Sketches from Apple Fest

I had never been to the big apple tasting festival at Portland Nursery before. What a great community party! Steady flow of families pouring in for apples, pears, pumpkins, cider, streudel, music, all of the fun.

Giant apple balloon over the festival tent

Once the baby finally tuckered herself out (thumping on hay bales, chasing puppies, and trying to climb onto all the garden carts), I joined the little trio of urban sketching friends and whipped out a few small sketches during her nap.

It was the actual crates of apples, the large wooden boxes that are moved in by nimble forklifts, full of sweet colorful crunchy goodness, that most caught my eye.

The grain of the wood, the cracks from long use, the tough metal hardware that reinforces each corner. How many years apple festivals have each of these crates seen? Such unique character in each individual box.

Fall color, cont: FUNGI!

A wee sketch of fall fungi near Hoyt Arboretum that I did last year. It's a beautiful time of year for using watercolor--if I can only keep the kiddo from eating the brush!

Watercolor: a tree in autumn

I have not been sketching much lately, but I thought this older watercolor from 2010 set the tone nicely! Happy fall to all.