I haven't posted here for awhile but since I just came to the last page in my sketchbook,  I thought I would post a few recent sketches before I consign them to the shelf.

This is the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco, drawn lightly in pencil, then the shadows added with a water brush filled with watered down ink--thanks for the tip, Deb, it was a great time-saver for this slow sketcher!

A foggy day at Yaquina Bay...hmmm sounds like a song, doesn't it?

This apartment building on Glisan is just one of the many beautiful historic brick buildings in Portland.

These old fire houses are another example of fine brick-work.  This one is transitioning into a residence.

Well, now its time to face the blank pages of a new sketchbook--I'd better get busy!

Ross Island Bridge

This past Saturday morning, I loaded up my bike basket with art supplies and rode over the Tilikum Crossing down to the South Waterfront where we met for this month's sketchcrawl. A short ride from our meeting place was a sunny viewpoint showing the full expanse of the Ross Island Bridge. The steel structure is going to be repainted this year and in real life, it is faded. I took some liberties with color and decided to show how nice it will look in bright green. 

As I finished up the ink for this painting, the sun was warm and I was even able to take off my coat. A sail boat floated by with 4 pirates on deck singing,"What will we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?” By then, it was a bit late to be considered early in the morning, but at the sounds of it, they had the drunken sailor part just right.

Last of 2015 Sketches

I had several opportunities to sketch this week, which was a great way to end the year.  Here's to many more sketches in the new year with all of you in our sketching community!  Btw, we welcome visiting sketchers as well, so if you travel to Portland in 2016 be sure and join us if you can.

Four windows across from a downtown coffee shop, each with its own story to tell.

One of those charming craftsman style doors at Timberline Lodge.

John's sketch of the architecture at Timberline Lodge.

John's sketch of the fascinating 'transformer' cornices on the Hotel Governor, now newly named the Sentinel Hotel after these robotic figures

Another sketching day in a different coffee shop presented a view of this glorious tree...I can't get enough of Portland's mature Elms.