Maude Kerns Art Gallery, Eugene, OR

    There was so much to see, all the detailed altars created to honor persons in the past. It was hard to decide what to sketch!

        Daisy did a whole page of images from various altars, ending with the difficult mermaid figure.

        Penny M started sketching the little sculptured figures in the glass case, then back to watercolor for her next sketch.

        Penny J drew boxed frames to isolate each of the figures she chose to draw – such an endless variety reflecting the person gone.

      Barb Sh showed Penny M one of her cross page sketches using metallic inks, then began the mermaid Daisy did – not done yet!

        Hugh did a riff on the skeleton images which were prolific.

       Marsha did a page of pre-designed box frames, playing with images across them and outside them for a great effect.

       Katie added altar images to a page she had already begun with a flower sketch. It will be interesting to see how this page develops!

       Jane tried using the box frames artist Pat Southern-Pearce utilizes, finishing with a text notation and a gallery watercolor sketch.

      Danita drew the arched windows of the building and tapestries below, then used special frames for additional altar images.

        Lona refused to be confined to boxes, overlaying her images in a colorful celebration.

        Bill & friend Jim at a table – Bill was finishing up some sketches of people he had done earlier with bits of conversation remembered.

      Jim, who does such fine architecture work, took on the challenge of whimsical images from a nearby altar – great success here!

     Bev sketched one of the special ornaments, then images from a multi-layered altar.

        Ken & Barb So shared thoughts about an altar, then Ken began sketching the interesting room construction, and Barb So an altar.

The whole experience was very rich, as we pondered the special things families had put together to honor the dead.

New Day Bakery, Eugene, OR

We took up three tables – yummy food, great fun together.

        We do enjoy learning from one another – Hugh & Erik compare crayon strategies, and Lona explains wet-on-wet sketching to Jim.

        Sharing projects: Barb Sh’s layered paper doll greeting card, Barb So’s completed Kokopelli, and Daisy’s sumi ink painting.

         Sharing techniques: Jane’s social survival sketch, Marsha’s tape removal of pencil lines, and Bev’s use of negative space.

     Barb Sh completed one sketchbook, and began a new one – hooray!

       Barb So and Penny frequently have to cut their time short with us, but see the lovely sketches they did today – what nice detail!

          Here’s how Bev’s sketch looked prior to painting negative space.  Then she did a tree sketch that someone said ought to be a stamp!

        Daisy dutifully sketched her food before eating, then did a template for her two watercolor palettes – which one will go with her to Italy?

        Erik was on a foggy morning roll – you can almost feel it!

        Hugh was eating his roll, but still did two sketches – a vibrant one on black paper, and a complex structure – not done yet, he says.

        Jane was doing her daily gratitude sketch – this from a Facebook post – first in pencil, then layers of watercolor, and finally ink.

        Jim launched right in on sketching what was in front of him and wow did he do a great job with perspective as well as detail! Feel no fear!

         Katie loves doing her sketches within frames, incorporating the stamps on the page. Here she uses a ruler to assist in perspective.

          The large jug on the piano caught Laura’s eye – love how the image develops from simple to complex with great color. Well done!

        This is how Lona does her wet-on-wet sketches – talk about vibrant!

        The secret to Marsha’s exquisite colored pencil sketches – keep those pencil points sharp! Look at that great sharpener she brought.

New Day Bakery, Eugene, OR

We enjoyed sketching in their sunny courtyard so much that I forgot to take pictures of the 15 of us who were there! Here’s what we did:

          Marsha shared her 3 colored pencil color-wheel, Hugh had a new holder he made for his crayons (& all labeled, as opposed to Erik’s helter-skelter container), & Barb S had a story of a music event.

        There had been a chance of rain, so Barb Sh came prepared with a bird photo for her ongoing visual journaling – keep posted on this!

          Marsha brought a new bouquet in her square glass vase, and many of us tried tackling that rascally glass vase, & the flowers, too.

          Hugh took a water brush directly to the crayons in his new holder, and after picking up pigment got a nice loose watercolor effect.

        Laura, on the other side of the table, did her sketch in ink, added colored pencil and a decorated border – quite a delight!

        The maple tree leaves & seed pods caught Erik’s eye. This is just the beginning of his sketch, so check back later for the finish.

        Jane did a little doodle sketch of the leaves, too, then a dog at a nearby table grabbed her attention. Logo added after she got home.

        Danita sketched a little limb from the Japanese snowbell tree before moving on to a wet-on-wet painting sketch of the maple tree.  Sweet.

        Bev was intrigued by the snowbells, too, then dared to do a sketch of a guy at a nearby table (who not only kept moving, but got up & left!)

       Daisy got in a quick likeness of Erik (who also moved!), her muffin, the fork, and the flowers through the bench backing. Busy, busy!

      Serge added the charm of the tree limb to his sketch of the building – look at those reflections in the windows! Beautifully done.

     Penny J tackled one of the picnic tables set at an angle – a perspec-tive nightmare! But it got better when she just kept at it. Good.

     Lealan had a wonderful sketch of a succulent to share, and Barb So had just enough time with us to start a sketch of the wall Kokopelli.

     Penny Mc was interested in the wall art, too – didn’t the shadows make it pop! Did she use water-soluble ink to do the pot & plant?

        Katie drew the wall sculpture, too, and made it her daily “Seeking the Light” sketch. Wonder what else is going to go on the page..

Tradewinds @ Jiffy, Eugene, OR

Does this group have a good time together? Oh yes, we sure do!

     Hugh took sketch notes (see upper left) on his recent travels which he found easier to translate than words. Nice to be back in the sun?

        Ken had just come back from the coast where he was intrigued by some of the trees – white with dark markings….alder? Very nice!

        Erik was into trees, too, but these are Willamette Valley trees – almost makes you glad that autumn is here. OK, I’m glad already!

        Laura captured some of her fellow sketchers at the next table – you can certainly tell they were intent on their tasks.

        Bev started with the tree across the road, then the cars caught her eye – “I love drawing cars!”  And didn’t that sketch turn out well!

      Daisy’s been well indoctrinated by Ken – “Sketch first!” then eat. Looks good enough to eat right off the page. Yummy.

           Jane enjoyed doing a quick sketch of Marsha’s flowers, but had to keep her dog Tutti amused, so she finished her sketch at home.

          Sandy sketched the flowers, too, and did her part to train Tutti to be an art appreciator. I think he mostly appreciates Sandy’s attention.

        Here you can see the careful buildup colored pencil work that Marsha does. That bottle vase is becoming a wonderful icon!

     It was Penny’s first outing after recovering from hip replacement (we gave her a standing ovation), and her sketching is still great!

        Barbara Sh now has Tutti included in her round about world, but takes time to take a look at a new technique Lealan wants to share.

      Lealan isn’t afraid to experiment, here to get the effect of the table top under her cappuccino; then on to sketching the folks around her.

     Serge doesn’t let the chatter around him interfere with his drawing concentration – what a wonderful architectural rendering!

Tradewinds @ Jiffy, Eugene, OR

          We were kind of spread all over the place, but you can’t  see Katie’s and Jane’s dogs, or Barbara So and Ken who were there, too.

       Barb Sh was continuing her ever evolving visual journal of where she is, & what she’s seeing,  including newcomer Jim on her page today!

       Jim was busy looking over her shoulder at the view beyond, which he captured in detail within a frame, and began a new sketch, too.

     His friend Bill, also new to the group, was into doing portraits; the last two had flesh tones courtesy of his morning coffee & cream!

    Marsha brought her bottle vase that we’ve all fallen in love with, along with new flowers. She did a lovely colored pencil approach.

     Katie had a back view of the flowers, and a different approach in doing the bottle vase in ink and watercolor, rather than pencil.

     Daisy was busy sketching her Danish & making pen use notes, while inside Barb So was doing a pencil sketch of the flowers on her table.

    Bev was sketching the table flowers, too, from two angles. She drew her signature frames around each sketch, and used a stamped page.

     Laura liked Bev’s second perspective, and added a decorative frame to hers as well as  nearby details to finish a charming sketch.

     Erik zeroed in on a close-up of one of the unique flowers in the table bouquet, Love-in-a-mist. Terrific job on all those tiny pieces!

      Serge did an architectural rendering, but when he started to ink Lealan asked to see his Lamy pen and had fun drawing loosely!

      Bill caught a photo of Jane (who takes everyone else’s photos). She got out her Lamy pen to play with, which has water soluble ink in it.