1 tree, 2 leaves, 3 persimmons

Here it is again, looking not much different from the stick that I planted in April.  Except for those orange things.

December Sketchcrawl - Pioneer Courthouse Square

3rd Saturday Sketchcrawl
December 16, 2017

For December, we'll meet at the Starbucks on Pioneer Courthouse Square to sketch holiday festivities in Portland's Living Room. 

Image courtesy of dguides.com

Please bring one or two of your favorite seasonal ornaments or holiday decorations. We'll put together a little collaborative still life for anyone that wants to stick around and sketch inside the comfortable cafe, just in case we get challenging weather!

For intrepid outdoors sketchers, options at the Square that day include the IKEA Toy Shop, the 75-foot Douglas Fir, and a holiday-pirate-themed sea shanty performance from 11-12. 

10:00 - Meet at Starbucks on the Square, 720 SW Broadway
10:30 - Sketch around the Pioneer Courthouse Square area or stay indoors and sketch ornaments. 
12:00 - Gather back at the Starbucks for a quick sketchbook sharing, then optionally migrate to Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 802 SW 6th Ave at Yamhill

Pill Hill sketchcrawl

When I got to the top of the tram I hung out for a bit at the edge of the platform so I could enjoy the view.  But then, mindful of the antibiotics in my system, shifted to a bench out of the sun.  And did Hood, which I haven't seen in weeks, along with an unfamiliar man who appeared to be sketching.

But when he turned, I saw that he was just fiddling with his phone.  With a stylus.  Yes, he was sketching, on his phone.  His name is Chad, and he's a friend of Ellie's.

I was getting cold by then, so I went into the pavilion, and did a trio of sketchers who are hardier than I am.


And then headed towards the skybridge.  But never made it, stopping at a closed coffee shop with a stupendous view.




A Perfect Sketching Day

We rode the tram up to OHSU where we could take in the magnificent fall views of the city, Mt. Hood and St. Helens, the river and gorgeous fall colors. The air was chilly, but the sun was shining so by putting on hats and fingerless gloves, we could stay outside or we could head inside for the coziness and the comfy chairs.

The views, the sun, and the comradely must have worked to inspire such excellent sketches. Here's what we did.

I hope people will still post their sketches, because it would be wonderful to see them close up again.

Thanks everyone for such a fun day!

10th Anniversary Global Sketchwalk

With three stops and wonderful weather (for November) we ventured out for a full day of sketching in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Urban Sketchers.

SW Park, New Deal Distillery and Cartopia. Thanks everyone for yet another great outing!

Storm recovery - persimmon

I gotta admit that I cheated.  I didn't do this one from life, but from a photo that I took on Sunday when the sun was out for five minutes.  (Which was lucky, as Monday's windstorm blew at least one of those leaves off the tree.)


This is obviously not the same variety as the big tree at 25th and Savier, but looks to be the same as the persimmon tree in the Chinese Garden.  Where the plaque says that the fruit won't be ripe until December. 

And when I said that the storm recovery was finally complete?  Well, I lied.  One section of the new sidewalk isn't quite up to code and will have to be redone.  Sometime.  The company is lining up all of their ducks, with one eye on the weather forecast.  My hope is that it gets done before the anniversary of the storm.

Lan Su Garden

I showed up at 9:30, for a memorial service... for a tree.

Osmanthus Life Celebration


There were speeches about how everyone loved the tree - how the Buckman neighborhood donated it to the garden (and how they used heavy equipment to dig it out, transport it and plant it) and how it scented the whole neighborhood in the fall.  I myself had never noticed it before.  It's been suffering for years and is more than a bit scraggly now.

Then we all got cups of tea and drank the traditional Chinese toast for departed loved ones - to heaven, to the earth, and to the ... tree.  (Actually, you're supposed to pour the tea out on the ground, but we drank it, rather than wasting it.)

The tree will be removed tomorrow, with a replacement showing up on Monday morning.  A smaller tree, but it will still need a crane to get it in.

Then I stuck around for Kalina's sketchcrawl in the garden.


Our First (and only?) 5 hour Progressive Sketchwalk

Andrea's brilliant idea for the 10th Anniversary Global Sketchwalk was to keep the sketching going over a 5 hour period of time in 3 different locations. We met at the Museum where there were lots of sketching opportunities. I headed up to PSU.

From there, some of us walked and some took the bus across the river to the New Deal Distillery where the very generous folks there allowed us to sketch the beautiful still. Of course I sampled the whiskey.

The last stop of the day was Cartopia. I wound up with my back to the carts so I sketched the intersection.

What a fun day!!!!

Urban Sketchers 10th Anniversary Global Sketchcrawl

About a dozen of us gathered at the art museum (as opposed to the hundreds lining up for Wordstock) and we passed out the hashtags to use and the schedule for the day.  And took a couple of group photos, and then dispersed.



I walked straight back into the museum, wading through the book lovers, and did another sketch of the giant skeleton in the Laika exhibit, from below this time.

I'd put on a nametag, as I was officially volunteering for the sketchcrawl.  Which meant that people passing thought that I was a volunteer for the museum, or for Wordstock, and kept asking me for directions.

Also, my preferred sketching apps seems to have upgraded itself since the last time I used it.  And has a different UI.  And more brushes.  And more colors.  So many that they've given up on naming them and just give them numbers.



After that I wandered towards the farmers market.  It was drizzling, but I was able to stand in the entrance to the library and see one of the booths (doing coffee) from the back.





Then down to the Urban Center, where I stood under the shelter of a MAX stop.




Then across the river on the Hawthorne Bridge, and down to the esplanade, where I stood under a tree to do downtown.



At this point a slow-moving freight train was blocking my path to the next stop, so I climbed back up on the Hawthorne Bridge to go over it to get to the New Deal Distillery.  Here a bunch of us gathered to draw their still.




Then we straggled over the few blocks to Cartopia, the food pod at one corner of Ladd's Addition.