Jane’s place, Eugene, OR

     We had quite a gathering on the decks at Jane’s house – Vikki Wetle, Marsha, Penny, Vikki’s friend Katie, & Barb So on the east deck; Lona, Danita, Sandy, Hugh (& Jane) on the west deck. What a day!

    Danita brought scones, much to the pleasure seen here with Hugh & Sandy. The scones quickly made their way to the other deck, too.

      Danita took on the landscape, first with a watercolor layer, then later with defining ink lines. What a difference some ink makes!

       Hugh moved from his initial architecture lines of black on white to a white on black version, and then on the the flowers (from Marsha, and the peaches (from Vikki).

        Sandy (aka, the bird lady) just couldn’t wait to put paintbrush to her sketchbook to capture the blue heron that was in the newspaper.

     Lona was attracted to the tray of peaches from Vikki’s orchard.

         Vikki drove down from her ranch in Amity, bringing freshly picked peaches and figs (& her friend Katie, too, who sketched the figs).

        Helga sketched the whole table in front of her along with boxes of scones & a bowl of figs. She likes using pencil because…corrections!

      Marsha had a sketch in mind from a photo, but finally gave in to sketch the bowl of figs. (They were disappearing pretty fast).

        Penny found the figs irresistible, too – look how her sketch develops.

        Here’s Katie sketching the figs, while Judith selects one to sketch along with Katie’s collapsible water container.

        Barb S-N sketched the figs, too, as well as a blue glass cup – lovely!

       I think Barb So smelled the peaches, because she migrated to the other deck (along with Penny) to sketch with Lona.

    Penny immediately sketched the peaches. Jane did, too, after everyone left (& after she ate one of the peaches). Nice time!

5th St. Market, downstairs courtyard, Eugene, OR
Temperature predicted to get to 108 degrees!

   Here we are, escaping the heat in the lower courtyard. It was NICE.

       Marsha and Barb So. were under the patio overhang, and Barb So’s sketch gives you the first look at the rooster on top of the fountain.

       Marsha choose to sketch the plants & setting (but no rooster!)

Back in the corner were some newcomers: Lona, daughter Lisa, and granddaughter Addi. It was fun having a young sketcher –  we encouraged her to try a waterbrush, and she discovered watercolor!

        Lona was alternately sketching with pen, and adding watercolor pencil with waterbrush. “I love color!” she exclaimed. Yep.

On around the courtyard were Helga, Daisy, Bev, & Marsha. Above Marsha’s head you can see the rooster posing on top of the fountain.

        Helga was fascinated with the hanging plants, as was Jane, who after a irksome effort to sketch Erik & Hugh resorted to table items.

        Daisy was enthralled with the rooster – great perspective!

        Bev enjoyed sound of  the water fountain while she was sketching the flowers above her.

     Beyond Bev we see that Lealan slipped in to sketch…Bev and Marsha across the courtyard from her!

Rounding out the group are Penny, Sandy, Ken, Erik & Hugh.

    And what does Penny pick to draw? The rooster, of course!

         Sandy quickly moved into adding color to her version of the bird.

       And speaking of color – here’s Ken’s sketch of the rooster – wow!

Erik contemplates his croissant pastry & chats with Hugh.

     Good thing Erik has such a great visual memory, because that pastry disappeared very fast before he could sketch it.

      Hugh took on the challenge of the rear view of the rooster; now who’s being roisterous?

Cortesia Sanctuary, Eugene, OR

An apt quote welcomes us: “The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, one is nearer to God’s heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth.”

         Tricia adds to that welcome – there are 22 acres to explore, lots of garden, a labyrinth, a path to look across the valley to the lake.

Helga, Marsha, Tricia, Penny & Jane gather at the table to sample the blueberries Penny brought to share from her garden.

   Helga is pleased with her sketch of a challenging chair on the deck, but Jane can’t settle on just one thing, so does a collection!

Tricia & Satoko find a quiet shaded place to sketch the garden.

Penny and Barb So. are just up the path with sculpture & flowers.

       Here are Penny’s and Barb So’s preliminary sketches – lookin’ good!

    The bird house gets Marsha’s attention, but Helga found a swing!

     What a wonderful place for sketching!

     Penny plays with a brush pen, and Tricia says “I want to get loose!”

So Tricia takes direction from Satoko, a master of wet-on-wet paints.

     Satoko’s painting quickly evolves, and Tricia is proud of her start!

     Penny looks at her first adventure with a brush pen, while Jane examines her use of a Copic marking pen sketch of nearby trees.

We loved sketching at Cortesia! It’s become an annual retreat.

5th St. Market (lower level), Eugene, OR

Here are most of us: Tricia; Penelope, Barb So., Erik; behind the column is Bev with Penny & Lealan, and far right is Daisy (with Jane).

Penelope, Barb So., & Erik were busy from the time they sat down!

       Erik was working on a wheat field he’d seen, while Barb So sketched what was right in front of her on the table.

       Penelope would like us to think that she got the blueberry Danish purely for sketching reasons. It sure vanished fast after the sketch!

Bev, Penny, & Lealan had a nice selection of being in the sun or not.

      Here you can see how Bev’s sketch developed – ink then color.

       Lealan goes right to color – markers, that is. She says she likes the effect in the one done at Diamond Lake, more like what she wants.

        Suddenly I noticed that all three were sketching in their laps, just like Penelope & Barb So.   Penny was sketching flower baskets above us.

     Daisy was sketching in her lap, too, determined to make that rooster sculpture in the fountain pop off the page – ta dah!

Jane didn’t have Penelope’s control over her subject before she finished her sketch. (YUM!) Next she laid down paint before ink.

    Satoko joined Tricia (both sketching in their laps!). Satoko’s attention was caught by the rooster in the fountain, too.

Tricia started with the flowers on the balcony above us, and ended with a colorful rendition of “Swifty” the market rooster icon.

Farmers Market, Eugene, OR

Here we are, most of us gathered under a red umbrella at the market, from left to right: Judith & Justin in the sun; Helga, Marsha, Bev, Lealan, Sandy, & Hugh taking cover from the sun.

      Hugh concocted his own sketching tripod, which gives him a stable base for his sketchbook, and he got  into sketching right away.

      The light coming through the red umbrella gives his sketch a rosy glow! But he sure nailed the booth across from him in his sketch.

Lealan did her shopping first and generously contributed a still life, much to Sandy’s and Jane’s pleasure.

 
Here’s Sandy’s sketch of the beets & carrots – her paper really was white as you can see in her final sketch.

   Jane had a different viewpoint for her sketch of the veggies.

And Lealan looked right over the top of the veggie still life to include Jane in the picture!

Here are Marsha and Bev busy sketching – in the pink, so to speak!

       Marsha did her preliminary sketch with pencil, which doesn’t show up so well here. So come back another time to see it inked!

         Bev was the busiest of us all, and got three sketches done!

     Helga added to her market sketch from last time, and Daisy captured a whole booth with color and detail.

      Judith’s son Justin was visiting from Japan, and came sketching with her. Judith took on the challenge of those baffling square umbrellas.

      It turns out that Justin is an old hand at watercolor sketching. It’s always such a pleasure when we can include visiting family! Keep coming back, Justin!