University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

    We gathered & then spread out – Laura, Peggy, Bitty, Marsha; Hugh, Sandy (& their ever present bikes), Marsha.

   Laura and Bev captured random images around campus.

     Daisy’s images all came from the Museum of Art – fun overlay!

     Jane came with an idea in mind, then went wild with campus icons.

   Peggy captured the window of the office where she used to work.

   Marsha kept adding incredible buildings to her page, reminiscing.

   Bitty decided her sketch was a bit to bright, so added some glazing!

     Hugh was into buildings, too, but Sandy saw a sculpture – nice work.

Forest Haven, Oregon

Deep in the woods amid vineyards and farm lands west of Eugene, we went at Mike & Danita’s for sketching and lunch, too!
Hugh, Sandy, Bev, Barb So., Danita, Marsha. More of us elsewhere.

And here’s Mike at the barbecue, getting lunch ready for us!

      Hugh sketched the view of their house (built by Mike’s architect father), looking through the mossy tree (& sketchers, of course).

     Sandy (a potter) focused on the fero-concrete sculpture Mike made just beyond the barbecue – it was quite a wild creation!

     After quick sketches to capture the essence of the place, Bev said she just went crazy with “blind” contour drawings of us.  WOW!

     Barb So sketched some of the people in the forested context, but then had to put up with the people moving – no respect from models.

     When Danita wasn’t touring us about, or fixing lunch, she finished her sketch from 5th St. Market, and started a new watercolor.

    Marsha was intrigued with the view of the house seen through the trees, too. No reason not to use tools when you want straight line!

          Brooke, Danita’s jeweler friend, joined us – no surprise that she fell for the texture of the tree – a terrific sketch job. Sketch with us again.

      Jim made a successful leap from doing architecture based sketches to doing b&w ink sketches of trees, mushrooms, and ferns. Wowza!

      Daisy, on the deck above him, chose the same subjects, but in watercolor, & watercolor pencil heightened by water brush touches.

           And Jane? When she wasn’t running around taking photos, she was doing little vignettes of what she was seeing at Forest Haven. Nice.

Then there was lunch. What a fabulous treat. Thanks so much!

University of Oregon campus, Eugene, OR
We met in front of the Knight Library, and ended up at the EMU.

.     Marsha, Peggy, Daisy; Sandy, Hugh; Lealan and Marsha again!

      Marsha was showing Lealan a previous sketch full of lively color. Her view today was frustrating in its overwhelming detail.  What to do!

      Lealan wasn’t wild about her previous sketch in watercolor, then went on to do a lightening quick ink sketch of all of us at the EMU!

      Peggy is a plein air painter used to big brushes and lots of pigment, so a sketcher’s world is a challenge for her. Great b&w ink sketch!

        Jane sketched from the library looking across the quad, then did a bit of old Villard Hall, ending up at the EMU with students & flags.

     Here’s Jane’s view of Villard Hall, and Bitty’s watercolor and ink rendition.  The ink on top of loose watercolor really makes it pop.

        Daisy sketched the Lillis Center, then went into the library and tackled a curving staircase – wow! what a challenge, & in red marker!

        Laura and Bev were downstairs in the library, too. What a difference color makes in a sketch – Laura using colored pencils, Bev markers.

       Sandy was outside the library with a view that included a delivery cart, her bicycle, and the Lillis Business Center in the distance.

      Hugh had a similar view, but had a very different style – of course, color makes a difference, and Sandy says just wait for hers!

Then we all met up on the patio at the EMU to spread out our sketchbooks, sharing what we’d done. Ken showed up for that part!

Thistledown Farm, Junction City, OR

   Daisy, Jim, Marsha, Peggy; Daisy, Hugh, Jim, Bev, Kate, Sandy, Erik, Sharon. But wait, there are more of us scattered about!

          Daisy started right in on the flower cart, then segued into a portrait of Sharon surrounded by the flowers. Nicely done!

      Sharon was looking the other way, but the barn was cut off by an intervening building, so she walked through to get the whole deal.

      The cutoff barn didn’t bother Jim, who proved Ken’s “power of the fragment,” and then created a whimsical font for the farm name.

      Marsha shared her finished sketch of their barn from our  last visit, then took on the challenge of the flower cart (color yet to come).

        Sandy launched right into sketching with ink (Ken would be so proud). The cart & flowers are sketched in, now come the wheels.

        Hugh has gotten into a rhythm of doing a colored sketch on toned paper (black here), then a quick black & white ink study. Way to go.

      Jane got as far as a pencil sketch of the cart, but due to running around taking photos, she had to finish her sketch back home!

         Bev started out in the patio area, then visited the animals, ending back at her original sketch taking water to make color more vivid.

      Peggy, a plein air painter, is accustomed to taking her time and being very precise, so each of her small sketches are exquisite.

      Meanwhile, Erik was busy exploring the garden offerings, saying he was having a lazy day. He enjoyed pointing things out to Satoko.

      One of the fascinated workers stopped to chat bit with Tricia, who was doing another loose watercolor of the landscape of the farm.

      Satoko joined Tricia – look at the size of that brush! And look at the careful areas left of white for the buildings to emerge. Super work.

Thistledown Farm, Junction City, OR

   We loved sketching in the sunny (& shaded) courtyard: Barb So, Erik, Marsha, Lona; Peggy, Joe, Tricia, Bev.

     And a few more join in: Katie, Lona, Sandy, Marsha, Erik, Barb So; Bev, Tricia, Daisy. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s here.

      Jim sketching Daisy; Hugh checking the sketching rig he made for Sandy; Barb Sh feeding dandelions to the goats. What a crew!

      Katie’s the instigator for using a frame format for dealing with a complicated scene, narrowing it down to special bits. Super!

          This was Peggy’s 1st time with us – what to draw! She said she liked the frames for simplifying complicated scenery. Great job, too.

      Lona drew frames to fit what she wanted to draw from what she saw around her – a container of peaches, and she couldn’t resist flowers.

          Jane tried to make a new frame pattern based on a comment Marsha made about seeing one with an oval, then gave up & reverted back.

          Jim typically divides a sketchbook page to sketch a scene in front of him – all pen and watercolor – wow. Can you see Daisy at the bridge?

      Daisy sketches out of the box – loose watercolor, and even tried some new fluorescent pencils (better for black paper, she decided).

      Barb Sh found a shaded place to draw with the bunnies for company, but tackled the donkey & pony (note last image for strategy).

      Bitty did the bunnies, then found a shady spot for a lovely loose watercolor of the landscape beyond the farm.

            Barb So had to leave early, but you can imagine by her previous watermelon sketch what effect she has planned for her barn sketch.

       Erik zeroed in on the peak of the barn along with the windmill vanes. He always uses such precision, even with this challenge.

       Marsha used a two page spread to conquer the barn, and brought in details from the foreground – wine colored ink and colored pencils.

     Jude was across the courtyard, lost in the incredible bounty of flowers, not forgetting the context of the surrounding background.

      Bev can always find something interesting to sketch – the elephant ear plants, negative space in the umbrella stand, weeds in the crack!

      In between painting details and layering colors, Tricia succumbed to temptation and bought flowers for her home garden at Cortesia!

      Wonder how Sandy did with her sketching rig…look at that two page spread! Wonderful detail and perspective. Way to go, Sandy!

      Hugh made a sketch support for himself, too, and put it to good use – he even included Erik in his sketch of the courtyard at the farm.

Tuesday Farmers Market, Eugene, OR

  The line-up: Hugh, Sandy, Jim, Jane & Bill; Marsha, Bev & Laura.

     Hugh was doing across the gutter 2 page sketching, using the water soluble wax crayons in his handy set up box – he got a lot done!

     Sandy did a 2 page spread, too, but used a water brush with her travel watercolor palette. She got such a rich vibrant scene.

      Jim started with light pencil before inking. Then he used some random neon markers he had on hand, perfect for tie-dye t-shirts!

      Jane was determined to conquer the tent line, using a two-color toned paper spread and gel pens. Different tools needed, she said!

      Bill had lots going on – a quick people sketch, a fern leaf impression, and a scene from a Western movie with people at the bar. Wow.

      Marsha decided that black ink was just too harsh, so she was sketching with a Copic pen with wine colored ink – nice effect!

      Laura agreed with Marsha, and used PINK ink to sketch, then added colored pencil to her scene and the pink ink quietly disappeared.

        Bev moved over with Daisy – here are Bev’s sketches, done with Pitt marker pens, which are not water soluble making sharp definitions.

        Daisy started with a pen contour drawing, then went to watercolor. Barb So joined the gals, doing a combo ink and watercolor sketch.

       Bitty was around the corner doing wet on wet on cold press paper. Then she changed to hot press paper for a very different effect!

      Here’s Tricia tucked away in another corner – look at the size of that brush, doing very loose watercolor, with added narrative text.

Tuesday Farmers Market, Eugene, OR

   We were all over the place! Marcia, Barb Sh, Hugh, Katie, Daisy; Bitty, Lealan, Hugh, Sandy, Danita, Bev, Katie, Daisy.

     Daisy said, “Shopping first!” But then she joined in sketching with her pals – Marcia & Barb Sh.

.      Lealan was of the “shop first” belief, too, then turned around and sketched the shopping scene.

      Marcia found plenty of people to sketch – delightful images!

      Barb Sh did a fun combination of a person reaching for veggies.

          Daisy started out with the green challenge of veggies, then want on to sketch some of the sketchers (always a ready source of models).

      Bitty brought her folding stool so she had more flexibility in sketch views – here a garden market with truck, then bicycle for two.

      Katie’s pushing variation in her frame format – will it work?  YES!

          After an aborted attempt at drawing a “skyline” of tent tops, Jane reverted to using the frame format. Ahhhh, much more manageable.

      Hugh zeroed in on a booth selling fruit – wonderful lively scene.

      Bev sketched a tie dyed clothing booth, and the people everywhere.

      Sandy saw the clothing booth from a different angle, and cat toys!

      Danita has that newly retired look, and enjoyed prowling around the market capturing little scenes of goodies all around.

Cortesia Sanctuary, Eugene, OR

              We’re back exploring and sketching at Cortesia, while the resident cat keeps us under close supervision.

  Here’s nearly all of us, with the last person the variable: Bev, Daisy, Marsha, Lealan, Jane, Tricia – next photo Bill. The cat didn’t do pics.

   Liz left early so didn’t get in the group photo. Here’s what she was sketching, which also eluded photography in the bottom group shot.

      Bev was sketching the cabin door decor, then another scene caught her eye. Interesting use of negative space for dimension. It pops!

      Daisy courageously took on sketching a mosaic mirrored tile ball – how to do it, was the challenge. And it turned out well, too.

   Marcia was fascinated with all the plants in pots on the different levels of the deck in front of her – line drawing very nicely done

     Lealan is still having a great time using Tombow markers. They were certainly fitting for the flow of layered colors all around her here.

      Jane says that when you just can’t figure out what to draw in a big scene, resort to the frames format and do small focus items!

   Bill started out with a portrait sketch, then began a design for his son’s birthday card – what’s a salmon look like, anyway? Great!

   Tricia, our host, found time to complete two sketches – what a delight for her to be able to share her sanctuary in different forms.

From the bottom left: Tricia, Tricia, Bev, Bill; top: Marcia, Daisy, Jane, and Lealan.  We thoroughly enjoyed being in this wonderful space!

Need Day Bakery/World Café, Eugene, OR

Barb So, Erik, Serge, Marsha, Bev, Lealan, Laura (& a guy taking away one of our props!).  It was such a lovely day sketching together.

       The sun made photography challenging, so you’ll have to come back to see how sketches by Barb So and Erik turned out – more to come!

          Serge took a different sketch direction; not architecture, but a carved stump & foliage – nice! Also shown are watercolor sketches – he has an outline format, then tries different watercolor techniques.

      Marsha sketched others on the patio around her, then started adding context color with the dramatic acanthus leaves & blossoms.

      Sketches by Bev – she’s so quick (using Pitt pen and pencil), and sees so many interesting things. It’s a pleasure to see her sketches.

      Lealan did a sketch of people on the patio, too, here using charcoal. Then she was back with her favorite Tombo marker pens.

      Laura experimented by doing her initial outline sketch in PINK ink. Then she used colored pencils to bring it to life, even going dark!

      Marsha caught Jane in action. Here Jane used an Elegant Writer felt tip calligraphy pen (water soluble), then hit it with light watercolor.

Cortesia Sanctuary, Eugene, OR

     Here’s the house, and here’s the garden gate…

And here are a lot of us, including Avery, Katie’s granddaughter!

      Marcia, Katie, and Tricia, all lined up. And here’s Tricia’s sketch of her garden, so lush and full of color (including color to come, she says).

      Katie had a pre-stamped image on her page, thought it would be a great background, and proceed to paint right over it. Yes!

   Avery has sketched with us (& her grandma) before, so she dove right in, sketching an arbor and the plants around it. Challenging!

      Marcia focused her attention on the little shelters in the garden, and got a lot of detail into her sketches, including color. Sweet.

      Bitty started by putting a sky wash down on her paper, then added the cabin & nearby plants, ending with the towering trees behind.

      Nobody does detail like Jim! He just kept adding details, refining them, and taking Ken’s advice “go darker!” Super job.

     Jane was trying toned (grey) paper, so different from her usual. She started with ink, added colored pencil, white gel pen, & brush pen.

       Lealan & Laura spent time chatting to catch up with one another, then Lealan disappeared into the tree – wow! Look at the light!

       Laura thoroughly enjoyed sketching the variety of flowers at the Sanctuary, especially the unusual foxglove. What a wonderful time.

Here’s the sum of our efforts – nice variety of subject and treatment.
Then we had a potluck lunch! Marcia, Tricia, Jim, Lealan, Jane, Bitty, Katie, Laura, with thanks to Avery on camera!