The Pump Café, Springfield, OR

The problem with sketching in a restaurant is that the still life keeps disappearing! Sketchers kept appearing, however, to our delight.

       We started the Tuesday morning gathering with Jane and Erik. Bev & Hugh showed up, followed by Judith, Barb So, Penny & Tricia.  Then Barb Sh came with her sister JoAnne from Albequerque.

At the other end of the table, Phyllis and Ken  had squeezed in.

      Hugh was the one who said “Don’t move the toast!” Oops. Sorry.

      Jane was the one who moved the toast – how rude!

      Bev was the model of restraint, saving her fruit for her sketch.

        Barb So not only saved her scone, she also shared it with Ken!

          Barb Sh deviated from the norm finishing a sketch she had done of her daughter, but her sister JoAnne dutifully sketched her breakfast.

      Tricia and Judith were mesmerized by the decorations on the walls of the restaurant – old license plates, signs, and even saws!

     Erik & Ken are old buddies, but that doesn’t stop them from sketching – here’s Ken sketching his morning treat before he eats it!

    Erik, a more prosaic fellow, ate his breakfast long ago and saved his sketching for the pile of cream containers in the bowl.

Hey, that spot of blue is the same color as Hugh’s shirt!

          Meanwhile, Phyllis was quietly beginning a portrait of Hugh.

Oh! There’s Penelope! When did she sneak in? Despite the sketch challenges, we all enjoyed the wonderful food at The Pump Café, the great coffee and service, and the chance to sketch together again.

New Day Bakery/World Café, Eugene, OR

Ken barely had time to say hello to newcomer Bev Taylor and they were both into sketching!

        Ken sketched his rapidly disappearing Bear Claw pastry, and Bev confessed she loves to do portraits – lots of models here!

      Jane sketched her croissant & coffee, and Penny did the same from across the table from her (they had to be fast, before it got eaten up).

     Penny also shared a sweet bird she’d painted at home, and ended the morning by sketching the ethnic painting on the wall.

      Hugh intently worked on the scene across from him in a booth.

      Erik! You didn’t sketch your pie first! Aha, he said, and rapidly drew the colorful remains.  No stopping this guy.

      Barb So was finishing up a sketch she started at home of her sweet puppy – how can you not adore that face!

       Tricia started in with the colored glass windows, and her sketch quickly grew to include views from outside as well as comments.

      Meanwhile back at the other end of the table, Judith had come in and was delighting Ken with the sketches she did while in Japan.

      Barb A slid in across from Judith, and perfectly captured Judith’s pastry! There’s more than one way to enjoy a tasty treat.

And it’s never too late to get in a sketch, as Penelope demonstrates.

Emerald Art Center, 500 Main, Springfield, OR

The opening reception of our sketch show – thirteen sketch artists showing work from the sketchbooks, and sometimes the sketchbooks themselves!

      Heidi looks at Anne Bonine’s and Jane’s sketchbooks, while Paul and Jim look at the three shadowboxes full of Joby’s work.

     Phoebe, who took an online course with Jane, says she can hardly wait to get back to sketching.  Joby, Barb A, Erik, Cathy & Ken, Tricia and Sandy, all enjoyed seeing the variety of sketches displayed.

It was a special treat to have Patti McNutt display her gouache & ink sketch from Italy along with her follow up oil done back at home.

      Cheryl & Robert take a closer look at Jane’s selection of daily sketches. Satoko and Tricia chat in front of Sandy’s & Ken’s sketches.

      The most welcome comment of the night (right after “I want to buy that one, ” said about three pieces!) was “I want to start sketching.”
No wonder sketchers Phyllis, Jane, & Barb A were so happy!

Emerald Art Center, 500 Main, Springfield, OR

We were invited to hang a show of our work to help others visualize the joy of sketching, and the group didn’t hesitate to pull it together despite weather woes. The show will be up Jan. 10- Feb. 4, but our opening reception is Friday, Jan. 13, 7:30-8:30 – join us!

Here’s an overview shot of how the show appears in the upper gallery at the Emerald Art Center.

   Artists showing work  on these walls are: Jane Harrison, Anne Bonine, Erik Johnson, Joby Patterson, Patti McNutt, Barbara Sommers, Hugh Larkin;

      Hugh Larkin,  Jan Brown, Barbara Aten, Tricia Clark-McDowell, Satoko Motouji;

   Phyllis Helland, Sandy Larkin, Ken O’Connell, Jane Harrison.  Also included in the show but not pictured here is Penny McAvoy.

     Penelope gives some feedback to Hugh, our master hanger, on how level the pieces are, then Hugh steps back to admire the show.

Happy sketch hangers: Sandy Larkin, Penelope Youngfeather, Hugh Larkin, Barb Sommers, Jan Brown. Not shown here but helping out with the labeling, glass cleaning, frame straightening and general enthusiam were Ken O’Connell, Penny McAvoy, & Jane Harrison.

Come see our show!

While the blogger may get bogged down, the Top Drawers never let anything stop them from meeting to sketch – not bad weather, impending holidays, nor visiting guests (we just bring the latter along!). So here’s a catch-up posting:

Dec. 13, 2016, 5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

Dec. 20, 2016, 5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

Dec. 27, 2016, New Day Bakery/World Cafe, Eugene, OR

Jan. 3, 2017, New Day Bakery/World Cafe, Eugene, OR

And there you have it!