The Pioneer Pioneer Court House

We were lucky to find a dry place to sketch outside. It was cold. I did not want to pull out my water color set up, so I chose to mostly work in pencil and focus on proportions and value.

Curiosity Club on Tall Ships

Well, I missed seeing the tall ships in person, but I did make it to the Curiosity Club talk about life on the crew of a tall ship. The talk was projected on a hunk of sailcloth that was rigged up as a screen! We practiced tying knots, learned about traditional tools of a sailor, and deciphered the meanings of maritime tattoos. Fun stuff.

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!

OHSU Views

We met at the same cafe once before, but ended up staying in the area of the South Waterfront instead of taking the intended ride up the aerial tram to Oregon Health & Science University.  This time a group of us made it all the way up and the views were certainly worth the wobbly ride. We had our work cut out for us, but the sketchers were up to the task.

Here's long-absent sketcher Janene finally returned to the fold, and camped out for a lovely view of the river and Portland's east side...

I made this sketch while seated next to Janene. The great bridge/overpass shape was hard to resist.

When I went searching for a new scene I passed a few of my fellow sketchers hard at work...

Finally I chose a spot in the skybridge (as shown in Katura's post). The resulting sketch looks weirdly abstract, due to the strange shape of the building that houses the aerial tram dock.

OHSU was full of great views, but it was also a surreal place to spend time.  Once as I sat there touching up watercolors, a woman walking by exclaimed loudly to her friend, "I'm so glad my mother didn't die!"  There were doctors walking briskly through the halls in their scrubs and patients with crutches making clattering sounds as they passed. Of course, this is a place where lives are saved... and lost.  I felt grateful today to be visiting simply as a sketcher.

Portlandia Sketch Crawl

It had been a while since I'd been out with the crew, and it was nice to join up with the group this past Saturday. It was a fairly good turn out and it was great to check out what everyone's been sketching. I could look at everyone's sketchbooks for hours. Spent the morning dodging rain, and sketching inside Starbucks and around the World Trade Center. Finished the afternoon up with lunch at Seattle's Best while we tried diligently to capture a likeness of the Portlandia statue. I sketched out a version in pencil while my other sketches from the day are done using a Pentel Brush Pen and assorted Pitt Pens.

That bridge at The World Trade Center. My buildings need work.

Urban Tree

Sketching Linda sketching...

Portlandia in Pencil, may add color later.

deb rossi, Ladd's Addition sketchcrawl

Our sketchcrawl at Ladd's Addition started as a beautiful day..the temp was bearable so I ventured out. I had passed this interesting church while driving to meet at Palio's so decided to go there first. The church is St Sharbel's Catholic Church. St Sharbel born in Lebanon (1828-1898) entered a monastery at the age of 23 and then sometime later was granted permission to live as a hermit which he did until his death.


Later after lunch I did this sketch looking out the window with a 'Palomino Blackwing' pencil ("half the pressure, twice the speed"...so it says) that Kalina generously gave me. I used to do only pencil sketching and I have to say it was fun to go back to it again.

Fleeting Moments

Sitting in a coffee shop in  Beaverton a girl walks up to the counter, my friend with me says, "Sketch her." I quickly open my book bust out my pen and I sketch her as quick as I can, because in just a few seconds she'll move, or be gone. I try to remember the details, the colors, the pattern on her pants, the wrinkles in her sweatshirt, her lean. She is gone, and I fill in the background with little scratchy bits of pen here and there taking note of the details, colors, and textures. When I'm home I use my watercolors and pencils and fill in the colors and patterns from memory. A sketch, an idea, a fleeting moment, is captured.

Edge Coffee - Beaverton

Canvas Art Bar

Stopped in at the Canvas this past Monday. Enjoyed drawing the model. Came away with one sketch I think is worth posting. Hoping to get out to more of these live model sessions. They seem to be very helpful and I enjoy them quite a bit.

My Miss-Spent Youth

Lunch at the The White Eagle

click to enlarge

Kalina was admiring the single malts in the cabinet with leaded glass doors.

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