Erik arrived early, but could only stay a few minutes because of a Doctors appointment (which was turned out fine), and grabbed the only table that was open, next to the window. Hugh and Sandy showed up very soon, and started sketching as soon as Erik left, after catching up a little socially.

Hugh decided to work from a digital photo of a memorable event: Sandy bicycling along the road on one of the terrific adventures.

Looks like Sandy was drawing from a photo as well!
Good job!

A mother at the next table drew our attention.  she had the sweetest little girl with her.

And food, of course!

Jan drawing some decorations in the coffee Shop

So Hugh and Erik were the only Top Drawers to appear at Allan Brothers on Tuesday.  We had a great conversation, and solved all of the worlds most pressing problems, but not where to meet next week.  Hugh left it to me to decide, and I will, when I send out the email notice…..

Meanwhile, Here’s a selfie with Hugh:

And Hugh’s wonderful interested in architectural details:

And my own efforts at reconstructing distant memories:

Though Ken was not with us at Allan Bros, he was with us in spirit in Umbria, along with several of the TDs:

Tuesday, Hugh, Barbara, Jan, and Erik met at the Alan Brothers Coffee Shop on 5th Avenue across the street from the jail.  It was a very pleasant gathering.  Barbara and Hugh arrived first and got right to work;  after getting coffee, of course.

Hugh was drawing an architectural detail of the rail and stair way.

Then Erik and Jan arrived. There was some discussion of which procedure to follow: order a treat and draw it before eating, or just eat it and draw whatever you want.  No decision was made, though Erik went ahead and ate half the treat, which was not great, and would have looked better in a drawing.  But he drew from memory in any case.

And finally, thank you Jan, for taking a few pictures while the primary photographer and organizer is away in Italy!  And going ahead with your own sketch of the woman at the next table.

Well, there was a little confusion over the Top Drawers’ meeting spot this week.  Perhaps it was because so many were on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, toodling around looking at art and sketching.  Only Barb Sommers turned up at our originally determined site–Thistledown Farms–Sorry, Barb!  no pictures yet from her….
At the last minute, Jan Brown and Erik Johnson thought that the New Day Bakery and World Cafe would be warmer and closer, though  only Jan and Hugh showed up!  Erik had other urgent responsibilities to attend to.
So there are a few pictures!

Here’s Hugh at work

And here’s what he’s working on:

And here’s a couple from the hardy travelers!

Barbara Shirk’s house, Eugene, OR

Here’s the crew in Barbara Shirk’s colorful back yard –  in back: Ken, Jan & Barbara Sommers; in front: Sandy, Renata (Heidi’s sister), Heidi, & our wonderful host Barbara Shirk.  (Jane behind camera)

     Barbara tells Ken how she made the brownie-waffles. Jan & Barb So enjoy having tea with theirs, as well as yummy croissants.

             Barbara had a demo of how to use water soluble “dust” (Ken Oliver Crafts – Color Burst, or Colour Craft – Brusho). She used a stencil over the paper, poofed out some color dust, then spritzed it with water to reveal the color – you can fold your book or paper to get a reverse pattern. Then you have a background for sketching! Here’s Barb’s sample first, then Jane’s stencil work (& a stencil still carrying enough wet color to do a 3rd page, upon which she sketched).

          Here’s Barb So. picking her color “dust”, spritzing the “dust” that’s on top of a stencil, folding her book, then lifting the stencil – ta dah!

       Barb shows Renata and Heidi what she did, and then they were eager to try it, too.

          Barb Sh holds the stencil flat while Renata poofs the “dust” across her stencil and then spritzes it with water. Heidi is tickled with the variegated color effect she got by using different “dusts.”

     Jan really got a vivid effect with her color burst. Sandy took advantaged of the hand held dryer for hers (note Ken in the garden).

          Meanwhile, Ken was busy sketching in the garden, letting the color and shapes inspire the multi-layered page he’s creating.

        Barb So enjoyed Jan’s sketch of a nearby colorful pot evolve.

    The nearby hardy fuchsia’s caught Heidi’s sketching eye.

       Sandy & Renata were sketching side by side – here’s Sandy’s sketch of one of the whimsical snail sculptures Barb Sh has in her yard.

       Both Sandy and Renata enjoyed the process of sketching over the top of their colorful stenciled backgrounds, too – the last photo is of Renata’s playful flowers (inspired by the garden). We hope she’ll come back and sketch with us again, although Germany is far away.