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.

Cornucopia, 17th & Lincoln, Eugene, Or
Cozy with the overhead heaters and the clear vinyl walls!

   Lealan, Katie, Jim H., Serge, Marsha, Bitty; Danita, Peggy, Barb So., Daisy, Lynda (& Jane behind the camera).

      It’s fascinating to see Lealan’s sketch emerge, starting with light turquoise marker, then adding depth with other colors and shades.

      Katie brought a travel photo to start, but then couldn’t resist sketching plants nearby – wait until the ink makes them pop!

      Serge always sets up a learning challenge – this one’s all about values & the impact they make. He’s using different values of Pitt markers.

      Marsha had a photo she’d just taken of the crocus blooming in her yard. The colored pencils make such a soft effect. Early spring!

      Bitty had fun dropping watercolor wet-on-wet for the whimsical pottery. I think some of her lunch got in the photo, too.

      Danita has the strategy of photographing her food so she can eat it while it’s hot and then sketch it! Even the condiments are present.

      The twisted vines are right down Peggy’s alley. Didn’t she do a great job of keeping track of what went where? Nice shadows, too.

   Barb So. got the vines into the background of her sketch – a glass jar on the table. Note: the jar is kept from “floating” by table & shadow.

   Daisy spied a stack of booster chairs in the corner – what a challenge! The cross-hatching and background color are helpful.

      The glass jar & condiment tray caught Lynda’s eye, too. She says she’s just concentrating on pencil right now. Color in the future!

      Jane had great fun fitting the vines, sculpture, & daphne blossoms into the frame format. Lots of whimsy going on here.

Alvadore Schoolhouse, Camas Country Mill Bakery, Junction City, OR

  Peggy, Hugh, Sandy, Serge, Marsha; Danita, Michael (her husband), Laura, Bev, Daisy, Jim H., Jean, Bitty. (Jane behind the camera.)

       Sandy started right off with the table decoration – so much color and line variation going on, it was great fun to sketch!

       Jane, sitting beside her, was doing the title page for her 40th sketchbook, and included part of the table decoration, too.

      Serge was in another world – the sunny colors of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I think his perspective lines took him right there, too.

   Speaking of lines, Marsha got some great line action in those twisted limbs of the bare trees outside. A warm winter scene – huh!

      Danita did a visual recording of her scone & napkin, then did a landscape while the paint dried for another final layer. Nice job!

      Daisy sketched her pastry, too, but as a fabric artist…her eye was drawn to…the display of hanging handmade bags! Well done.

      Bev was looking inside and out – here are Jim H & Bitty sketched sketching, then the scenes outside the schoolhouse windows.

      Laura saw something a little closer outside which fascinated her – trees just before leafing out, catkins hanging like decorations.

      Jim finished the color of a previous sketch (it just glows!), then he was back to a vineyard. I really like how the ink makes it pop.

      Bitty sketches with a Pilot Pen which bleeds a bit when she applies watercolor. What a great effect! Two more sketches, one of the cat.

      It was nice to have Jean back with us, and to see her inviting drawing of the interior of the school house as it is now set up. We like it here.

       Peggy comes back to the scraggly old tree every time, with the crop fields behind it, and the Cascade Range beyond. Lovely watercolor.

       Hugh was using his small landscape sketchbook, going across the gutter to stretch his window & get all the people. But what’s this…

      color blast! He’s using acrylic ink fillable markers by Dawler-Rowney; fun to make his own shades, too (orange, purple).  WOW.