Barry’s Deli, Eugene, OR

Here’s the herd of cats: Barb So, Jan, Ken, Sandy, Sharon, Barb Sh, Erik, & Penny. Jane (aka, the cat herder) behind camera, Tricia – late!

   We started out by catching each other up to date – here Barb Sh shows Jan her sketches from a recent trip to Albuquerque.

    Then Jan showed her thumbnail sketch that lead to a ceramic piece.

   Ken couldn’t resist adding more color to the sketch he did last week of Erik. Tricia opened her sketchbook to a memory of red peppers.

      But Sharon topped it all – her last sketch was from the last time the TDs were here at Barry’s! But look at how the sketch developed.

     A look over Erik’s shoulder saw a scene emerge from his memory.     It looked good in color, but then came the black! It was night, he said, and then the drama unfolded. Wow, what an exciting rendition!

     Barb Sh showed us a thumbnail she made for a future sketch, but went back to finish one she’d started – images within an image – nice.

      Sandy’s eye was caught by trees & the people at nearby tables.

           Penny started sketching Sharon at the end of the table (who just wouldn’t hold still!), ending with loose watercolor tree sketch.

        It’s always so interesting to watch how Jan’s sketches develop.

        And here’s Ken at work, bringing color & depth to his tree sketch.

       Jane, who claims not to understand collage, did a page of collected images. Then she wanted to see what Tricia was up to – don’t look!

      OK – here’s Tricia’s finished sketch from Mt. Rainier, and her quick sketch from today at Barry’s, too. Another tree!  Trees rule. Mostly.

Cathy’s backyard, Eugene, OR

Ken’s friend Cathy invited us to come sketch in her yard – you can barely see her here, coming from opening up the door for the chickens to get out to play! She was the best host – lovely setting, lovely treats & drinks, and very unobtrusively let us do our thing!

         Here are two of the chickens, and here’s Jan sketching them, with results in process below:
         

       Erik’s the sun lover in our group, & Ken went out to see what he was drawing – totally distracted from what had been in his mind before!
    

         Jane did a quick sketch of the bird feeder, too, and leaf vignettes.

      Here are Heidi and Barb So getting ready to sketch – the arbor!

       Can you tell Heidi was an architect? And that BarbSo loves chicks?

Sandy & Ken are eagerly into sketching…what to choose…

     Ken took advantage of our favorite model – Erik! As did Sandy:    

    One of the things we appreciate  is sharing art work in progress, whether paintings or sketches, or just talking art.      

And we enjoy talking about upcoming trips – this one to Sicily! Satoko, Penelope, & Barb A are busy planning this trip together.

    Satoko and Penelope still found time to sketch in this beautiful backyard. Thanks so much, Cathy, for your wonderful welcome!

Eugene, OR

Ten years ago there was a sketch trip to Italy with Ken O’Connell:

When we came back to Eugene, we formed Top Drawers, and have been meeting every Tuesday morning to sketch together ever since.

TEN YEARS! That calls for a party! We invited the original group plus new friends who have joined us over the years – celebrate!

From our first group art show at Full City Coffee/Palace Bakery.

Friendly St. Market, Eugene, OR

Jane, our blog editor, was off this week helping at a workshop at Emerald Art Center, so members of the group stepped up to do the picture taking for the blog.

As you can see, no one was taking this too seriously with Ken behind the camera – Jan, Sandy, Satoko, Penelope.

Then Jan was pressed into photo taking, apparently with lots of commentary from the peanut gallery (see below):

    Penelope & Ken crack up at a quip, then Penelope gets to appreciated the decorated envelopes Ken created.

Satoko & Ken share a thoughtful moment – guess it wasn’t all laughs.

   And Erik didn’t get so carried away that he couldn’t add to his sketchbook – what a trooper!

Friendly St. Market, Eugene, OR

Erik and Jan can get very intense when they come to Top Drawers.

      Erik is frequently the first to arrive, and he already had this image in him mind, so it didn’t take long for him to get it down on paper.

       The flowers & guy at the table across from us caught Jan’s eye; she used Erik’s colors and Jane’s water brush for her terrific sketch.

    There were pots of delicate begonias on the table, which Jane couldn’t resist (no surprise there!).

      Penny started out with ink, lifted some watercolor, and ended with a loose splash of the sunflowers from across the street – wow!

    Barb So. only had a short time to devote, wondered how much she could get done, zeroed in on getting the right color and shazam!