Fremont Bridge

I ran out of my preferred breakfast tea in the morning.  And decided to run down to the shop where I buy it in the morning, before the rain that was supposed to show up around noon.  And, seeing how the shop is down on Thurman, not far from the Fremont Bridge, I took my tablet and sat down on the steps of the Montessori school to do a sketch.

Lan Su Garden

Yet another bridge.  This one with dozing koi.

Oregon Zoo

It's a view from a bridge.  Specifically, the bridge over the elephant enclosure.

I hadn't been to the zoo in years, and I like the new elephant habitat.  It's much larger than before, and with dirt or sand underfoot instead of concrete.   It's designed to keep the elephants more active and mobile.

And they did keep moving, albeit slowly.  I started to sketch one elephant at a feeding station, and then another came up and nudged her out of the way.  So my composition kept changing.  They both left before I was done and I had to complete the lines from memory, and put in shadows wherever I thought they belonged.

More from the day at:
https://ali-corbin-sketches.blogspot.com/2019/01/oregon-zoo.html

Balch Gulch Bridge

I took a walk up into the woods, seeing how it was so nice, taking my big tablet so as to get a sketch of one of the bridges, seeing how this is the 'year of the bridge'.  But the trail was super crowded, as everyone was taking advantage of the good weather on a holiday to go hiking in the woods.  And it was freezing cold next to Balch Creek.  I took the shortest clockwise loop and then walked home over the Balch Gulch Bridge. Three (or maybe four) mountains were hazily visible.  I thought that I could see Rainier, but it might have just been a cloud on the horizon.  And I saw Mt Hood, for the first time from the bridge.  It must be hidden by the leaves on the trees for most of the year.

I walked down to the end of the bridge, and did a sketch of the finial that they added when they rebuilt the bridge.

New Year's Eve

To celebrate New Year's Eve I walked to Good Sam, and then spent the last night of 2018 riding the rails, bouncing between four different streetcars and four different MAX trains, sketching.  This year, people were subdued and not partying on the trains.  Some were on their way to parties - they were carrying guitars or wearing party hats, and some women had no coats (and it was 37 out!) - but none were talkative and very few seemed to be very happy.  Most simply fiddled with their phones.










Seattle Public Library

I'd gone to Seattle for a concert, and delayed my return so that I could also attend a sketchcrawl there, at the downtown library.  While most people stayed inside the library to sketch either the interior or the views of the city through those diamond-shaped windows, I retreated to a coffee shop across the street, and worked on the view outside the window, tackling the strange perspective of the exterior of the library.

Sketchcrawl in Beaverton

I found a dry place to sit in the center of the court and did a sketch of the carts in the opposite corner, with the city hall looming behind them.






By the time I'd finished that I was chilled, so I retreated to a heated porch, sitting behind a line of sketchers perched on bar stools.




And one bonus sketch, of one of the stuffed animals in the Christmas display at Union Station.


Another fun day with the Portland Urban Sketchers!   Ellie

Happy to see everyone at the BG Food Cartel in Beaverton.

I tried the "direct to watercolor" approach that I keep hearing about.

BG Food Cartel today ... and some other recent sketches

Today we had a nice turnout again - it was nice that there was no rain - and the cold did not deter us!

Lovely to see you all - new and familiar faces alike.

This sketch is from last month's crawl at the Portland Nursery.  I enjoyed capturing Paula and trying out some warped perspective.  Cozy and warm inside the greenhouse.

This sketch is from the 10x10 class taught by Rita at the Chinese Garden.

This was at the Annie Amie Vinyard - our office had a winery tour for a holiday party.

And here are some recent bus sketches from my new commute on the #35 bus.