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!