Cherry Blossoms in the Time of Corona

All - I miss you.  I am glad you are my friends.  Painting this cherry tree in my neighborhood lifted my spirits.

During this tough time, I get to learn new skills.  On Saturday night I connected with family over Zoom.  It was the first time we had ever done that.  It felt great to hear and see each other laugh.  It was also fun to see where people chose to sit and to notice the different time zones through the lighting.  I got to see the hotel room where my sister is staying during her deployment in Georgia.  I got to see my mom's new baby chicks.

I hope you all find things to lift your spirits.  I have to believe it will be over before we know it.  There are lovely things about it.

The other camellia

A few buds and flowers from the second of my new camellias.

I went outside for this one, and sat in the sun on the wall between my yard and my neighbor's.

New plantings

I'd planned the locations of the new plants specifically so that I'd be able to see them from my bedroom windows.  Which worked out nicely when I now want to be able to sketch something from my window.


This is the part of the yard where most of the oak tree landed.  So between that, and the chimney fall and the equipment used to get the oak tree out, there wasn't much of my old landscaping left.

That's a camellia on the left, and a dogwood on the right, and random rounds of pine tree trunk set up in between, as a sitting area.

Construction

Workers showed up this morning to do some demolition on my next-door neighbor's house!  Spanish-speaking guys, on a Sunday?  Has mass been canceled?  No, but the bishop has offered a dispensation, to those who aren't feeling well, or are at risk, are even the least bit uneasy about going to church.

Our March sketchcrawl is cancelled

Dear Sketchers,

What a whirlwind this week has been! After much deliberation we have decided to cancel March's meetup and join the international Urban Sketchers around the world and sketch the world outside your window at home. This was out my window this morning so there is always something.

The cherry blossoms should be blooming this week so you could also venture forth and head to the waterfront to sketch those.

So lets join all the sketchers around the world. Keep sketching and show our solidarity by posting our drawings with the hashtag #uskathome and we will all look forward to when we can sketch together again!

Take care, be well and stay safe,
Portland Urban Sketchers

Masons

Bit by bit, the house is getting put back together.

A Tale of Two Chimneys

Here's what my next-door neighbor's chimney used to look like.  And behind her house, you can see the giant two-century old Oregon white oak that used to dominate her back yard.



And here's what it looks like today.  After the oak came down and smashed its top off.  And the masons scavenged enough of the fallen bricks to rebuild its stubby top.

And  here's what my more humble chimney used to look like, peeking out from behind one of my pine trees.







And what it looks like now, even more humble than before.

The pine trees are gone as well.  They gave their little lives, fending the worst of the damage off of my house.  And will soon be replaced with little slips of trees - a magnolia and a dogwood.  (These were supposed to have been planted on Friday.  But my neighbor's masons needed to plant their scaffolding in my yard, so it's been delayed until this week.)

And my masons are showing up tomorrow morning.

Why I Draw

I draw to remember. To capture a feeling. To have a reason to linger.

I draw to get off the couch. To smell the fresh air. To change my perspective.

I draw when I want to take the time. To escape from computers. To make something tangible.

I draw what I see. To be present. To enjoy the little things.

What about you? Why do you draw?

-Bruce

MARCH 21 2020- Sketchcrawl Kennedy School

For our March sketchcrawl we will return to one of our favorite sketching locations on the east side. 

• 10:00am - Meet at the Courtyard Restaurant, Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd, Portland OR 97211
• 10:30am - Sketch in and around the Kennedy School. If the weather is nice there are some good views outside in the courtyard or around the building.
  
• 12:00- Meet in the Boiler Room for a sketchbook throw down. 
• 12:30 - Optional lunch at the Courtyard Restaurant

Sketch by Ellie Segal

Ice Skaters

A sketchcrawl in the Lloyd Center, where it was nice and dry.

After we met and introduced ourselves we wandered up to the skating rink.  I headed up to the 3rd floor to look down on the kids.


At the south end of the rink was a beginners class.  Little kids, some wearing bike helmets, desperately trying to stay upright. Their lessons were mainly how to move forward, and how to stop.

A slightly older tyke.  Her class was starting to work on  twirling.



And a more advanced class, for young adults.  The instructor wanted a circle for them to skate around, so she leaned forward and skated backward, drawing a perfect circle on the ice with a marker.  Something I can't do even when I can see what I'm doing.