Saturday, August 20, 2011

Post Lisbon Symposium Lunch at Gregg's

Gregg invited the Portland Urban Sketchers to his home so the Lisbon Symposium participants could share their experiences and sketchbooks with the rest of us. We were able to peruse the sketchbooks of Alanna, Linda, and Gregg and look over the books and souvenirs that they brought back. They told us what they learned and generously let us pour over their work.

Then Gregg fed us a delicious lunch and we were able to talk and, of course, sketch. It was a lovely afternoon. Thank you, all---and especially Gregg.

Here are some photos (sorry I didn't catch Linda E., Bill, or Jan) and my little sketches from lunch.






Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Mt. Tabor


A little watercolor sketch that I did up at Mt. Tabor yesterday. Marta and I
met at Cooper's Coffee and then headed up to the park to do some sketching.
It was fun!!! I'd like to do more sketching during the weekdays!
In looking at this sketch I notice how all the buildings are slanted to the right,
as if they're sliding...I have a tendency to tilt to the right!
Karlene

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Impressions of Lisbon by Linda Engstrom



I spent two weeks in Portugal and took over 500 photographs along with filling my sketchbook! What struck me about Lisbon were the wonderful and varied patterns ....coming from the intricately cobbled streets and sidewalks, to the tiled houses and walls, to the varied patterns of light and shadow on the many narrow winding and hilly streets. The buildings were amazingly intricate, and the grid-lines of trolley wires above many of the streets added another layer of pattern over everything. Our plain concrete sidewalks here in Portland seem very boring now! I even managed to bring home an actual Lisbon cobble stone (from a pile on the sidewalk where they were doing some repairs)





We met the first day in the large yellow-walled courtyard of the art college...


Then, after introductions and meeting with our individual instructors, we fanned out onto the streets of Lisbon for our first 3 hour workshop!





Two of my favorite instructors were Pedro Fernandes and Joao Moreno, both from Portugal.



Following a vertical axis across the narrow cobbled street....with my sandeled foot leading the way! So little time and soooo much to draw!!@!



Sketching went on even during the lunch hour...this small restaurant had the typical blue and white Portuguese tiles covering the walls.



We all gathered for the world-wide sketch crawl until the light faded on the Terreiro do Paco..... (Alanna in Blue shirt)




Just a sampling of a great trip that I hated to see end!



From Lisbon we traveled by bus and train to Sintra,Obidos ,and Belem....then rented a car and drove to the Algarve region on the Southern Coast. That's another story ....to be told later. ( a visual overload!!!!)


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Urban Sketching Symposium in Lisbon

Gregg, Linda and I all attended the symposium in Lisbon, Portugal this summer. Gregg is nice enough to host us at his house so that the three of us can share with our fellow sketchers our experiences and a little of what we learned. Please visit our google calendar (link on the left side bar) for details of that gathering.

Sketches of our experience will start to trickle on to this blog sooner than later, I'm sure. Please visit my blog Painted Cats for some of my photo highlights!