Northeast Sandy Sketchcrawl

We started off today's sketchcrawl at Voodoo Doughnut Too, where the screeching punk music was a perfect fit for a doughnut whose eye had been poked out by a pretzel.

The on-and-off sunlight lured us outside, where I caught some of the iconic building signs in the neighborhood.

Many of the sketchers ended up taking shelter from the cold in a delightful motorcycle coffee bar, which was remarkably cozy, comfortable, and welcoming (especially in comparison with Voodoo!) I was too chicken to draw any of the historic motorcycles, but I did try to tackle the Sandy Plaza building across the street.

Lunch at Pho Gia was super tasty, I'd happily go back there. And even more delicious was the passing around of everyone's sketchbooks, super-inspiring stuff. Thanks, sketchers, for a great morning!

Pocket Notebook

I recently bought a small notebook that I can use for shopping lists and other tedious daily notes. Since it is small enough to fit in my coat pocket, and the paper has no lines, it ends up being very useful for unplanned sketching adventures, too.

This statue is so shiny and luminous in the rain!

Such as the other day, when I was running errands downtown and found myself contemplating Portlandia in the rain. (Note: flimsy paper + ballpoint pen + steady drizzle = rip city.)

Scavenger Hunt: Blind Contour of Portlandia

Scavenger Hunt: Blind Contour of Portlandia

Or, when I recently hopped off the bus and found myself right outside Voodoo Doughnut II.

Scavenger Hunt: A doughnut. One that returns your gaze, even, while twiddling its mustache.

 
Handy little tool, indeed!