Café Yumm, 18th & Willamette, Eugene, OR

    What a surprise today to have Barb Shirk’s sister JoAnne & husband Doug (who went on the Italy sketch trip last year) show up to Top Drawers.  A whole lot of sharing ensued, and sketching, too! From the left are: Judith, newcomer Betsy Huffsmith, Doug, JoAnne, Barb Sh., and in the next photo: Bev, Barb So., and Erik. But that’s not all!

      Barb So is going to Italy to sketch this coming September, so she was particularly interested in seeing JoAnne’s Italy sketchbook. The violet page is a recent sketch Barb So did with a nice letter addition.

    Barb Sh chats with Bev & Erik while she adds more to the page she started before with a sketch of her hand.

     Doug starts by sketching his hand, too (such a “handy” model), segues into his own Italy sketchbook, then takes Ken’s advice and tries sketching people from the back view (no noses to deal with!).

      Bev elaborates her sketch with a decorative border, and adds color with her colored pencils. She has such a delicate way – delightful.

    What on earth is Erik doing…  I finally asked. The table top pattern! It’s a meditative practice, he said. I guess it would be!

      Judith wondered which version was better – the watercolor, or the 2nd one in colored pencil. We thought the watercolor was fresher and freer. Next she tried replicating one of Ken’s sketches – Nice!

     After looking at a pencil portrait she had done, Penny decided to work on something different – the Café Yumm counter (but where are the cookies, Penny?).

       Betsy is not only new to the group, but she introduced a new sketch twist – process drawing. We want to know more about this. Turns out, Betsy is a friend of Barb A, and here she holds the book Barb A brought to share with the group done by a local bicycler, David Wolfersberger, who sketched his travels across the United States.

Tricia loves using her landscape sketchbook full length.  Here’s a sketch from a recent visit, and then adding the view across the parking lot of Café Yumm today – wonderful camelias in bloom!

       And Jane, just back from Arizona where weather was in the 90s, sketched the dripping wet potted tree outside, covered with moss. Welcome back to Oregon!

Meridian Building, Café Yumm, Eugene, OR

       This was a new venue for us, and we liked the quiet &  bright light. Around the table were: Hugh, BarbSh, Kaili & her grandfather Pierre, Judith, Barb So, Erik, Bev, and Jane behind the camera.

     Arriving early, Hugh shared the sketch he did from Jane’s photo of him hanging Erik’s show, as well as a sticker by an unknown artist.

      Erik tried out a new to him Faber Castell wax crayon made for kids – he said it was smooth, but low in pigment. Cool case. So he was easily diverted by a photo of an ancient jug – wonderful sketch, Erik!

        Then Hugh got down to business, sketching a hidden away scene from France – and look at the magic with use of the waterbrush!

       Bev started out sketching in her lap, then moved on to the table top where she picked out things that intrigued her as she looked about.

        Barb So saw things from a slightly different angle, and here’s her charming sketch selected from the window display.

    Barb Sh is never at a loss for something to sketch – give her a hand!

      Pierre finished a sketch of a cafe chair he’d started (what a challenge with all those curves!), then the window view caught his eye.

     Kaili chose a family artifact to sketch, and did a great job. She enjoys sketching with her grandfather as much as he does with her.

Here’s a sample of Kaili’s usual art work – lovely depth and shape.

    Judith started out with a cheerful little fluffy bluebird, then moved on to doing a sketch of her hotess’ house intended for a gift.

   Jane sketched some hellebore from her garden (from photos), did a little color, then abandoned that to sketch the logo from Café Yumm.

16 Tons Café, Eugene, OR

You’d think we were at a fast food joint the way folks were here and then gone, and then here and then gone….we have busy lives!

Here are some of the early birds – Heidi, Barb So, Penny, Judith, and against the fall wall are Hugh & Erik. Barb & Penny were busy planning their trip with Ken to Umbria this fall – so intense!

    Heidi had this exquisite pen & ink drawing from a recent trip to the coast, and Judith was excited to unpack her new travel palette.

    Judith was curious about other  ways to apply color, too, and Heidi gave her a quick tutorial about using colored pencil overlays.

    While Penny checked reservation data, Barb So wrote out her trip deposit, and then quickly got into a beginning portrait of Heidi.

      What was Bev up to hiding out in the corner – more portraits! She does them so quickly, and people don’t even suspect!

        Erik was in a great mood – so what’s beginning to appear…keep coming back to see the reveal!

     Hugh is keeping to his sketch a day commitment – this one a re-visitation of a trip to Europe – worthy of commemorating.

Told you it wasn’t fast food (OMG, those crepes!), but so delicious that Ken & Tricia both forewent the “sketch it first” edict.

     Meanwhile, Lealan sneaked in to do a quick sketch of Ken and Tricia.

      Just about then, Judith had completed her first watercolor version of a hybiscus, and then of the room itself – ignore the ceiling, Jane said, it will take care of itself in the viewer’s eye. Made Judith happy.

       Speaking of Jane, here she is with her sketch of her dog (from a pic on her iPad). Yes, Ken did sketch – adding more color to a postcard.

       Barb A came to meet us specifically to pick up mitt-gloves for her upcoming birding trip in Klamath Falls – then she sketched them!

     Tricia excels at putting objects together to make a whole experience, and today was no exception. She has been accused of not being able to leave any space untouched, however….see below:

16 Tons Café, Eugene, Oregon

Our Valentine’s Day celebration meant sketching, of course.

  And here we are, hard at it: Erik, Barb So, Barb Sh, Hugh, Barb A, Sandy, & Ken. Bev was up getting goodies, Jane behind the camera.

      Erik, was stunned by his Choco Caliente Crepe, which didn’t last long.  Then he was busy sketching, too, what was left in front of him.

      Barb So just had to sketch the series of hearts in her latte, then went on to include the people behind Hugh in the café, then watercolor.

       Feb. 14 is Barb Sh’s father’s birthday, and here’s how her annual memory tribute to him developed – sweet memories.

      Hugh, next to Barb Sh., drew whatever was in front of him, then decided to add just a bit of color – didn’t that turn out great:

        Jane was captivated by the heart in her latté, too, and added the heart necklace she was wearing (a gift from her daughter-in-law).

     Bev not only sketched the heart in her coffee, she added the view seen through the gauze curtains of the cafe – what a nice addition.

Sandy filled in the missing images of Bev, Jane, and her darling Hugh at the table across from her.

What were Barb A. & Sandy sketching, looking in opposite ways?

       Sandy was sketching Ken, while Barb A began working on the line of the hat on the fellow at the middle counter – that’s a challenge.

      Bev, Hugh, and Sandy were interested in seeing what Ken was doing, continuing to work on the group sketch he started last week.

   Here’s what developed in Ken’s sketch today – more definition.

     Then Bev couldn’t resist sketching the young woman in the corner.

      Tricia focused on the café decor, and Bev did a quick one, too.

Of course, sketching is not over ’til it’s over, and Ken kept right working on his group sketch the next day of painting at Jane’s:

       Let’s see how a little watercolor over the the graphite sketch would look….  And it’s not over yet, folks! Keep checking back.

5th St. Market, Eugene, OR

Not much can slow down the Top Drawers & Friends…

    Penny only had a brief moment today, so she worked on last week’s sketch, while Bev showed us the sketch she did of Penny last week.

      Bev may get the award for the most sketches done in the quickest time, but what’s that on the far left…the “small” Apple French Toast!

     Erik & Hugh were too busy to notice – here’s Erik’s sketch of Hugh (foreshortened!) eating his cinnamon roll in between pencil strokes.

     Hugh was looking across the room at the piano – got the wood grain!

     Barb A started sketching the piano, too, while Bev did a drawing of Barbara (told you she was fast).

      In the corner, Lealan tried sketching a portrait with colored markers – wow, look at that sketch develop! What pizzazz!

      When Jane wasn’t running around taking photos, she did this simple line sketch of the scene on the deck, then a pop of yellow. Done!

     Ken set up shop across from the group, and began a loose left hand sketch of the group…but what’s Phyllis doing…where’s Erik?

Hugh’s getting ready to leave, Erik’s back, what’s going on?

     Seeing Phyllis’ “small” Apple French Toast was too much to resist! And here’s what Phyllis managed to do prior to her French Toast.

Meanwhile, Ken was trying to keep track of the restless crowd…

   So the next day (usually a painting day with Sandy & Jane) Ken looks at multiple photos of the group, and manages to get most of us into the sketch (under the supervision of Jane’s dog, Qi). Whew!

Now about that “small” Apple French Toast…