sketching on Saturday

The day wasn't as nice as those weather people predicted....the predicted sun did not come out until the afternoon.  So the morning was grey and cool...cool enough to feel it after being out for a while.
But the sketching turned out to be good and three other sketchers joined me. So good conversation and good sharing.

I didn't make it to sketch the Multnomah Library's 150th Birthday celebrations as I stayed near the Guild Theatre for these two sketches.

watercolor and ink

non waterproof ink (Noodlers Kiowa Pecan) and a little watercolor

Fall color, cont: FUNGI!

A wee sketch of fall fungi near Hoyt Arboretum that I did last year. It's a beautiful time of year for using watercolor--if I can only keep the kiddo from eating the brush!

Watercolor: a tree in autumn

I have not been sketching much lately, but I thought this older watercolor from 2010 set the tone nicely! Happy fall to all.

Autumn has arrived!

I am not sure this qualifies as 'Urban sketching' but I did pick them up from the city streets.

I seem to draw/paint these chestnuts every year. I just find them so appealing and a sign that the seasons are changing. Another reason could be the fact I grew up in the Buckeye state!

A couple of weekends ago I took the Line to Color: Tacoma workshop with Frank Ching and Gail Wong.  It was a great workshop and I was impressed with Tacoma as a sketching venue and as a city.  The workshop reconfirmed wwhat I already knew, perspective is hard!

waterfront sketchcrawl

It was great to have such a large group for the sketchcrawl today, and I'm bummed I didn't arrive in time to meet up beforehand for coffee. 

I often bike over the Hawthorne bridge, but I don't often get a good look at it, so today was a great chance to notice some of the details that I miss in transit.

I'm not used to attempting such a large field of view, so I took a break with some smaller sketches..

...and then attempted to bridge one more time in the last 20 minutes.

I still didn't get the whole bridge in -- now I understand why it always seems to take so long to cross. 

Thanks for another great sketchcrawl and getting me outside on such a lovely morning!

More from this morning's sketchcrawl.

A Terrific Sketchcrawl on the Waterfront

We couldn't have had a more perfect day for sketching in Portland today. It was great to have the large turnout today, too. I hope that the newcomers will keep returning because it was fun to see the variety of sketches and get to talk to some of the sketchers. I also hope that folks will post their work, because we all love to look at pictures.

In order to get the ball rolling, here are a couple of my sketches from today. (Ink on the first one, watercolor then ink on the next.)

I've been in a sketching slump lately and although I haven't climbed out of it, I at least didn't rip any pages out of my book today. The sunshine, the view, and the enthusiasm of my fellow sketchers must all have helped!

Reminder: Join us this Sat, Sept 20!

Next Sketchcrawl: Saturday, September 20. Let's crawl South Waterfront!

• 9:30 am: Meet at Bean and Tree for coffee and snacks: 0315 Montgomery St., Portland.
• 10 am: Sketch boats, bridges, buildings, plants, dogs, the river, and/or people on the South Waterfront.
• 12 noon: Optional sketchbook sharing and lunch: Thirst Bistro - 0315 SW Montgomery Street #340, Portland.

Oregon City's Carnegie Library

Oregon City's Carnegie Library:

 This is from last week. I thought I should wait for somebody else to post before I put up another one!

This is a beautiful building, still in use as a library. It was constructed with a $12,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. As for all the Carnegie libraries, the host city was required to match the construction costs and demonstrate it could fund operations. Last year the library celebrated its 100th anniversary with a delightful civic event involving the Mayor in period dress and a reference librarian who could have passed for the venerable Andrew himself. Next year the library is beginning an expansion project. The original building will remain as the front entrance to the new facility which will wing into the hillside behind.