First we had to check it all out – Barb Shirk and Jan found the donkey & pony first, then Erik discovered the donkey.

 

     

 

Ooooo, grasses, and flowers, and poppies going to seed…

OK – down to work: Jan, Tricia, Erik, Barbs Shirk & Sommers.

     

 

Erik quickly has a sketch of Jan, and Barb Sh. begins the donkey.

   

 

Tricia dives into the flowers, and Jan captures the top of the building.

    

 

Tricia with her completed page, and here’s Jan’s – how charming!

 

Jan admires Erik’s sketch of her (soon to be her profile pic!).

    

Remember the donkey?  Here’s how Barb Sh’s sketch evolved.

    

Erik starts a new flower sketch, while Barb Aten (across the table) and Jane (sketch above) take on the challenge of the figs.

Chipping the Block, Painting the Silk:
The Color Block Prints and Serigraphs of Norma Bassett Hall

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art presents the work of Oregon-born Norma Bassett Hall’s 25 year career as a printmaker from August 23 to October 12, 2014.  As the first solo exhibition of Hall’s work since her death in 1957, Chipping the Block, Painting the Silk: The Color Block Prints and Serigraphs of Norma Bassett Hall is the first opportunity to see more than sixty of her prints in Oregon since just five were shown in a 1930 group retrospective at the Portland Art Association.

Guest curator Joby Patterson, a researcher and teacher, has been involved with fine prints for more than thirty years.  Her upcoming book, Norma Bassett Hall: Catalogue Raisonné of the Block Prints and Serigraphs, traces the creative life of Hall and her spouse.  Patterson will share her adventures in uncovering Hall’s life and work and lead a tour of the exhibition on Saturday, August 23, at 2 p.m.  A reception and book signing will follow.

http://jsma.uoregon.edu/jordan-schnitzer-museum-art-opens-first-solo-exhibition-norma-bassett-hall-1957

Here we are (can you tell it’s chilly? what a change!)

 

Barb A, Sandy, Erik, Hugh, Anne (Barb Shirk is off taking pictures of the goats, Jane’s behind the camera).  And here’s the view:

What you don’t see is how the rain came thundering in, but you can see it in Erik’s sketch at the bottom of this post.

     

 

Barb Shirk got up close to those goats – how to make them NOT look like her dog was her challenge, she said! Love those ears.

Anne shows her flowers from a sketching class she just finished at Yellowstone (our friend Suzie Garner was the teacher!).  Below she shares her landscape paintings with Sandy, Barb A, & Hugh.

 

     

Sandy is continuing to work with her black toned paper – here with her Mondeluz colored pencils from Koh-i-noor (without water) – what a great effect!

     

 

Hugh finishes up a sketch of the view across the road, then adds watercolor to bring it to life.

     Erik keeps an eye out for the effect of the rain, and here’s the nearly final version of his sketch – I’d say he got it!

     

Jane could’t resist the aromatic strawberries (see her quick sketch above), and then Barb A. added two luscious apricots to the scene.

     

 

Barb stroked her water brush across the colored pencil sketch enriching the colors, while Sandy tried layers of color on hers. Hard to believe the little kid in the background was having ice cream – we were all grateful for sweaters, coats, & blankets!  And being together sketching, of course.

 

 

 

 

 

Barb Shirk started out the conversation – what’s a “finished” sketchbook? Here are two pages she added after the fact from her last trip to Italy – the first from Assisi, the 2nd from memories of Stroncone (all cats & staircases!).

Then Barb Sommers shared her complete sketches from our visit last week to Cortesia:

Barb Sommers shows Hugh some of her work, and here’s Hugh, showing off:

I mean, here’s Hugh, showing his work completed following a trip to Europe.

Then we got down to work.

Hanna on the bench, Barb Shirk sitting on the rock wall, Sandy, Erik, & Alexander (Jane’s grandson) on the bench, then Hugh on the next portion of the rock wall talking to Barb Sommers. Jane behind the camera (although she really did do some sketching, too).

    Jane’s sketches of flowers at the Market – on the left versions using ink and her regular watercolors (WN? DS?). Then after she got home, she tried the same subject in her new Qor watercolors. Hmm.

Alexander shows his new Pilot Parallel pen to Erik.

Erik shows Alexander how to use his felt tip calligraphy pen to write his name.

Sandy sketches Barb Shirk’s back view, using white gel pen on black toned paper.  Then she tried adding colored pencil to sketches:

     

Hanna came with her previous sketch done in b&w so she could add color; Barb Shirk did quick brush pen sketches of vignettes.

Here’s proof that Hugh CAN sketch what’s in front of him, too.

Keep comin’ back!

Talk about timing! We’d been invited back to Cortesia for a longer day today for sketching, having a potluck lunch, and trying out some of the exercises in the book The Tao of Sketching. And it is typically 10 degrees cooler up there in the woods than it is down in town, where the temperature was slated to be in the upper 90s.  Whew.

      

Forest shows Barb Sommers his newly completed deck – Erik gives serious thought to just staying there!

    

Jane picks the front deck again, surrounded by Stargazer Lilies.

     

Erik & Barb Sommers succumb to the front deck’s charms, too. Here’s Barb So’s sketch of the same lily from her own backyard.

     

Barb Aten finds a different lily variety – look at those lush colors!

     

Jan’s on the new studio deck, intent on capturing the scene.

     

Tricia, our hostess, is there, too – lovely spot, lovely sketch!

And then it’s time for lunch!

A yummy lunch on the new deck, a quick overview of lessons and suggestions from The Tao of Sketching, and we were back at it.

What are we doing? Hard to concentrate after that wonderful lunch (followed by dark chocolate with raspberries – thanks, Tricia!).

Tricia suggests we try one of two techniques in the book: 1) doing a simple contour sketch and adding a wash of color; 2) doing an ink sketch & adding color to only a specific part of the sketch for focus.

Here’s Jane’s quick sketch of Penelope & Barb A.

     

Here’s Barb So’s of the same two, & Jan’s sketch of Erik.

     

Tricia sketched Jane, Hanna Yoshimura & Barb So., while Penelope did the same from a different perspective.

     

Speaking of perspective, here’s Erik, and then his sketch of Barb So.

     

Barb A was determined to capture the fruit juice in her glass goblet!

     Hanna joined us in time to sketch her long time friend Tricia.

      

Here’s Hanna’s sketch done at the Famers’ Market last week, and Penelope’s sketch of some of us and the labyrinth at Cortesia. What a wonderful (& cool)  time together.  We are deeply appreciative!