Another Attempt at Cherry Blossoms

They were starting, although they're still far from full flush.  But it was way too nice a day not to try them again.

The scavenger hunt continues

It was so sunny and beautiful last Wednesday that I headed for the Oregon Zoo via the max train since Max station artwork was on the list. It was cold down there so I went up to the Zoo first. When I got to the aviary for some bird practice I looked up at a few bird bellies sitting on the trees. Ali did enlarge her definition of faces to include animals and inanimate objects so I figured if I could get the in eyes those birds would qualify as faces from below.

The tortoises came lumbering out into the sun. They move faster than I expected. One came over to the fence where I was standing and I managed a quick gesture as it walked by. I had to finish it from memory and piecing together information from other angles.

The artwork at the Washington Park Station, both above and below, was a collaborative effort between the Westside  Design Team and the architects. It's 260 feet below the surface and much colder than the air above. There are images etched into the walls, on the elevator doors and in 24 light boxes. All the images are of plants, animals humans and natural phenomena represented across time. The color was done at home.

Sketchcrawl and scavenger items

I’m so glad to have joined or USKPDX group this past Saturday. Finally some sun! My first sketch was a bit fussy of the steel bridge. As others have said, no blossoms yet this year.

Then I had just enough time to capture some Sketchers to my right. 

The third figure from the left is supposed to be Kay. I peeked over her shoulder to see her gorgeous sketch in white ink on a dark surface- aha, a scavenger hunt item. 

This sparked a need to sketch more for the game! 

Last week I did my local Happy Valley Library before the good weather came.

This evening I sketched my son’s face from underneath as he typed a paper for school.

Finally, I polished off the evening with an oatmeal date bar. Only the napkin remained and the stained rings in the mug that used to contain hot chocolate. I think I added 3, right Ali?

When I turned the page over I realized the marker bled through the back of the page. I decided to use that image to paint over it in gouache.

No Cherry Blossoms

Met up with a bunch of sketchers before our March sketchcrawl.  Including Becca, who'd brought her little one.

Unfortunately, when we crossed over to the waterfront, we found not the faintest blush of blossom on the cherry trees.  Which left me free to attack the Steel and Burnside bridges.

After the throw-down and lunch, Deb and I visited Lan Su Garden. It was warm in the sun, but the water in the pond was still pretty cold.  I took advantage of the sluggishness of the koi to sketch them.

3RD SAT. APRIL 20 SKETCH CRAWL - Hawthorne Bridge, from OMSI

April 20 - Hawthorne Bridge, from OMSI

Let's sketch the Hawthorne Bridge from OMSI!!!

image credit: Mark Hansen

• 10:00am - Meet at Nossa Familia Coffee (1633 SE 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97214) for coffee, snacks, and socializing.
• 10:30am - Sketch the Hawthorne Bridge from 10-noon from above or below.
• 12:00noon - Sketchbook throwdown, location tbd.
• 12:15pm - Optional lunch and sketchbook sharing at Boke Bowl (1028 SE Water Ave.) 

May 18 - Crystal Springs / Rhododendron Garden

Details TBD

Winter is no longer here!

But spring is late. I knew the cherry blossoms were not out yet so I decided to prepare a darker blue ground and draw the bare trees at Waterfront Park to cross another scavenger item off the list. Although the blue and white makes it look chilly it was a beautiful day in the company of lots of fellow sketchers. And I got some freeway bridges in the background.

super sketching day...spring is on the way!

We had a wonderful gathering for our March sketchcrawl at the Japanese Memorial Cherry Blossom trees. No Cherry trees were actually in bloom yet but we had great sunny weather to sketch the scene that included both the Burnside and Steel Bridges and along the waterfront.

Our group....apologize for the spot in the lower left that partially obscures sketcher Ellie. There was a glare on the screen so I din't notice it until later.

Here are some random sketches showing bridges and across the river views. Please comment if your sketch is shown here. I didn't get everyone's name to give proper credit...thanks.

My contribution was a sketch of Burnside bridge and then wanting to put some color down  I turned to a pillow vendor at the busy Saturday Market.

After lunch at the market I spent some time with Ali at the Lan Su Chinese Garden.....

Show of Jo Reimer's collage at Village Gallery

While it's too late to attend my reception it's not to late to see my collage work at The Village Gallery in Cedar Mill. The show comes down on March 28 (not the 30th as on the show card) but until then the gallery is open daily except Monday from 10-4. 

I'll be serving desk duty at the gallery on the afternoon of the 23rd so come then if you want me to tell you about making the pieces in the show which represents the 12 main colors of the standard color wheel.

"RED"  12 x 12 collage on canvas

"ORANGE with blue green"  12 x 12. Collage on canvas. Jo Reimer

Happy Pi Day

Not a Bridge.... Yet

The section of the Wildwood Trail that crosses Burnside is set to be closed later this month, so they can start building the piers that the bridge is going to rest on.  I decided to head up the trail one last time before that happens to get a 'before' sketch in.



This woman showed up soon after I did. She looked left, and then right, swiveling back and forth until she saw an opportunity to run to my side of the road.  At least a dozen more people made the mad dash across while I was sketching.  And sometimes drivers, bless their hearts, would stop to let the hikers cross.

Intro to Urban Sketching Workshop

While Rita talked about the background of urban sketching, I sketched some of the participants, in rapt attention.




Then she gave out some exercises.  This is a blind contour of another participant:




And this, yet another, done with my left hand:



 And the same again, done with my right hand:




An exercise in doing textures with a pen:



 Another participant, done in line and texture:



 And one of my shoes:




And finally, a small subset of the participants, sitting on the steps in front of the entrance and trying out what they'd learned.


PDX USK Scavenger Hunt: Heritage Tree

It was so nice out today I caught some good shadows on this tree. I'm loving this hunt because, not only did I find out about Heritage trees, but found one in my neighborhood. 

Also, because it was so nice out, I had several people stop and ask me what I was doing and I haven't had a drawing spectator in a while. It was fun.

Scavenger hunt #7, inside bus #2

I rode the #2 bus to go to a workshop last night on building a mounted staghorn fern. The bus was full on the way there. One woman listened patiently to another woman complaining loudly about her boyfriend standing her up. Meanwhile, a standing man made meaningful gestures with his football.

The way home was quiet. This sketch is from the ride home.

Scavenger hunt #6, something under construction

After meeting with Rita about the Usk 10x10 kickoff, Deb and I went to Scrap.  I found some fun things in there. Then I waited outside for the bus in the cold wind. I suffered a little bit for my art while drawing this street scene, which included a building under construction.

Scavenger hunt - drinking coffee - no pencil

I went to the Alla Prima meeting this morning where artists gather to talk about painting every Thursday at 9:00 am at the French Quarter in Multnomah Village. I knew many would be drinking coffee there for me to complete this scavenger hunt item. I did that one without a pencil under sketch (I think that’s an other item, so does it count for 2?) Then I did some people at the meeting in pencil. If you are looking for other artists to hang out and talk art you should consider coming to this meeting open to all. A few of them stay afterwards to draw. Or just skip the meeting to draw with them. They are all wonderful people.

Woman drinking coffee 

PDXUSK Scavenger Hunt: Someone Drinking Coffee

This afternoon I was stuck in our weekly meeting and did a quick sketch of my coworker drinking an Ice Coffee from a travel mug. Sorry it's so light.

Scavenger Hunt - Heritage Tree #292

4x6 in Gouache and Pencil

Until this scavenger hunt, I had never heard of a Heritage Tree. Here's one at 5559 SE 109th.  It's cool to learn things about your own town through Usk. Does this get me on the grid, Ali?