Where is Everybody?

Well, there was a little confusion over the Top Drawers’ meeting spot this week.  Perhaps it was because so many were on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, toodling around looking at art and sketching.  Only Barb Sommers turned up at our originally determined site–Thistledown Farms–Sorry, Barb!  no pictures yet from her….
At the last minute, Jan Brown and Erik Johnson thought that the New Day Bakery and World Cafe would be warmer and closer, though  only Jan and Hugh showed up!  Erik had other urgent responsibilities to attend to.
So there are a few pictures!

Here’s Hugh at work

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And here’s what he’s working on:

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And here’s a snap of Jan’s efforts.

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And here’s a couple from the hardy travelers!

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Creativity Bursting out at Barb’s!

Barbara Shirk’s house, Eugene, OR

allHere’s the crew in Barbara Shirk’s colorful back yard –  in back: Ken, Jan & Barbara Sommers; in front: Sandy, Renata (Heidi’s sister), Heidi, & our wonderful host Barbara Shirk.  (Jane behind camera)

food-1      food-2Barbara tells Ken how she made the brownie-waffles. Jan & Barb So enjoy having tea with theirs, as well as yummy croissants.

barbsh-1       jane-1        jane-2Barbara had a demo of how to use water soluble “dust” (Ken Oliver Crafts – Color Burst, or Colour Craft – Brusho). She used a stencil over the paper, poofed out some color dust, then spritzed it with water to reveal the color – you can fold your book or paper to get a reverse pattern. Then you have a background for sketching! Here’s Barb’s sample first, then Jane’s stencil work (& a stencil still carrying enough wet color to do a 3rd page, upon which she sketched).

barbso-1      barbso-2      barbso-3Here’s Barb So. picking her color “dust”, spritzing the “dust” that’s on top of a stencil, folding her book, then lifting the stencil – ta dah!

b-h-r        hrBarb shows Renata and Heidi what she did, and then they were eager to try it, too.

renata-1      renata-2      heidi-1Barb Sh holds the stencil flat while Renata poofs the “dust” across her stencil and then spritzes it with water. Heidi is tickled with the variegated color effect she got by using different “dusts.”

jan-1      sandy-1Jan really got a vivid effect with her color burst. Sandy took advantaged of the hand held dryer for hers (note Ken in the garden).

ken-1      ken-2      ken-3Meanwhile, Ken was busy sketching in the garden, letting the color and shapes inspire the multi-layered page he’s creating.

jan-2     jan-3     jan-4Barb So enjoyed Jan’s sketch of a nearby colorful pot evolve.

heidi-2     heidi-3The nearby hardy fuchsia’s caught Heidi’s sketching eye.

sandy-renata       sandy-3Sandy & Renata were sketching side by side – here’s Sandy’s sketch of one of the whimsical snail sculptures Barb Sh has in her yard.

sandy-2        renata-3Both Sandy and Renata enjoyed the process of sketching over the top of their colorful stenciled backgrounds, too – the last photo is of Renata’s playful flowers (inspired by the garden). We hope she’ll come back and sketch with us again, although Germany is far away.

Connecting with other sketch artists

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

allNine sketchy artists gathered around tables at 5th St. Market this week – here are Barb Sh, Ken, Rita Cavin, Erik, Jan, Sandy, Sue Ashton, & Carol Schaafsma, with Jane behind the camera.

old-friends        old-3Sue, Carol, & Rita are old painting buddies, who went on the sketch trip to Italy with Ken in 2015. After catching up, everyone was right into sketching (note Sue with scone model – yum!)

ken-barbsh-rita      old-carol_edited-1Sue puts color to her scone sketch, and Carol tackles a perspective challenge, while Barb Sh and Ken talk to Rita  about her painting.

barbsh-1      barbsh-2BarbSh shared her 3-D pop out effort of Carlsbad Caverns – wow!

jan-sandy-1     jan-sandy-2Jan & Sandy, old TD buddies, enjoy chatting, too.

erik-1      erik-2Erik gets a image onto his paper – a familiar (but somewhat sad) sight in Oregon – a clear cut hill. Those stumps really tell the story. Nice to have a sketch of the bright sun behind a forested hill above.

jan-1        jan-2Jan used one of Erik’s water soluble crayons, and that found using a blending brush gave her the texture she was after for background.

danish-1      danish-2Jane and Sandy couldn’t resist the little Cream Cheese Danish with fresh raspberries – purchased solely to sketch, of course. (Yum, yum.)

barbsh-3        ritaBarb Sh adds color to her museum sketch, and Rita shows us her sketch from the cafe across the way. Good to have her, Carol, & Sue with us again. We love the connection among artists.

joby-1    joby-2And speaking of artist connections, here’s our dear TD Joby clear across the world doing what we do, sketching (& biking). In the first photo she’s in Piata Amzei, Bucuresti; the second sketch is of Stjarisu, Transylvania, Romania. Thanks to her fabulously fit biking husband Jim for the photos. We love having artist support staff.

Sketching what’s in and what’s out

Barry’s Deli, Eugene, OR

Our meetings often start with catching up…

pre-Barb-1      pre-Barb-2      pre-SandyBarb Sh’s sketchbook included a “perhaps finished” David Helphand concert at the masoleum, as well as the courtroom of a recently observed trial. Sandy added her backyard ceramic tree & stone fountain to the sketch of the fellow she did last week.

Erik-1     Erik-2Erik was a good example of how yes, you can appreciate the fine pastries at Barry’s and still turn out a stunning masterpiece.

box-Jane          box-PennyJane resisted immediate gratification (surprise!) by sketching her magic bar first. Fast. Penny got to sketch the empty container (and don’t you like the loose watercolor of a flower she did previously?).

box-Sandy-1       box-Sandy-2Sandy got a different angle on the box, with untouched treat.

Ken-2       Ken-3Ken started sketching the trees outside, then some studies of Jane.

Jane-tools-Penny      Jane-toolsPenny did a sketch of Jane, too, along with her tools, which Jane was busy sketching, too (here with the actual mini-palette on display).

Barb-1      Barb-2Barb Sh told Jane now she needed a hand reaching with brush into the palette, and proceeded to demonstrate hand sketching. Nice!