Sketching at Linda Engstrom's Vineyard

Several of us met at Linda's vineyard in Hillsboro for a soggy sketch session.


Linda gave us a tour of the property and then we had a relatively dry hour or two to draw.

Our other host for the day was Luka, one year old ball of energy.

Don Colley, visiting from Chicago, joined us for the day.

Deb found a sheltered spot on the deck to draw until lunch.

Greg, Kalina and Deb chat before starting in after lunch.

Marco distracts Luka for a minute.

Thanks to Linda and her husband, Fred and, of course, Luka, for their warm hospitality. Hopefully others will share their drawings from the day.

Horse Brass Pub and Movie Madness etc. weekend

Our day sketching at Horse Brass Pub and Movie Madness had lots of potential but was a pretty crummy day for sketching outside. The outside sketch was done earlier in the day after we met up at The Red Square Cafe but after that it was all inside!!

On Sunday I traveled to a winery out in Hillsboro (Willa Kenzie Estates). The ride was fun but again the rain just drove us inside. Fortunately we were prepared and brought lots of goodies to snack on between wine tasting (the others were tasting- I was drawing!)

Belmont

Some of us met up on SE Belmont at the Red Square Cafe for a rainy day sketchcrawl.

I didn't realize it until I got there that I was at the last page of my sketchbook! So, my sketches were all crammed together.

From Red Square, we checked out Movie Madness...where I drew a costume

Movie Madness At 33,000 DVD titles and 27,000 VHS titles, if Movie Madness isn’t the largest video store in the world, then it’s certainly a contender. Officially recognized by the Southern California Motion Picture Council for its outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry, Movie Madness is to movies what Powell’s is to books. And then there’s the museum. Yup, museum. In addition to the rental side of the business, owner Mike Clark – let’s just say a character in himself – has accumulated prop and wardrobe memorabilia from some of the biggest blockbusters ever to come out of the ‘wood. What this means is that, in the very same store that you’re renting your Hitchcock, the knife from “Psycho” awaits you. Or maybe you’re more interested in the alien head from “Aliens” or the time machine from “H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine.” Costumes worn by Barbra Streisand to Diane Keaton to Mike Myers are displayed as are all the lead actors’ wardrobes from “West Side Story.”

From there, we headed over to Horse Brass Pub, a traditional English pub. It was dark and full of items on the walls and bar. "it's going to be sketchy" said Deb, and she's right...I very sketchily sketched the pub.

 I sketched these on the end paper of the sketchbook...
...a black and white photo of Winston Churchill on the wall

Vicky and I headed over to Tabor Space

where i experimented with a new sketchbook and a water soluble graphite pencil that i wasn't used to. Result was that i didn't like the sketch, so i sketched right on top of it with a bold black pen....

and then the best part of the day was asking if it was alright if we could draw during a drum circle. What fun! I really enjoyed sketching while these folks kept the rhythm!

Drawing in the Dark and to the beat of Drums

Today, some of the Portland Urban Sketchers sketched at the Horse Brass Pub. Here is my contribution, which is really an example of not knowing when to quit. My first mistake was putting a column almost dead-center in the sketch. I used pen and ink, then added watercolor, and when I got home, I decided to try to add a brown wash to everything except the kitchen window (center) to try to convey the dark interior. Didn't really work, so I added more ink (both black and white) until finally, I decided to stop. If you want to see a good example of dark pub drawing, look at Pete Scully's work instead. Still, I tried lots of things and I know I got some new knowledge from the experience.

Next, Alanna and I carried on to TaborSpace and I drew some comfy chairs.

And then, the best part: Alanna asked if we could draw the drum circle that was practicing there. That was fantastic! With the pounding drums, it's easy to just get into the rhythm of gesture drawing and somehow the ink just flows. They were very a very welcoming group and it was a great way to end the day's sketching.

Thanks to my sketching buddies for another fun day!

Sunny Days

With the rain finally becoming more intermittent, the people of Portland have taken to the streets, parks, patios, causeways, and food carts in droves! This past Saturday, was exceptionally beautiful, and the Saturday Market was packed! Runners, bikers, walkers, kite-flyers, layabouts, eaters, shoppers, and ware-peddlers alike converged on the waterfront soaking up as much sun as possible in preparation for the dismal week to come. Once again, however, the sun is teasing us with thoughts of warmth and radiance over the coming weekend, and I for one, plan on soaking it in.

Canvas Art Bar, monday night model

Monday night at Canvas Art Bar the model had on this really bizarre dress of polypropylene string. I wish I could have done justice to it and to her great profile but it was too challenging for me so I resorted back to my comfort zone... fudging the details.

Tall Ships, two days

These are the result of two days sketching the tall ships 'Lady Washington' & 'Hawaiian Chieftain'. The first on a beautiful day last Saturday in St Helens and yesterday between rain storms at the Vancouver dock.

Linda was in Vancouver too and after looking at some of her detailes of the ships I was encouraged to do some also.

Lady Washington in Vancouver

Lady Washington in Vancouver, a set on Flickr.

I snapped a few pictures while waiting for my husband's bus. That's all the time I had today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tafrin/sets/72157626463482009/
A bit windy there but the sunshine was so nice!
Here's a few pics of the ships.

SketchCrawl - Tall Ships & Pirates in St. Helens, Oregon

The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain are docked at St. Helens, Oregon, for Easter weekend. A large group of reenactment folks and pirates came out to meet them on Saturday... and so did four of the Portland Urban Sketchers.

We got to St. Helens early in order to spend the entire morning with the ships. Unfortunately, due to a very slow lunch service, the morning was pretty much all we had - we ran out of time for our intended second session and none of us felt at all done with the ships when they pulled out to commence the Battle Sail. I had only just started to figure out the shapes of the ships and the particular problems of drawing complicated vessels like these, with all the copious ropes and lines and their relationship to the masts and sails. I could use a lot more sketching time with the tall ships!

Once the ships left, we switched to sketching the costumed officers, ladies, and pirates. The black line drawings were done with the Noodler's Flex fountain pen, which seemed to be working better for me this weekend - I loved using it for these sketches.

The costumed lady really was dispensing herbal remedy prescriptions.

Worldwide Sketchcrawl

The Portland Urban Sketchers met at (A) Tabor Space coffeehouse  before walking up to Mt. Tabor (B)

where we found this gorgeous view

According to Wikipedia, Before becoming part of Portland in 1905, Mount Tabor was a rural farming community dating back to the 1850s. It became a city-recognized neighborhood (encompassing a far smaller area than its historical boundaries) in 1974. Mt. Tabor is a volcanic cinder cone.

 I attempted to draw that view...

and then compiled a few more sketches.

According to Mt. Tabor neighborhood association:  Mt. Tabor Park is a special park in many ways.  It has views identified as some of the most scenic in the City, due to its elevation of 643 feet, as well as the beautiful open reservoirs.  It was the largest park in Portland for nearly half a century, until Forest Park was finally created in 1947.  Mt. Tabor Park is a hard-working park that earns its keep.  It even generates it's own electricity to light the lovely historic lampposts that follow the original roads and paths in the park.

 Five reservoirs, two large open reservoirs and one small tank, were built on Mt. Tabor in a striking romanesque style that dates to the era of the City Beautiful movement.   All but one of these reservoirs have continued to serve Portland for more than a hundred years.  Reservoir 2, along SE Division St. was taken offline and sold for development, in the 1990's.  The remaining three open reservoirs are currently under threat of demolition. 

We walked up to Caldera Public House  (C) for lunch and some sharing of our sketches. I did a quick sketch of the Urban Sketchers.. 

Then, Deb, Kalina and I went to the Oregon convention Center for the Stumptown Comics Fest. We participated in a Dr. Sketchy's Anti-art school and drew some costumed models.

A great day and a great sketchcrawl!