Sunday, October 18, 2020

Nature preparing for Winter- pdxusk challenge #9

 This coastal town (Bristol RI) has not seen a real change in leaf color yet. There have been a couple of high gusty wind events though earlier this month that have contributed to some leaf loss and maybe that is why the color is not very brilliant....there just aren't that many leaves.

I chose this scene because of the very extreme difference in scale between the very tall tree and the houses underneath it. I may revisit this scene sometime in the future to see if there are any color changes.


 

Nature preparing for winter at Farragut Park

 It was a mini sketch crawl between me and my friend Kristin.  We sat 6' apart at a picnic table, wearing masks, and did some art together.  Eventually we were covered in shadow, and it got a little too cold for us.  By that time 2 hours had passed.

Not sure why there was a lot of brush around - possibly it was fallen branches from recent windstorms.



 The other day I sketched while waiting for lunch at Sea and River, a newish Burmese Sushi place up NE Glisan and 69th.  


Yesterday,  I took a walk to RoseCity Golf Coarse and sketched. I was surprised how friendly and interested the golfers were.    





 

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Virtual Sketchcrawl #9 - Nature preparing for winter

I walked up the street this morning to see if the cedar waxwings were still busily stuffing themselves on my neighbor's crabapple trees.  But no, they'd pretty much stripped the trees and moved on to greener pastures.  So I resorted to looking for tinges of fall color in the trees I can see from my backyard.  


And then, I sketched the tinges of orange creeping into my persimmons in the front yard.



Sunday, October 11, 2020

End of the Season

I was lucky to spend a few days exploring the backcountry near the Breitenbush River, just north of Mt Jefferson this summer. Now much of that area has been scorched by the Beachie Creek Fire. I empathize with the people who lost their homes and livelihoods.


Being deep in the woods, away from most other people, I relaxed. I stared contentedly into the treetops, I strolled across wilderness meadows and took my time sketching little details in the long, long days of an Oregon summer.


As the lazy days of outdoor sketching come to a close, or at least require a more strategic approach to stay dry, I'm already looking forward to spring. I can't wait to see and draw how nature bounces back, and hoping that I can be resilient too.

 

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Fall Sketching

The weather was so nice yesterday.  I did some value studies with a box of quince from my shrub.  In past years I made membrillo, but it is a lot of work. Not doing it this year, too much work.  If anyone want these quince let me know.


Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Virtual Sketchcrawl #9 - Nature preparing for winter

Please join us for our ninth virtual sketchcrawl on Saturday, October 17th.

This month, the suggested theme is nature getting ready for the coming winter.  Leaves turning, maybe leaves falling.  Birds migrating or squirrels gathering acorns.  Maybe your own activities, mulching the garden or pulling the comforters out of the closet.


Sketch by Kay French

As always, this challenge is optional, and you can be as strict to the subject or as loose as you like. Your participation is welcome whether you choose this challenge or not-- just make sure to work from life and to include contextual information, so it stays in the realm of urban sketching!

We will start at 10am.  At noon, which is when we would normally be meeting up for lunch to share sketchbooks, we'd love to see your sketches online in whichever forum feels comfortable for you:

(1) posting to this blog
(2) emailing to our mailing list
(3) posting in our Facebook group

See you there!