San Francisco, CA

While the rest of us were all caught up in dealing with the heat, family and visitors, and all kinds of projects, our  teacher, mentor, and friend Ken O’Connell was busy sketching while out of town.

What a treat (& incentive!) to have him share! Thanks! We’ll be back at it next week.

New Day Bakery courtyard, Eugene, OR

Hard to believe we’re looking for a shady spot, but suddenly it’s hot in Eugene! We were happy to welcome newcomer Anne Tiegen, too.

     Barb Sommers starts sketching while Barb Shirk shows Anne and Sharon Heinz her typical sketchbook pages, in which one image leads to another. Wonder how her rabbit page will develop!

   Barb started adding a sketch of Barb Sommers underneath the clematis arbor, then took up the challenge of using the brush pen.

   Here’s Barb Sommers with first a pencil outline, & how it looks inked.

      Anne, a dedicated painter, gamely launched into sketching folks at the table, then got inspired for a possible design for a painting.

    Jan was tempted by the clematis over the courtyard entry, then went on to include the brilliant colored balcony across the street!

      Jane first ignored the courtyard flowers, and focused on the hose hanging on the wall between Anne & Sharon; then the flowers.

    Sharon started out with graphite pencil, then added colored pencil.

    Then Tricia and Erik showed up – here’s Erik’s sketch.

    Trisha began her sketch with ink, then added watercolor.

   Meanwhile, a report from the road – here are sketchers Joby (with husband Jim), Sandy & Hugh taking a break from their bicycling outing up the valley, along with the sketch Joby managed to sneak in from their stop at Thompson Flour Mill near Halsey.

Owen Rose Garden, Eugene, OR

At last, a warm sunny day on a Tuesday! We were beginning to think we were hexed on our scheduled sketch day.

Jane & Erik happily enjoyed sketching there, Jan shaded, Erik in sun.

          It’s a bit difficult to see in the shade, but Barb Sommers brought her sketch of the truck from the Farmers Market, then on to sketching.

    Jan showed her abstracted sketch of a creek bottom – too weird? How about this one of Kokopeli?  NO, we all agreed – very cool!

  Tricia found a place in the shade, and decided to work on contrast.

       Erik got those preliminary arches down just right, and the foliage began to grow (until hunger pangs took him away for lunch!)

      Jan’s style blends expressionism with just enough representation – so charming and full of life.

    Barb Sommers made a sweet sketch of the wild geranium, and beside it the tiny blossoms of feverfew – so light and delightful.

   And here’s how Tricia’s study in contrasts evolved – some leaves were in the direct sun, some in deeper shade. Well done!

Jane was busy taking photos, and doing little design vignettes from  the plants in bloom all around them. What a lovely special day!

New Day Bakery, Eugene, OR

Another Tuesday of iffy weather sent us to New Day Bakery, which has the luxury of being warm and dry inside, and when (if?) the sun comes out we can adjourn to the colorful courtyard. Here we are:

Tricia, Sandy, & Erik get right at it.  Jane did a little more on the sketch she started at Riverview Café at Riverbend Medical Center.

   Tricia catches us up on a recent trip. What’s going in the little box at the bottom left? Come back next week to see!

     Erik takes advantage of a nearby model – did he captured that mood?

     Sandy dutifully started sketching food & drink, but also got enticed by the guy modeling across from her.

    Then it started warming up outside, so Erik, Sandy, & Jane were happy to move.  Here’s Erik’s sketch of the bike across the patio.

    Kokopeli & the acanthus molis caught Jane’s eye for vignettes.

        Sandy was intrigued with all the flowers in bloom.

And Tricia captured the whole colorful scene, with comments, too.

Farmers Market, Eugene, OR

Now here’s a sketch (by Rita) you might expect of the local scene!

    Rita Cavin was just back from her Asian cruise, and thought our mentor, Ken O’Connell, would particularly like her Kyoto trees. We sure like them!

   Sandy was interested in what Barb Sommers had done in her sketchbook since we last met. Roses from the Rose Garden!

     The farm goods truck caught the eyes of Jane & Sandy, both of whom swore off trying to sketch trucks ever again. It was sort of fun.

     Sharon Heinz, who attended Ken’s sketch class at Emerald Art Center last week, joined us.  A watercolor painter, she said her goal was to loosen up – looks like she accomplished her goal! We were happy to have her with us.