Along Came Trudy, Springfield, OR

We kind of filled the place up – Bill, Jim, Jude, Barb So., Lynda, Danita, Sandy, Daisy,  Bitty. But that’s not all!

  Danita, Daisy, Hugh, Bitty, Laura, Jude, Barb So., Jim, Bill, Lynda; Sandy, Erik, Marsha. And yet there’s more.

      Sandy was really concentrating on sketching Laura, who kept moving, she said! But she did a great sketch of her anyway.

      Marsha uses many mediums well – pencil, ink, and iPad! With the latter, she created a black page & then started erasing. Terrific!

    Erik used a watercolor wash for the dark sky, and doesn’t that tree just pop off the page! He keeps his tools sharp for tiny branches.

      Danita showed Erik some mesh drywall tape she brought to share. It’s repositionable on paper. Jane drew pencil guide lines with it, Barb Sh painted over it for the floor texture in her sketch.

      Oh look, Danita used it, too – perhaps these guidelines will be used for one of the quotes on the wall in the cafe.

   Barb Sh often sketches with her non-dominant hand, & Bill challenged her to draw with her mouth, so she did! What a fabulous spirited sketch of one of her dogs.  Here are Bill’s people sketches.

      Barb Sh found an old rusty water pump along with other items, sketched them with water soluble ink, took a wet brush to the lines.

   Daisy & Barb So discovered that Bev sneaked in, and they were eager to share sketches with her. Here’s Bev’s sketch.

     Daisy’s really getting good at sketching pastries! Then she did a charming sketch of a shelf display in the cafe.

    Barb So made great progress on her sketch, using a frame around part of it, then adding items from around the room. Interesting.

      Bitty is playing with some of the art tools she got for the toned paper workshop with Pat Southern-Pearce, surprised at color changes.

    Hugh’s getting to be an old hand at using toned paper. Here he used Caran d’Ache wax crayons, water soluble, but without water.

      Jane was using the frame template, laid it on top of the page & Bitty said “Leave it!” She liked the abstract peek-a-boo effect!

      Jim took a hint from Ken O and went back to a previously done sketch to add color. He’s not a clean palette believer, can you tell?

   Jude likes the soft effect she can get with colored pencils, and adapted the frame template for a rectangle page shape.

       Laura cleverly incorporated the leaf design from the cafe plates in her sketch along with shelf artifacts – lovely whimsical touch!

      Lynda did some nice pencils sketches of items, and said “I think I’m ready for ink.” We think so, too. She’s taking a class next week!

Along Came Trudy, Springfield, OR

Mostly all of us: Bitty, Daisy; Danita, Erik behind Hugh, Marsha, Katie; Peggy, Sandy, Jim H., Barb Sh, Bill.

      Daisy was really at task sketching everything that was in front of her, including the leaf design on her plate! Nice collection of sketches.

      Danita zeroed in on a part of a shelf display – wonderful job on those complicated cones!

      Jim H. took a little wider view of a shelf display – delightful in black & white, but it really comes to life in color.

      A display in the corner caught Sandy’s eye, and again though the jink sketch was wonderful, the color makes it sing.

         Jane sketched the same corner, then added things from other shelf displays. That dressmaker’s dummy was a challenge for lots of us.

      Lynda came a little late, so she didn’t get a lot of her sketch done, but paid attention to details and shading on the edges of things.

      Peggy is having fun playing with colored paper –  here sketching cotton bolls stuck in a metal container. What fun, indeed.

      Hugh consults with Marsha who has done digital sketching before, discovering the various tools, and here’s his finished sketch!

      Meanwhile, Marsha plays with water soluble crayons for an upcoming class in toned paper, then a portrait sketch in pencil.

   Bill got a little sidetracked by all the quotes on the walls before he was back doing portraits in ink. He’s so good at this!

      And Barb Sh. had a great time sketching her hand in various angles to play with the pre-stamped shells on her page. So delightful!

.      Helga finished her sketch from last week, then went on to sketch another woman on her Japanese scarf. Nice graphic touch.

      Bitty continued to work on sketches of the orchids which caught her eye in a photo. Very elegantly done!

         Katie & Erik crack up. She says she was busy copying the wall quotes in another sketch book, so only added two items to this one.

  

When Erik got through his chocolate cake, he went on to work on some landscape sketches from the files in his mind. Whatta guy.

 

Theo’s Coffee House/Whirled Pies, Eugene, OR

This time we came early enough to grab tables by the windows for the light! Katie, Marsha, Laura talking to friend, Peggy, Jude, Bev; Jim, Bill, Hugh, Carol.  A few more drifted in later.

      Bev, Peggy, Helga, Katie, Marsha,Laura, Jude; Bill, Jim, Daisy, Carol; Sandy & Hugh (who was getting ready to sketch with his iPad).

         Jim did another big view on his page from a different angle – here you can see how he framed the space, gradually adding detail to it.

        Jane went small on a big page – artifacts of the place in the frame format (you can see her inking the frames), then watercolor.

       Jude focused on some of the unique chairs in the cafe, a real challenge, using pencil & water soluble colored pencil.

         Katie, a former elementary school teacher, just had to sketch the colored abacus – she’s a master at controlling watercolor!

       Laura had a pre-stamped page to work with, and tremendous restraint as she sketched her cookie, water glass & coffee cup.

        Daisy did a knock-out job on her blueberry danish (she earned that bite!), then sketched a person nearby – ink and watercolor.

        Bev likes sketching people in context, so you get the whole shebang. Here she’s chosen to leave the people without color – nice touch.

      Bill, on the other hand, enjoys paying particular attention to people’s faces and expressions – he uses ink and watercolor.

     Carol is drawn to drawing people, too, and had a new breakthrough using the suggestion of continuous line on the paper.

      Marsha is another portrait sketcher. Her next project is using a photo of herself as the inspiration for a graphic design.

   Hugh tried sketching using an iPad. He chose my favorite people perspective, the rear view with no noses! Fun capture, Hugh.

        Peggy brought her own source of inspiration – a magazine photo of a scene she’s very familiar with (but couldn’t find her own photo).

       Sandy brought her own prop, a quince branch in blossom! After a quick pencil sketch, She finished the sketch with watercolor – nice!

       Helga brought her own prop, but forgot her reading glasses! Go for the big shapes, people said, and she did a terrific job!

     Lealan, a woman of many projects (she has a book to be published), dropped by to show us her latest sketch & plan for making a print.

Theo’s Coffee House/Whirled Pies, Eugene, OR

   Danita’s Michael reads while the sketchers sketch: Jim, Danita, Marsha, Bitty, Peggy, Carol, Bev, Daisy, Sandy, Katie.

         Daisy was a stand-up sketcher, getting all those wall artifacts, before sketching the perfect model, mesmerized by her iPhone.

Bev sketched the model, too – different styles and tools – Bev used Pitt pens, Daisy used Copic ink marker pen & watercolor.

          Here’s how Bev’s sketch evolved, including using grey markers for different values in a sketch of some nearby people.

Marsha and Bev came over to see what Hugh & Sandy were up to in the bright light of the counter window.

       Hugh enjoyed sketching the street scene, using water soluble wax crayons with a water brush for color.

      Sandy, getting ready to go to Japan, drew tiny Japanese scenes in her small accordion sketchbook. That’s quite an accomplishment!

        Marsha is taking a class on portraits, and did a wonderful job using colored pencils – really her forté.

        Danita took the suggestion “sketch what’s in front of you” to heart – the water fountain on the wall beyond her! Now that’s interesting.

        Marsha stopped to see what Barb Sh was doing – portrait sketches, too, but what a different approach, and how fun!

        Carol started out focusing on the bottles, then added the serving counter and people, too. What an interesting scene.

        Peggy was looking the same direction, but started with the menu posted on the wall before going down to add the serving counter.

Hugh, Jane, &. Katie were interested in Daisy’s sketch talk.

       Katie started sketching one of the washing machine tub shades, then on to her coffee & danish, and a bird from the wall mural.

      Jane was fascinated with the tub shades, but more from a design orientation. “I’ve had too much coffee!” she said when painting.

Here’s Jane’s version next to Jim H’s – different attention to detail.

      Jim H. started with ink contour, added cross-hatching and shading, then went on to watercolor. What a vibrant scene he does!

   Bitty borrowed the frame template, wanting to zero in on the little orchids from a photograph, each one worthy of celebration.

Cornucopia outside patio, 19th & Lincoln, Eugene, OR

Woke up to frost this morning, & thought maybe we’d have a small turnout, but oh no! We remembered overhead heaters, vinyl walls.

   Sandy, Barb Sh, Danita, Sam, Bitty, Peggy, coffee server, Marsha; Katie, Hugh, Jim H, Serge, Lynda, Jackie. Intrepid sketchers, all!

        Marsha & Sandy started by comparing their sketches from last week. Marsha then took on the chairs and fence across from her.

      Sandy was looking the other way, and captured Peggy (all suited up for the cold weather) and Lynda at the next table. Nice color use!

       Barb Sh finished her sketchbook from Italy – here two of the wild gardens we visited – The Monster Garden, & the Tarot Garden.

    Barb Sh solved the problem of how to add commentary to her Verona sketch – in the pavers! Then she broke free into abstraction.

      Danita shared some insights with newcomer Sam and Bitty, then sketched the weathered Buddha in the courtyard patio. Nice!

      Bitty likes to get up close and personal in her sketches, and didn’t this sketch of narcissus turn out charmingly! Love the design.

      Sam began his sketch with light green colored pencil, then let loose with watercolor, layering colors for a dynamic result. Way to go!

      Jane did her sketch outline (except for banner & frames) using Lamy ink which is water soluble – have to let go of control with this one!

       Peggy took a very different approach to the pot of bamboo than Jane did – Micron ink pen directly to paper. Now that’s control.

     Katie took her watercolor sketch from last week and added ink for definition, then couldn’t resist adding some garden sculpture.

      Hugh typically starts with ink contour lines. Here he takes his water brush to the Caran d’Ache crayons and gets a watercolor effect, too.

     Jim H did a quick sketch of the garden art, then found a similar mask shape in his travel magazine to add to the page, too.  Nice eye, Jim!

      Serge may be the most determined experimenter/learner of all of us. Here he’s looking at the varying effect of values on the same sketch.

     Lynda brought her friend Jackie with her. Lynda is sticking to pencil for her sketches until she feels confident in what she’s doing (soon!).

      Jackie did a couple of head sketches before she was tempted to try using Katie’s frame layout, daring to start outside the frame, too.

Look who we discovered (warm) in the  “annex” – Bev and Laura!

      Bev sketched Laura in context inside the restaurant, and Laura sketched the kids’ toys the restaurant had on the shelves. Sweet.