Hideaway Bakery, Eugene, OR

And here we (mostly) all are, taking advantage of the cozy inside room. From the left, Penny, Hugh, Sandy, Barb Sh, Lealan, and across the room near the fireplace are Ken, Erik, & Bev.

      Hugh, Mr. Diligent, tackles a reverse color outline, and still manages to get the color of the sunset glowing on the paper!

      Sandy, sitting across from Lealan, begins a series of portraits.

      Lealan showed us her finished sketch from 5th St. Market, a woods scene, and then went on to sketch Hugh & Sandy across from her!

        Penny was aghast at water soluble ink all over her hand & blobbing the page. But look at how she (& the sketch) recovered. Nicely done.

     Barb Sh. typically begins her sketches with water soluble ink, & uses it throughout the sketch – look how Pegasus emerges!

   Buddies Erik & Ken frequently sketch together, but what’s that Ken is using to fill out tree foliage? A multi-colored pencil! Wow.

     Looks like Erik has taken up abstract art…no…wait a minute! That’s the  Rocca (fortress) in Assisi from Ken’s postcard beside him!

    Jane got caught up in sketching the end of the room, then tried her hand at a portrait of Helga sitting across from her. Oh well.

              Helga explained how she was trying to refine her perspective, sketching the beams in the room, & Hugh amused Penny with his sketch from the view  inside of a plane.

     Bev got exasperated when her portrait model had the gall to leave, so she resorted to sketching herself in reflected in the mirror.

       Barb A and Sandy bookmark the mirror view. Barb says she came to see the book of memories about Anne, our dear sketch friend,  that Jane put together (shown on the table with Erik, Ken, & Bev).

Hideaway Bakery, Eugene, OR

It’s pretty well acknowledged that we tend to select sketching sites contingent upon two factors: accessibility of coffee, and accessibility of bathrooms. Today we added a third – heat overhead on a patio!

Sandy, Barb Sh., Ken, Hugh, Erik, Bev, Barb So. (& Jane behind the camera). As you may be able to tell by outerwear, it was nippy.

      Jane came prepared with a print-out of a page by Urban Sketcher Miguel Herranz from Barcelona, & utilized a similar layout to sketch the items in the nearby sandbox on the patio.

     Sandy zeroed in on the lineup of  three TD guy friends – Ken, Hugh, & Erik – and then couldn’t resist Penny’s fig bagel.  Another attraction!

        In between snacking on her treat, Penny sketched the quince flowers Sandy had collected on her walk. Lovely design ensued.

       Barb had her water soluble ink pen going, adding her dog to the cat sketch, and then the St. Francis Basilica door demon. Whatta combo!

      Ken sketched a  tree across the way, starting out with his left hand to keep the lines loose, then building up the sketch with color.

       What are you up to, Hugh? Oh, color charts! See, one with and one without adding water so he can easily choose the effect he wants.

     Erik drew what he saw in front of him – a dad playing with his son in the nearby sandbox. He really captured a charming scene.

      Bev looked up and sketched the ceiling fan, string of lights, and then added the edge of the doorway and bamboo plant. Fun angles – wow.

Then we had to add another table & some chairs at the end, because Penelope and Helga came to sketch with us, too.

       Penelope had a travel scene on her iPad that she was working on, adding careful layers of watercolor to bring it to life.

      Helga spotted the bamboo plant just beyond Barb Sh & Ken, then included the wooden gate next to it. There’s a lot to see in this spot.

       Bev said to show this sketch of Hugh & Barb Sh instead of her fan sketch, so I’m adding it. And Penelope asked if anyone had taking a photo of Jane to include, so here is one with apple blossom sketch.

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

        Bev said someone commented that she was never smiling in pictures that were taken of her sketching. Huh, muttered Barb Sh next to her.

      So maybe I should give a warning, “Smile!” before I take a picture, Jane said (& even got a giggle out of Barb Sh.)

“Smile!” And they did – Lealan, Ken, Barb So, Barb Sh, & Bev.

   But then the serious sketching began – here’s Lealan’s initial sketch of the barista using Tombow markers, and Barb So. with watercolor.

     Jane started sketching her almond croissant, went darker, then tackled the photo of multi-colored octopus – more on that later.

             Ken, who taught us all to sketch with ink, rediscovered the fun of drawing (first with the left hand) in pencil, then going darker, too.

So did we seriously have fun sketching? Yes! The cats are the proof.

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

It all started out pretty calmly…

Barb A, Betsey, Erik, Helga, Bev, Tricia, Barb Sh & Penny at task.

   Then we had to add another table for Judith (celebrating her birthday with a cinnamon roll), & partner Annie who was getting encouragement for the upcoming sketch trip to Italy from Ken.

    Barb Sh. was busy adding text to her double layout, done with her Lamy pen and sepia water soluble ink.

    Penny borrowed some of the ink to sketch the holder Barb Sh had made; Bev quickly got into details outside the window.

    Jane started sketching the pinwheel Danish, then remembered she had a Lamy pen with black water soluble ink – fun to pull shadows.

    Tricia was intrigued with the potted plants on the outside patio.

     Erik began planning a story sketch, & Betsy tried out some paints she had tucked away for awhile – it’s gouache! Beautiful colors.

But what is this Penelope brought in? It’s Flat Stanley, visiting from her nephew in Ohio! Let’s do a sketchbook for him to take home!

    Jane did a page showing sketching tools, & Bev did an Oregon butterfly. The pages started adding up as they went around.

     Penelope chuckles at the sketch Barb Sh did of Stanley holding an Oregon Banana Slug, & Tricia & Barb Sh enjoy all the sketches.

      Then Stanley started showing up in our own sketchbooks! Here he is in Bev’s, and in Tricia’s. What a cutie!

     He joined the portrait page in Auntie Penelope’s sketchbook.

      Barb A did a quick sketch with notation of color, then decided she had time to do it now, and voila! Here’s Flat Stanley – ta dah!

Flat Stanley takes a bow! We had such a good time with him.

Café Yumm, 18th & Willamette, Eugene, OR

    What a surprise today to have Barb Shirk’s sister JoAnne & husband Doug (who went on the Italy sketch trip last year) show up to Top Drawers.  A whole lot of sharing ensued, and sketching, too! From the left are: Judith, newcomer Betsy Huffsmith, Doug, JoAnne, Barb Sh., and in the next photo: Bev, Barb So., and Erik. But that’s not all!

      Barb So is going to Italy to sketch this coming September, so she was particularly interested in seeing JoAnne’s Italy sketchbook. The violet page is a recent sketch Barb So did with a nice letter addition.

    Barb Sh chats with Bev & Erik while she adds more to the page she started before with a sketch of her hand.

     Doug starts by sketching his hand, too (such a “handy” model), segues into his own Italy sketchbook, then takes Ken’s advice and tries sketching people from the back view (no noses to deal with!).

      Bev elaborates her sketch with a decorative border, and adds color with her colored pencils. She has such a delicate way – delightful.

    What on earth is Erik doing…  I finally asked. The table top pattern! It’s a meditative practice, he said. I guess it would be!

      Judith wondered which version was better – the watercolor, or the 2nd one in colored pencil. We thought the watercolor was fresher and freer. Next she tried replicating one of Ken’s sketches – Nice!

     After looking at a pencil portrait she had done, Penny decided to work on something different – the Café Yumm counter (but where are the cookies, Penny?).

       Betsy is not only new to the group, but she introduced a new sketch twist – process drawing. We want to know more about this. Turns out, Betsy is a friend of Barb A, and here she holds the book Barb A brought to share with the group done by a local bicycler, David Wolfersberger, who sketched his travels across the United States.

Tricia loves using her landscape sketchbook full length.  Here’s a sketch from a recent visit, and then adding the view across the parking lot of Café Yumm today – wonderful camelias in bloom!

       And Jane, just back from Arizona where weather was in the 90s, sketched the dripping wet potted tree outside, covered with moss. Welcome back to Oregon!