Saginaw Vineyards, Saginaw, Oregon

We wanted to see the Plein Air Painters show here, and enjoyed everything about the place, too!

     Sandy & Hugh enjoyed using their sketching tripods, while Laura and Marsha appreciated the awning shade available on the lawn.

         Jane’s attention was demanded by the resident cat, while Daisy got intrigued by the grape vines, and what was Lona looking at…

      Sharon was early sketching in the field, then came back to sketch the cat, who, while charming, wasn’t a very cooperative model.

      Sandy started sketching Sharon in the field with the barn beyond, then got diverted by the scene of Daisy in the vines. Nice color!

        Hugh quickly did a contour sketch to the scene (with Sharon in it!), then added color from his water soluble wax crayons for liveliness.

      Laura was delighted with the old stove in the bushes, then moved on to the front of the barn with its charming entry.

         After a preliminary pencil layout, Marsh uses her wine colored ink Copic pen to outline, then Prisma colored pencils – great effect!

         Here’s what Lona was looking at! She did a list pencil outline, then ink, and finally layers of paint – this isn’t done, it will be intense!

          Daisy started with plums, then apples, then vines, and finished off the page with the Saginaw Vineyard logo – wonderful page.

        With the cat off her lap, Jane was able to do some quick little sketches in (& out) of the frames format. It was great fun.

    And then we had lunch there – fabulous soups, a great plate of cheese & crackers, olives &  pickled herring. Let’s come back!

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.