New Day Bakery, Eugene, OR

We took up three tables – yummy food, great fun together.

        We do enjoy learning from one another – Hugh & Erik compare crayon strategies, and Lona explains wet-on-wet sketching to Jim.

        Sharing projects: Barb Sh’s layered paper doll greeting card, Barb So’s completed Kokopelli, and Daisy’s sumi ink painting.

         Sharing techniques: Jane’s social survival sketch, Marsha’s tape removal of pencil lines, and Bev’s use of negative space.

     Barb Sh completed one sketchbook, and began a new one – hooray!

       Barb So and Penny frequently have to cut their time short with us, but see the lovely sketches they did today – what nice detail!

          Here’s how Bev’s sketch looked prior to painting negative space.  Then she did a tree sketch that someone said ought to be a stamp!

        Daisy dutifully sketched her food before eating, then did a template for her two watercolor palettes – which one will go with her to Italy?

        Erik was on a foggy morning roll – you can almost feel it!

        Hugh was eating his roll, but still did two sketches – a vibrant one on black paper, and a complex structure – not done yet, he says.

        Jane was doing her daily gratitude sketch – this from a Facebook post – first in pencil, then layers of watercolor, and finally ink.

        Jim launched right in on sketching what was in front of him and wow did he do a great job with perspective as well as detail! Feel no fear!

         Katie loves doing her sketches within frames, incorporating the stamps on the page. Here she uses a ruler to assist in perspective.

          The large jug on the piano caught Laura’s eye – love how the image develops from simple to complex with great color. Well done!

        This is how Lona does her wet-on-wet sketches – talk about vibrant!

        The secret to Marsha’s exquisite colored pencil sketches – keep those pencil points sharp! Look at that great sharpener she brought.

New Day Bakery, Eugene, OR

We enjoyed sketching in their sunny courtyard so much that I forgot to take pictures of the 15 of us who were there! Here’s what we did:

          Marsha shared her 3 colored pencil color-wheel, Hugh had a new holder he made for his crayons (& all labeled, as opposed to Erik’s helter-skelter container), & Barb S had a story of a music event.

        There had been a chance of rain, so Barb Sh came prepared with a bird photo for her ongoing visual journaling – keep posted on this!

          Marsha brought a new bouquet in her square glass vase, and many of us tried tackling that rascally glass vase, & the flowers, too.

          Hugh took a water brush directly to the crayons in his new holder, and after picking up pigment got a nice loose watercolor effect.

        Laura, on the other side of the table, did her sketch in ink, added colored pencil and a decorated border – quite a delight!

        The maple tree leaves & seed pods caught Erik’s eye. This is just the beginning of his sketch, so check back later for the finish.

        Jane did a little doodle sketch of the leaves, too, then a dog at a nearby table grabbed her attention. Logo added after she got home.

        Danita sketched a little limb from the Japanese snowbell tree before moving on to a wet-on-wet painting sketch of the maple tree.  Sweet.

        Bev was intrigued by the snowbells, too, then dared to do a sketch of a guy at a nearby table (who not only kept moving, but got up & left!)

       Daisy got in a quick likeness of Erik (who also moved!), her muffin, the fork, and the flowers through the bench backing. Busy, busy!

      Serge added the charm of the tree limb to his sketch of the building – look at those reflections in the windows! Beautifully done.

     Penny J tackled one of the picnic tables set at an angle – a perspec-tive nightmare! But it got better when she just kept at it. Good.

     Lealan had a wonderful sketch of a succulent to share, and Barb So had just enough time with us to start a sketch of the wall Kokopelli.

     Penny Mc was interested in the wall art, too – didn’t the shadows make it pop! Did she use water-soluble ink to do the pot & plant?

        Katie drew the wall sculpture, too, and made it her daily “Seeking the Light” sketch. Wonder what else is going to go on the page..

Tradewinds @ Jiffy, Eugene, OR

Does this group have a good time together? Oh yes, we sure do!

     Hugh took sketch notes (see upper left) on his recent travels which he found easier to translate than words. Nice to be back in the sun?

        Ken had just come back from the coast where he was intrigued by some of the trees – white with dark markings….alder? Very nice!

        Erik was into trees, too, but these are Willamette Valley trees – almost makes you glad that autumn is here. OK, I’m glad already!

        Laura captured some of her fellow sketchers at the next table – you can certainly tell they were intent on their tasks.

        Bev started with the tree across the road, then the cars caught her eye – “I love drawing cars!”  And didn’t that sketch turn out well!

      Daisy’s been well indoctrinated by Ken – “Sketch first!” then eat. Looks good enough to eat right off the page. Yummy.

           Jane enjoyed doing a quick sketch of Marsha’s flowers, but had to keep her dog Tutti amused, so she finished her sketch at home.

          Sandy sketched the flowers, too, and did her part to train Tutti to be an art appreciator. I think he mostly appreciates Sandy’s attention.

        Here you can see the careful buildup colored pencil work that Marsha does. That bottle vase is becoming a wonderful icon!

     It was Penny’s first outing after recovering from hip replacement (we gave her a standing ovation), and her sketching is still great!

        Barbara Sh now has Tutti included in her round about world, but takes time to take a look at a new technique Lealan wants to share.

      Lealan isn’t afraid to experiment, here to get the effect of the table top under her cappuccino; then on to sketching the folks around her.

     Serge doesn’t let the chatter around him interfere with his drawing concentration – what a wonderful architectural rendering!

Tradewinds @ Jiffy, Eugene, OR

          We were kind of spread all over the place, but you can’t  see Katie’s and Jane’s dogs, or Barbara So and Ken who were there, too.

       Barb Sh was continuing her ever evolving visual journal of where she is, & what she’s seeing,  including newcomer Jim on her page today!

       Jim was busy looking over her shoulder at the view beyond, which he captured in detail within a frame, and began a new sketch, too.

     His friend Bill, also new to the group, was into doing portraits; the last two had flesh tones courtesy of his morning coffee & cream!

    Marsha brought her bottle vase that we’ve all fallen in love with, along with new flowers. She did a lovely colored pencil approach.

     Katie had a back view of the flowers, and a different approach in doing the bottle vase in ink and watercolor, rather than pencil.

     Daisy was busy sketching her Danish & making pen use notes, while inside Barb So was doing a pencil sketch of the flowers on her table.

    Bev was sketching the table flowers, too, from two angles. She drew her signature frames around each sketch, and used a stamped page.

     Laura liked Bev’s second perspective, and added a decorative frame to hers as well as  nearby details to finish a charming sketch.

     Erik zeroed in on a close-up of one of the unique flowers in the table bouquet, Love-in-a-mist. Terrific job on all those tiny pieces!

      Serge did an architectural rendering, but when he started to ink Lealan asked to see his Lamy pen and had fun drawing loosely!

      Bill caught a photo of Jane (who takes everyone else’s photos). She got out her Lamy pen to play with, which has water soluble ink in it.

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

    Here we are, back in our favorite window alcove at the market, sketching what we see in or out or on the table!

        What Barb Sh saw on her phone was a photo of a real live rooster to go with her sketch of the sculpture on the fountain downstairs.

        What Laura saw was the vase of flowers Marsha brought from her yard, and sketched them using only 3 colors of colored pencils!

        Marsha saw the flowers from the other side of the table, and drew them in colored pencil, too. These two are getting so adept!

        Those flowers did double duty in Bev’s sketchbook – one sketch on a page with thumbnail sketch windows, another on a pre-printed page.

        Jane started with a simple contour sketch of her pastry, but the flowers couldn’t resist getting in the sketch, too – yummy!

Daisy won the prize for doing the most sketching in the shortest amount of time. She came from an appointment and got right to it.

        And Serge? He was able to escape the exact straight lines of the outdoor architecture by putting in the hanging basket – go organic!

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

We had intended to sketch outside on the patio, but chilly toes drove us inside. Here are nearly all that showed up to sketch.

     Tyra, a pal from the Italy sketch trip, enjoyed catching up with Barb Sh and seeing her ever evolving sketchbook. So fascinating!

          Tyra was sitting across from Barb So, and here’s how her page evolved – pencil outline, watercolor, ink and stamp!

         Meanwhile, Barb So was sketching the “rear view” of a flower Marsha brought to sketch…and…

        here’s how Marsha’s”front view” of the flower sketch developed.

     Ken was sitting at one end of the long table sketching Serge at the other end of the table.

        Serge was looking across the room for his sketch model. Nice!

          Laura was looking one way then another for her sketches.

          Helga’s view out the window to the patio was her sketch model.

          Jane was determined to stay loose with her watercolor version.

     Time for show and tell! We all enjoyed looking at each others’ work.

      Barb So & Marsha got to compare sketches of the whole flower, and Serge saw Ken’s sketch of him – “More beard hair needed,” said Ken.

        Then Ken discovered that the Market had a stamp! Jane and Helga made quick use of it to add just the right touch to their sketches.

   Marsha and Tyra liked adding the stamp to their pages, too.

Vero Coffeehouse, Eugene, OR

So nice to be under the trees on a warm day .

        For Erik, it was all about the huge fir tree, and here it is from pencil sketch to finished layers of color. What a great process!

        Ken zeroed in on a different tree (oak? maple?), and said he thought he could work on it for about five hours (which he didn’t have).

        Marsha drew what was in front of her – Ken and Jane! From graphite pencil to colored pencil, the scene comes alive. Nicely done.

        Jane was sketching a woman across the deck who moved to get out of the sun, so the rest of the sketch was all context!

        Bev sketched the couple in front of her, then went on to a car – “I like cars,” she said, “they don’t move.” Well, there certainly is that!

        Serge sketched an ornate lamp, then began doing a series of little window vignettes to loosen up – good idea! These are wonderful.

        Penny finished up a sketch she began at Lone Pine Farm, then started sketching the little tree on the other side of the deck.

        Satoko, fresh from putting her house on the market and getting ready to go to Tuscany to paint for two weeks, joined us for respite.

Vero Coffee House, Eugene, OR

Here most of us are with our sketch guru, Ken, in the middle of us all.

         Ken, bless him, makes the rounds giving sketching encouragement. He sees what Barb So has done, as well as visits with Rita and Carol.

      Serge has done lovely detailed work, but wants to be looser, so Ken shares Rita’s travel sketches with him – loose and very evocative.

             Penny gets in on the conversation, and then began sketching the coffeehouse doorway in the tiniest sketchbook! Very sweet.

            Rita was interested in the use of paper fold-outs that Barb Sh had done in her sketchbooks, then Barb began her sketch from a photo.

         Here’s what Barb So did last week at home, and what she worked on today – those vivid colors are a departure for her, but well deserved.

      Laura had completed her sketch from last week, did a light colored under sketch and then added color to her sketch from today.

      Bev says that color wash strips and pre-stamped pages have become part of her signature “look” in her sketchbooks these days – nice!

      Helga got lots of support for her sketches, yes, even simple ones.

      When not taking photos, Jane seemed to be simply into a collection of what she saw, all part of the Vero Coffee House ambiance.

      Lealan’s sketch of Laura began with a light blue outline, then she layered colors and shades of Tombow markers for this rich portrait.

          Rita shared some travel sketching trips – want a straight line? use a ruler. Want to add color? use water soluble pencil and a wet finger!

       Carol had a previous page done, so she added a lovely wash to the next page and started sketching what was around her.

        Danita started with a pencil sketch, added ink, and the watercolor to a delightful sketch of the bench and planters across from her.

Jane’s yard, Eugene, OR

Just a small group of us today – Bev, Serge, Marsha, Ken, Erik, & Jane (behind the camera) – but we enjoyed the time together outside.

          Serge, new to sketching from an engineering background, started with pencil and was curious to know more about sketch booking. He sure has a good start – lovely backyard sketch going here!

      Ken is always eager to talk about the spirit of the rough sketch, and shared both his and Erik’s sketchbooks to show varied examples.

       Marsha is relatively new to sketching, too, and picked up on Ken’s advice to “go darker” to push the bench away from the flowers.

         Ken and Erik in the corner, where Ken picked up a watercolor brush and water soluble colored pencil to sketch the cyclamen. Nice!

        Erik did a small thumbnail sketch to test how his colors worked together before going into a larger sketch -note colors used on right.

        Bev is so adept at sketching that she was able to turn out three sketches during our time together, incorporating stamped pages.

      Jane did a series of vignettes of what she saw, even her dog Tutti. Last page in this square sketchbook! Hooray! On to the next.

          Tricia used her Goliath paint brush to make up for lost time, and did a two page spread including matching the new color on Jane’s house.

Jane’s Place, Eugene, OR

    The design stamps and stamp pads were all ready for folks to start adding backgrounds to their sketchbook pages. The interest grew…

    and grew and grew. People had fun playing with stamp patterns.

    Tomomi brought her three children and they quickly grasped the  making of stamped backgrounds, & sketching over the top of them.

       Katie added stamp designs to pages she’d already sketched, then went on to prepare pages for future use.

      Helga first said she didn’t know what to do with the stamped design borders, then started sketching, and it all turned out just fine!

      Laura baffled herself with stamping, and resorted to just sketching.

     Marsha did some corner stamping, then finished up previous work.

   Daisy did some border stamping, then went out the door to sketch Laura on the inner deck.

        Barb So began sketching the side yard on her pre-stamped page.

And there were lots of people on the side yard deck, too, sketching!

     Danita finally had time to finish the sketches she began when we were at Cortesia Sanctuary – lovely lush green.

      Sandy was sitting next to Danita in the shade, still determined to conquer sketching white on black paper – always up for a challenge.

      Hugh enjoys working white on black, but also enjoys adding color with Caran d’ Ache water soluble wax crayons.

     Hugh also did a quick sketch down the path, and who are those people? Ken & Barb Sh, looking at her sketchbook. Nicely done.

    Barb Sh’s sketchbooks tell the story of where she’s been – 5th St. Market, Tuesday Farmers’ Market, and Jane’s backyard – charming!

      And what’s Ken doing? Getting a ground level look at the patterns in the Hosta leaves – wonderful design development with brush pen.

       Jane got in a sketch of the potted cyclamen when she wasn’t running around taking pictures & chasing the dog who stole Barb Sh’s brush.

          Tricia did a lovely sketch of Jane’s side yard, prayer flags and all.

       On the other deck there were more sketchers at work, then Ken & Tricia (& Tutti, the dog) joined them, too.

      Bev was doing a sketch of the miniature roses in the table pot.

         Bev takes a look at Barb So’s sketch, and Tomomi looks, too.  And finally here is Tricia’s sketch of her view from this deck.  A nice time!