Reed College

I really enjoyed the sketchcrawl at Reed College on Saturday.

It was great to see such a wonderful turnout of old and new faces.

I was attracted  to this arch by the sun shining brightly on the other side.

It seems a classic in university architecture of that age. 

Catch 'em while you can!

For some reason, this image wants to post sideways, but given the subject and my note on the page, I don't suppose it matters.

Working in colored pencils yesterday.

Reed Sketchcrawl

Here are my sketches from our wonderful sketchcrawl at Reed College.

One of the faces on the old residence hall

Old Residence Hall doorway (Doyle)

Anna Mann building

I agree that we had a great turnout and it was a terrific place to sketch. It could be fun just to sketch all the various gargoyles around the campus.

Saturday, 10/26: Sketch trees in Ladd's Addition!

Autumn is here and the trees are simply glorious! Let's get together and practice techniques for drawing trees. (Or, if that's not your thing, come anyway and sketch delicious chocolate cakes or Halloween decorations on front porches or whatever strikes your fancy.)


Meet at Palio Dessert & Espresso House, at 1996 SE Ladd, at 10am for drinks and chats. Deb will bring books and worksheets on tree drawing, and you are welcome to share any books, references, and ideas you have on the topic as well! We'll fan out into the lovely historic neighborhood to sketch autumn trees, then meet back up at Palio at 12:30 to share sketches.

Also, mark your calendars: our friends from Portland Drink & Draw are planning another Zoo Sketch on Sunday, November 10. Full info here.

An Owlish Corner of Reed College

Wonderful big group, including many new folks, came out to Reed College on Saturday to sketch in the glorious sunshine! I had never been to the campus before and was charmed by the architecture. Someone said how it felt like a set for Harry Potter, and that totally rang true for me. In fact, I spent most of my time drawing three little owls carved over a the east entrance to Eliot Hall--hard to get more Potterish than that!

(The ladybug wandered across my sketchbook as I was snacking on a burrito afterwards, and I couldn't help painting the tiny visitor it in to the composition as well.)

Sketchcrawl at Reed College, Saturday Oct 19.

Join us on Saturday, October 19 for what promises to be a crisp, sunny autumn day exploring Reed College! Founded in 1908, the Reed campus features Tudor-Gothic architecture, a campus nature preserve, and a student-run nuclear reactor. Who could ask for anything more?

Let's meet up at 10 am at the Paradox Cafe, which is in the south-west corner of the Student Union Building, for coffee and socializing. (If the cafe isn't yet open at that hour, we can scoot over to the dining hall in the commons to grab snacks as needed).  At 10:30 we'll head out to explore the campus, meeting back at the Paradox Cafe at 12:30 pm to share our sketches.

Useful links:

• Google map showing Paradox Cafe location
• Official Reed campus map (includes printable pdf)
• Tips on public transit and parking options
• And, because it's autumn, a link to the "Trees of Reed" website

Hope to see you there! 

Some recent sketching-Portland and Astoria

The last couple of nice days I have been about town...and out in Astoria. The Schoolhouse Electric an
Supply is a place that I would like to explore a little more. Would like to do more in Astoria too but the NW Industrial area is just a bit closer to take advantage of the good weather!

Astoria Wharf- watercolor

Schoolhouse Electric in NW industrial area and Portland Hostel on Hawthorne- watercolor

And a few sketches from awhile back.

View from NW Fields Park and a Farm in Hillsboro- watercolor

Max Station at the Zoo- watercolor

Autumn Moon

I'm about a month late sharing this one, but it still seems seasonal. Spooky nights are coming up, after all.

If anyone is interested (and I hope this isn't a violation of protocols here), I just posted a new entry on my own blog last night. It's not a sketching blog, but follows the seasons on our farm and in the woods: https://skepweaver.wordpress.com/

Hope to join you all at the next Sketchcrawl!

SusanLayne Nielsen

A Bit of Fall Color

I thought I'd add a little fall color to our blog...

I've been out enjoying the beautiful changing of Portland's many trees...

and I'm hoping that Deb will give us a little tree lesson at our next sketch crawl at Reed.

When I sketched this 2nd sketch, I was greeted by a superhero dressed dad and his two children. His young son was also a superhero in disguise and his daughter was a princess. They were interested in my sketch. When I asked the (eight year old?) princess if she knew what I had sketched, she pointed to the correct view of Art Museum and told me, "You really captured it." I was impressed!

Zoo Sketching with Portland Drink & Draw

Our friends at the Portland "Drink and Draw" meetup group have proposed a sketching adventure at the Oregon Zoo! Here's the plan:

Sunday, October 6, 2013
Meet up at 10:30 am at the mountain goats near the zoo entrance
Sketch until 3ish (or whenever you need to leave)
Everyone is welcome, bring your friends.

Sea Otter at Oregon Zoo

Official announcement over here!