine with white acrylic One4all pen

Our latest sketchcrawl was in solidarity with our Portland sketchers who are at the the USK Chicago Symposium. A small but determined group of Portland sketchers gathered at Union Station to sketch the pedestrian bridge there.

watercolor and Kuretake brush pen

watercolor on Moleskine sketchbook