We pretty much filled the central courtyard, with lots to view.

   Laura was looking across the room at the service table & water jug.

   Barb So was intrigued with the braided ficus tree – wow.

   Penny brought a sketch from a home arrangement to paint. Nice!

     Ken sketched a hanging plant, & Erik sketched the start of a tree.

     Sandy finished a concert sketch, then sketched Ken and Erik – yes!

     Bev got caught up in the designs and displays in nearby stores. Wow.

      BarbSh documented different ways to sketch her hands – double click on that last page to see what she did. It’s amazing!

     Danita did a watercolor sketch of the celosia plant Jane brought.

      Jane is still doing little vignettes in little frames. Low anxiety here.

      Marsha is doing framed sketches, too, but includes portraits. Zow!

   Serge did some perspective sketches, playing with it bottom right!

   Jim did a great job with corner perspective to frame people.

   Hugh is enjoying going back to travel photos to do sketches.

   Bill had a great character photo and got a kick out of sketching it.

      Daisy had a Sumi-like sketch of her cat, then was on to people, too.

     Ellen is making great progress in her portrait drawing – so sweet.

     Liz caught the warmth of the salt lamps, & Bitty (who was with us in spirit only) sent in a sketch she did at a meeting – they were intent!

Friendly St. Market, Eugene, OR

Here we are in the covered patio, having a great time sketching!

           Marsha was intently sketching the subject across the table – Bev!

   Bev was sketching anybody who popped up – fun loose style here!

     Barb So was continuing her travel journal, while Barb Sh started a new sketch & then showed us one she did at home – great umbrella!

       Sandy & Hugh were in the corner, doing mystery sketches. Hmmm…

     Bill and Jim were completing some sketches they’d already started.

          Bitty grabbed the moment in the sun outside to sketch – delightful!

      Daisy & Jude were inside sketching inside, and having a great time.

        Ellen & Katie exchanged ideas – Ellen is doing a photo of an ancestor.

      Katie was catching up with her travel sketches, and one here, too!

     Jane is still enjoying using Katie’s frame template for little sketches.

      Then Bev and Lealan borrowed the template and went wild with an abstract application.  Wow, who knew that template could do this!

Friendly St. Market, Eugene, OR

   There were a total of twenty of us sketching today, despite the rain.

      Some didn’t make it outside – Jude & Bitty started sketching inside, were joined by Ken who then had a mini-conference with Lona.

      Jude was fascinated with what she saw in the cafe windows.

      Bitty chose to focus more on the people in the cafe context – great!

     Outside, Sandy brought flowers to share and didn’t she do a nice job!

      Danita chose to focus just on the currant blossoms – delightful!

      Jane was still playing with frames, changing parameters to fit what she wanted to sketch from the images around her – what fun.

      Lona – accustomed to loose, intense, and splashy – was trying out her travel palette thinking ahead to her upcoming sketch trip to Italy.

      Laura utilized her calligraphy skills to head her page, then did a sweet colored pencil sketch of the flowers on the table.

        Rounding out the table efforts, Penny did a close-up sketch of the daffodils and a hint of the current blooms behind. Nice touch, Penny.

      At the next table, Barb Sh was pondering her sketchbook use for a travel memoir and general miscellaneous sketches – hmm..snails…

      Bev looked to the next table for her flower sketch, then got intrigued by Barb Sh’s snails, so she added them with some whimsey, too.

      Marsha was also looking at the next table, but she was sketching the sketchers! They certainly look intent. Nice use of marking pens.

      Hugh was in anther world (far, far away). Thanks to his photos, he gets to revisit travels and enjoy bringing them back. Great shadows.

      Daisy did the obligatory sketch of her treats (interesting treatment of the table top – see Jane’s too), then turned and sketched Hugh!

      Ellen is moving from black and white to color, using colored pencils. Jane stopped by to admire her progression. Nice landscape choice.

      Liz brought a favorite photo from her travels, trying to capture in her sketch the interesting weaver sitting on the ground. Great character.

      Bill has had a long time fascination with sketching people, here moving into gestural studies, using ink, colored pencils, watercolor.

      Jim was sketching a photo from the Chinese Garden (oh! that roof!), then finished with a collection of images around him at the market.

      Look who snuck in the back door – Lealan and Katie! Katie brought a little pot of Spanish lavender. Here’s her beginning sketch of it.

        Lealan really has the watercolor markers figured out – look what she did in such a short time. Lovely sketch with shadows & textures, too.

Cornucopia @ 17th St, Eugene, OR

    Oh, how the group grows as the morning goes on! Great gathering.

         Barb Sh adds whimsy to her sketch of the elephant sculpture.

         Barb So gets her tools ready for her signature delicate sketches.

      Bev sketched flowers in front of her, then on to bamboo – lovely!

     Bill gets into gestural drawing & takes on (gasp!) hands! Well done.

       Bitty is definitely into it. She added frog statues behind her pansies.

      Daisy started with a vine, then onto darker negative space – nice!

      Ellen took on the challenge of sketching a copper wind sculpture!

      Erik is on an “artist’s card” project using watercolor – well done!

      Hugh lays out an ink sketch before taking water brush to pigment.

          Jane’s having a blast playing with a frames format – keep on going!

          Jim goes back to a page done previously & adds todays scene.

      Katie is enjoying playing with frames, too – nice watercolors!

      Ken spied a bamboo plant across the room – “go darker” we said.

      Laura got a thumbs up on her daphne sketch with dark blue behind.

      Marsha went from doing a portrait to curves chairs & table – wow!

      Penny sketched the flowers in the glass in front of her – sweet!

      Sandy brought the flowers, and enjoyed sketching them, too.

Cornucopia @ 17th & Lincoln, Eugene, OR

  Under cover & under heat panels (!) but outside – sweet! Danita, Jim, Ellen, Barb So, Barb Sh, Penny, Daisy, Bev, Ken, Lona, Liz, Bitty, Katy, Marsha, Bill (& Jane behind the camera, with Satoko yet to come).

      Danita brought “artist’s cards” to share but people were too side tracked by the wonderful sculptures in the garden to even look.

      Here’s Danita’s sketch today – notice how she treated the fence, because you’ll see other fence versions by other artists today.

      Jim often divides his pages into thirds, which he did here. His focus was on the patio wall & door, which he left black & white – perfect!

   Ellen’s attention was caught by the large potted plant & how to get the dimpled texture in the pot – well done, I’d say!

   The Barbs discuss how to approach sketching the statue of St. Francis – here’s Barb So’s version, so sweetly done.

     Barb Sh uses a close up photo as detail reference. She includes the statue sketch in an ongoing page. Finished sketch from last week.

      Penny put an ink sketch of the little temple light into a colored stamp page, a perfect context; the fence is a simple line backdrop here.

      Daisy was into the variation in color, in the fence as well as in the bamboo. Both are very lively sketches.

      Ken started with brush pen marker in a loose left hand, added more detail, thought he lost it but followed “go darker!” and WOW!

      Bev kept to a mostly tone on tone approach, but look how the occasional color makes things pop – kind of a halo aura around them.

      Lona started with a light pencil sketch, then started with a watercolor line, then more color, and look at that vibrant fence!

      Liz brought her own pictorial challenge – an Asian woman under a hat. How to do the teeth without them predominating? Erase!

      This was Bitty’s first time with us. She sure had fun doing a collage of images around her, using water soluble ink and watercolor. Nice.

          Katie, just back from vacationing in the sun in Mexico, pondered what to do, then worked on a couple of pages using a frame format.

      Marcia decided to use Katie’s frame approach, too, but kept her approach flexible and light with the markers. Delightful!

      Bill gets a lot captured in his small travel sketchbook, this time people as well as commentary. What a special keepsake this will be.

       Satoko has to join us late, so she doesn’t waste time getting her sketch going – what a lovely line drawing of vines on the fence.

     And Jane? She was so busy with breakfast and taking photos, she finished her sketch home using ink, ink brush, & colored pencils.

5th Street Market, Eugene, OR

Jim, Daisy, Laura, Ellen, Satoko, Bev, Barb Sh, Barb So, Marsha, Lealan, Lona, & Jane behind the camera glad to be back from AZ.

        Now you can see what Jim is so intent on sketching – great job!

      Laura sketched the sketchers, as well as the ramen restaurant front.

        Ellen got started on one sketch – too many lines! – on on to the next.

         You might suspect that Satoko has done this kind of thing before!

     Bev did an impression sketch of men at a table, then a more detailed sketch capturing the ramen place as well as the window & booth.

      Barb Sh has a clever way of getting her models to hold still – take a photo, quick! She’s created the wonderful ambience of the place.

       Barb So had time for a quick pencil sketch, and Lona got out her big palette – she said she got frustrated traveling with a small one!

      Marsha is getting bolder in her use of the brush pen – nicely done.

      Jane boldly went directly to ink on paper – she says it was fun after she forgot to hyperventilate.

   Lealan did a black on white sketch using her Tombow marker – what a wonderful impression, brick wall and all!

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

      We took over a whole corner of the market – ended up with 17 people showing up to sketch! Here are Bev, Jim, Daisy, Danita, Barb So, Laura; Marsha, Erik, Penny M, Liz, Lealan, & Ellen.

       Bev’s snow scene sketches, and the sketches done today. Charming!

     Jim took on the sketchers scene in the window – what a nice scene.

    Daisy did a wonderful sketch of  her coffee. Then Bev said, “What are you sketching!” Oh, the ATM machine behind Bev’s back!

    Danita chose just three of the sketchers to sketch – her water color rendition definitely caught the essence of the people.

   Barb So had a slightly different angle for sketching people, and incorporated the table in front of her as part of the perspective.

    Laura was looking the opposite way – her stamped page lent a whimsical attitude which she carried on with the lights. What fun!

     Erik had just uncovered his small watercolor palettes along with a pack of “artist’s cards” – speaking of having fun, isn’t this great?

      Franzi slipped into the back corner, taking on the challenge of replicating a photo using colored pencils – she’ll add more layers, too.

      Penny M. said she’d just painted that same scene in oils, but here she is inspired by a picture of crocus, doing a watercolor interpretation.

      Marsha, sitting across from Penny, is continuing to develop her portrait skills, using Pitt pens with a light hand to bring the color out.

    Liz, joining us for the first time, came prepared with a beautiful flower photo she wanted to draw, and did some nice shading, too.

      Jane decided to try vignettes in interlocking frames – at first kind of a maze of lines, but she cleaned up the page for a delightful finish.

       The view of the round lights and sphere in the window caught Lealan’s attention, too; a  very different approach using markers.

    Ken never stops teaching and encouraging eager artists. Lucky us!

      Bill came late from an appointment, but he was ready to draw his subject – Jim – in preparation for a birthday card for his buddy.

    Zoe said she was just glad to be with us. She added onto a collage she was doing, then started sketching Ken across the room – nice!

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, UO Campus, Eugene, OR

Because we are students of Ken O’Connell, we got a special tour of the Oregon Invitational – forty-five 21st Century artists. Here he’s discussing Robert Gamblin’s Amersterdam series.

Ken knows many of the artists, which enhanced our appreciation.

          Discussing works by Robert Bibler, Margaret Coe, & Carol Hausser,

      Works by Paula Overbay, Susan Applegate & Jim Shull (Jim’s work on masonite being hand held); John Jay Cruson; & Leland John.

        Then we viewed samples of Ken’s sketchbooks, from 2006 – 2018.

What to sketch, what to study – we went every which way.

        Penny J & Lealan study one of the paintings, while Jim starts sketching the guys doing an installation in the next room!

      Penny J, Lealan, & Barb Sh focus on Edwin Koch’s Nectarines in a White Bowl, which Penny J then sketches. Nice crisp line work.

        Jane was mesmerized by Karen Carson’s Big Red – so much energy!

     Hugh & Sandy start their sketches with Barb Sh looking on – Sandy did a version of Big Red, too, with Hugh inspired by Ken’s sketch.

       Daisy was one of the first to start sketching – here looking at a painting, Split Screen, by Jay Backstrand.

         Franzi was new to our group, but not new to making art – nice to have her here. Marsha is sketching sketchers thanks to her photo!

        We followed up our visit by going to the Marché Museum Café – perfect for treats and chatting, and of course more sketching!

      Bev found the café to be a great spot to do quick portraits and gestural studies, which she always does so well.

        Daisy dutifully sketched her sandwich, and was elated to be achieving DARK in her sketch. Job well done, Daisy!

        Jim had a good view of the serving area, and in his 2nd sketch here he began to add people in the café. What a delightful sketch.

        Penny got into doing the serving area sketch, too, while Danita at the far table did Erik’s drink & hat & what was next on the table!

Public House, Springfield, OR

We were grateful for the vinyl wall panels and the heat today!

Nearly all: Hugh, Erik, Daisy, Bev, Marsha, Barb So., Sandy, & Serge.

        Bill thought the chair would be easier on his back while he worked on a Valentine’s card for his tango partner (his wife!). What fun.

        Hugh continues to explore the use of Posca acrylic markers on toned paper. Interesting overlay effects in the botanical garden scene.

        Daisy started out with a slash of a line, then lightbulbs and the archway to the wall with stained glass windows for context. Nice!

        Erik is a master at perspective. After putting in pencil guidelines, he uses Caran d’Ache wax crayons to begin fleshing out the sketch.

        Marsha is on a roll, sketching the sketchers! Here she has caught Barb So. & Sandy in action, using Pitt markers to build color.

        Bev uses Pitt markers, too, and look! She smudged the color on the leaves while the ink was still moist! And of course, hearts for the day.

        Barb So was oblivious to being Marsha’s model while she was sketching the tree outside, the logo and entry to the Public House.

        Sandy’s accustomed to sketching on her lap, a perfect setup for her sketch beyond the vinyl wall of the pots by the entrance.

        Satoko talking to Sandy & Serge. Here’s how Serge’s sketch evolved, first the general layout lines, then the details to capture the view.

    When Satoko sat down to sketch next to Lealan, she had to laugh at  Lealan – busy coloring a graphic on a handout that Laura brought!

        Laura was sketching the stained glass windows through the arches, not an easy task. The windows are not divided in equal parts!

        Ellen was looking across the courtyard…at Bill! So he got into her sketch, along with the corner of the building & distinctive font.

        Jane was looking all over the place, capturing little scenes in the squares format Katie designed. Nothing too serious – phew!

        Satoko was the last to show up, but look how much she got done! First a back sketch of Bev with Jane peaking over her shoulder, then a sketch of Jane & Erik (both looking so youthful) who stayed to chat.

Doing the gallery walk of the sketches: Ellen, Sandy, Hugh, Erik, Laura, Marsha, Lealan, Satoko, and Daisy.

The Public House, Springfield, OR

Love the light (& the heat!) here – Bev, Laura, Sandy, Hugh, Satoko, Serge, Marsha, Lealan. Jane behind camera, Daisy on her way.

          Bev started right out sketching folks at the back table (Serge, Satoko, Jane), and challenged herself with the architecture. Great!

       Laura used a pre-stamped page, sketched the trellis and hop vines over it, then couldn’t resist adding spring tulips at the bottom!

          At the far end of the next table, Hugh was experimenting with acrylic ink using his dad’s WW II drafting pen, then Posca markers.

       Sandy used Hugh’s ink bottles as her inspiration, she sure looked happy with the results, then added just a little bit more detail!

          Jane sketched the steeple in her landscape sketchbook, added a stained glass window, & building names (1st Christian Church first!)

        Satoko could only stay to sketch with us for a little while, but she made those minutes count! What a wonderful tree sketch emerged.

        Serge’s dedication to honing his sketching/watercolor skills is so admirable, despite his “aw, shucks” demeanor. Way to go!

        Marsha was sitting across from Laura, a perfect sketch subject, and not content with one version, she chose a different angle for a 2nd.

        It’s a kitten in the snow, Lealan joked. Then she took it and ran with it. Oh look, the snow’s melting…and the plants are coming up!

Daisy started with her coffee cup & palette, added the graphic logo, then tackled a corner of the building architecture.  Wow.