Along Came Trudy, Springfield, OR

Mostly all of us: Bitty, Daisy; Danita, Erik behind Hugh, Marsha, Katie; Peggy, Sandy, Jim H., Barb Sh, Bill.

      Daisy was really at task sketching everything that was in front of her, including the leaf design on her plate! Nice collection of sketches.

      Danita zeroed in on a part of a shelf display – wonderful job on those complicated cones!

      Jim H. took a little wider view of a shelf display – delightful in black & white, but it really comes to life in color.

      A display in the corner caught Sandy’s eye, and again though the jink sketch was wonderful, the color makes it sing.

         Jane sketched the same corner, then added things from other shelf displays. That dressmaker’s dummy was a challenge for lots of us.

      Lynda came a little late, so she didn’t get a lot of her sketch done, but paid attention to details and shading on the edges of things.

      Peggy is having fun playing with colored paper –  here sketching cotton bolls stuck in a metal container. What fun, indeed.

      Hugh consults with Marsha who has done digital sketching before, discovering the various tools, and here’s his finished sketch!

      Meanwhile, Marsha plays with water soluble crayons for an upcoming class in toned paper, then a portrait sketch in pencil.

   Bill got a little sidetracked by all the quotes on the walls before he was back doing portraits in ink. He’s so good at this!

      And Barb Sh. had a great time sketching her hand in various angles to play with the pre-stamped shells on her page. So delightful!

.      Helga finished her sketch from last week, then went on to sketch another woman on her Japanese scarf. Nice graphic touch.

      Bitty continued to work on sketches of the orchids which caught her eye in a photo. Very elegantly done!

         Katie & Erik crack up. She says she was busy copying the wall quotes in another sketch book, so only added two items to this one.

When Erik got through his chocolate cake, he went on to work on some landscape sketches from the files in his mind. Whatta guy.

Theo’s Coffee House/Whirled Pies, Eugene, OR

This time we came early enough to grab tables by the windows for the light! Katie, Marsha, Laura talking to friend, Peggy, Jude, Bev; Jim, Bill, Hugh, Carol.  A few more drifted in later.

      Bev, Peggy, Helga, Katie, Marsha,Laura, Jude; Bill, Jim, Daisy, Carol; Sandy & Hugh (who was getting ready to sketch with his iPad).

         Jim did another big view on his page from a different angle – here you can see how he framed the space, gradually adding detail to it.

        Jane went small on a big page – artifacts of the place in the frame format (you can see her inking the frames), then watercolor.

       Jude focused on some of the unique chairs in the cafe, a real challenge, using pencil & water soluble colored pencil.

         Katie, a former elementary school teacher, just had to sketch the colored abacus – she’s a master at controlling watercolor!

       Laura had a pre-stamped page to work with, and tremendous restraint as she sketched her cookie, water glass & coffee cup.

        Daisy did a knock-out job on her blueberry danish (she earned that bite!), then sketched a person nearby – ink and watercolor.

        Bev likes sketching people in context, so you get the whole shebang. Here she’s chosen to leave the people without color – nice touch.

      Bill, on the other hand, enjoys paying particular attention to people’s faces and expressions – he uses ink and watercolor.

     Carol is drawn to drawing people, too, and had a new breakthrough using the suggestion of continuous line on the paper.

      Marsha is another portrait sketcher. Her next project is using a photo of herself as the inspiration for a graphic design.

   Hugh tried sketching using an iPad. He chose my favorite people perspective, the rear view with no noses! Fun capture, Hugh.

        Peggy brought her own source of inspiration – a magazine photo of a scene she’s very familiar with (but couldn’t find her own photo).

       Sandy brought her own prop, a quince branch in blossom! After a quick pencil sketch, She finished the sketch with watercolor – nice!

       Helga brought her own prop, but forgot her reading glasses! Go for the big shapes, people said, and she did a terrific job!

     Lealan, a woman of many projects (she has a book to be published), dropped by to show us her latest sketch & plan for making a print.

Theo’s Coffee House/Whirled Pies, Eugene, OR

   Danita’s Michael reads while the sketchers sketch: Jim, Danita, Marsha, Bitty, Peggy, Carol, Bev, Daisy, Sandy, Katie.

         Daisy was a stand-up sketcher, getting all those wall artifacts, before sketching the perfect model, mesmerized by her iPhone.

Bev sketched the model, too – different styles and tools – Bev used Pitt pens, Daisy used Copic ink marker pen & watercolor.

          Here’s how Bev’s sketch evolved, including using grey markers for different values in a sketch of some nearby people.

Marsha and Bev came over to see what Hugh & Sandy were up to in the bright light of the counter window.

       Hugh enjoyed sketching the street scene, using water soluble wax crayons with a water brush for color.

      Sandy, getting ready to go to Japan, drew tiny Japanese scenes in her small accordion sketchbook. That’s quite an accomplishment!

        Marsha is taking a class on portraits, and did a wonderful job using colored pencils – really her forté.

        Danita took the suggestion “sketch what’s in front of you” to heart – the water fountain on the wall beyond her! Now that’s interesting.

        Marsha stopped to see what Barb Sh was doing – portrait sketches, too, but what a different approach, and how fun!

        Carol started out focusing on the bottles, then added the serving counter and people, too. What an interesting scene.

        Peggy was looking the same direction, but started with the menu posted on the wall before going down to add the serving counter.

Hugh, Jane, &. Katie were interested in Daisy’s sketch talk.

       Katie started sketching one of the washing machine tub shades, then on to her coffee & danish, and a bird from the wall mural.

      Jane was fascinated with the tub shades, but more from a design orientation. “I’ve had too much coffee!” she said when painting.

Here’s Jane’s version next to Jim H’s – different attention to detail.

      Jim H. started with ink contour, added cross-hatching and shading, then went on to watercolor. What a vibrant scene he does!

   Bitty borrowed the frame template, wanting to zero in on the little orchids from a photograph, each one worthy of celebration.

Theo’s Coffee House/Whirled Pies, Eugene, OR

       Danita’s Michael has a good book, while we find things to sketch. Jim H., Danita, Bitty, Marsha, Peggy, Katie, Bev, Daisy, Sandy, Katie.

          Daisy got right after it – first the artifacts on the wall, then a great portrait subject totally motionless on her cell phone. Great!

It turned out that Bev & Daisy chose the same subject, but different styles & tools – Bev: Pitt pens; Daisy: Copic marker, colored pencils.

          Here’s how Bev’s sketch developed. The grey value markers are great fun to use, too – note her sketch on the left side of the book.

Marsha & Bev had to come see what Hugh & Sandy were doing at the counter looking outside – nice light here!

       Hugh really did appreciate both the light and the scene outside. He’s using ink, and water brush directly to water soluble crayons.

      Sandy was so pleased to show us her tiny accordion book, with little scenes of Japan – all done in preparation for their upcoming trip!

      Marsha’s taking a class on doing portraits, here using colored pencils. It’s always so interesting to see the effects of layering.

      Meanwhile, the portrait’s subject, Danita, was busy sketching…uh… an abstract? No! It’s the water fountain in the hallway! Way to go!

      Then Marsha took a break to see what Barb Sh was doing – oh, a whole different approach to portraits, folks at a coffee shop.

      The bottles caught Carol’s attention, then the counter and the people! What a delightful scene she was able to capture! Nice.

      Peggy was looking above the counter, focusing first on the menu on the wall, then bringing it down to the serving counter. Well done.

Hugh & Jane look in on Daisy & Katie – a lively conversation.

      Here’s what Katie was sketching – the overhead washing machine tub light shades (amazing!), coffee &. pastry, and the mural bird!

        Jane was interested in the tub shades, too, but more from an overall design aspect. “I’ve had too much coffee!” she said when painting.

Jane & Katie weren’t the only ones mesmerized by the shades – here’s Jane’s sketch next to Jim’s,  he included a lot of context. Great.

      Here’s how Jim’s sketch developed – ink contour, details and cross-hatch shading, then watercolor. What a great cafe advertisement!

   Bitty, who is usually so wet-on-wet spontaneous, decided to use the frame template so she could focus on sections of orchids. Keep coming back to see how this develops – it sure to be wonderful.

Cornucopia outside patio, 19th & Lincoln, Eugene, OR

Woke up to frost this morning, & thought maybe we’d have a small turnout, but oh no! We remembered overhead heaters, vinyl walls.

   Sandy, Barb Sh, Danita, Sam, Bitty, Peggy, coffee server, Marsha; Katie, Hugh, Jim H, Serge, Lynda, Jackie. Intrepid sketchers, all!

        Marsha & Sandy started by comparing their sketches from last week. Marsha then took on the chairs and fence across from her.

      Sandy was looking the other way, and captured Peggy (all suited up for the cold weather) and Lynda at the next table. Nice color use!

       Barb Sh finished her sketchbook from Italy – here two of the wild gardens we visited – The Monster Garden, & the Tarot Garden.

    Barb Sh solved the problem of how to add commentary to her Verona sketch – in the pavers! Then she broke free into abstraction.

      Danita shared some insights with newcomer Sam and Bitty, then sketched the weathered Buddha in the courtyard patio. Nice!

      Bitty likes to get up close and personal in her sketches, and didn’t this sketch of narcissus turn out charmingly! Love the design.

      Sam began his sketch with light green colored pencil, then let loose with watercolor, layering colors for a dynamic result. Way to go!

      Jane did her sketch outline (except for banner & frames) using Lamy ink which is water soluble – have to let go of control with this one!

       Peggy took a very different approach to the pot of bamboo than Jane did – Micron ink pen directly to paper. Now that’s control.

     Katie took her watercolor sketch from last week and added ink for definition, then couldn’t resist adding some garden sculpture.

      Hugh typically starts with ink contour lines. Here he takes his water brush to the Caran d’Ache crayons and gets a watercolor effect, too.

     Jim H did a quick sketch of the garden art, then found a similar mask shape in his travel magazine to add to the page, too.  Nice eye, Jim!

      Serge may be the most determined experimenter/learner of all of us. Here he’s looking at the varying effect of values on the same sketch.

     Lynda brought her friend Jackie with her. Lynda is sticking to pencil for her sketches until she feels confident in what she’s doing (soon!).

      Jackie did a couple of head sketches before she was tempted to try using Katie’s frame layout, daring to start outside the frame, too.

Look who we discovered (warm) in the  “annex” – Bev and Laura!

      Bev sketched Laura in context inside the restaurant, and Laura sketched the kids’ toys the restaurant had on the shelves. Sweet.