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!

5th St. Market, downstairs courtyard, Eugene, OR

Marnie, Lealan, Bev, Erik, Marsha, Helga, Daisy, Barb Sh, Penny & Laura – what a nice gathering of sketchers on this warm day!

    Here’s Bev’s geraniums, and Erik’s coast painting – both wonderful!

          Penny sketched the edge of the pool and the plantings beyond, while Marnie went for the baskets and railings just above that spot.

        Barb Shirk did a monochromatic sketch of that scene, too, while Helga and Daisy did unique  multi-colored sketches.

        It’s always so interesting to see what different artists include or exclude – here’s Helga’s sketch, and then Daisy’s “goes for a walk with a line” ala Paul Klee and starting a painting on top of that!