Museum of Natural and Cultural History, UO campus, Eugene, OR

One of our group attendees is a docent at the Museum, and she invited us to see the display about the “buzz saw sharks.”

       Alaskan artist Ray Troll had several imagined paintings of them on display – here’s Jane in front of a self-portrait of Ray & the shark.

     They’re actually called “helicoprion,” and their remains were found in Idaho (because Oregon was way below sea level then). Barb Stevens-Newcomb really enjoyed being our museum tour guide.

      Barbara Aten got right into sketching the imagined model of the shark, accompanied by Tricia. Her last step was to add the sea water, but you’ll have to come back to see the final sketch.

      Tricia tackled the buzz saw shark, too, but had to add the saber tooth salmon – those were dangerous days way back when!

     Meanwhile, Barb Sh was trying to keep track of the bones of the giant sloth, relying on her anatomy training – it worked!

      And Penelope was fascinated with the old remains of the saw tooth shark’s “whorl” of teeth – got it!

Friendly St. Market, Eugene, OR

       It started out simply enough – Erik asked Jane if he could sketch her, Jane sketched the power muffin & beverages in front of her, Barb Sh came in with her sketch of her hand from last week.

   Then Ken O’Connell came in with a book a friend had published of her work, which captivated us: Barbara Stevens-Newcomb, Penelope Youngfeather, Erik Johnson, Barbara Shirk, Jane Harrison.

     Barb S-N was intrigued by the weight scale across the room, which magically sprouted leaves and then the escape was on.

   Penelope & Tricia started sketching the various beverage containers.

     Erik was nearly finished with his sketch of Jane when a woman in a magnificent cape and long boots came into the store.

    Barb Sh inked in leaves penciled in from a visit to the doctor, then added the guy at the next table. Fresh colors bring it alive.

      Jane’s sketch grew from the simple outline to color, to more objects, to her muffin in soluble ink. Which prompted Barb Sh to share her soluble ink sketch – very old Schaeffer blue ink turned purple!

   Meanwhile, Penelope added color as well as people at the table.

    And Tricia did the same (but differently!).

Perugino’s, Eugene, OR

        Hugh gloats about his treat, then does contrition by sketching ALMOST before he eats it! Can you tell he’s an engineer?

     Barbara Sommers shows her sketches of tiny things on her window sill at home, then gets down to sketching her latte in front of her.

    Barbara Shirk avoids the goodies by sketching what’s in front of her.

    Jane has been busy sketching vignettes about the place, including Ken talking to Roger Saydack across the room. She replaces her soluble ink cartridge, makes a mess, and here’s the resolution.

      When Ken joins us the commentary begins – Barb Sh on adding the bird to her page, Ken on how he did the MOC sketch, & Penelope sends Ken checking to see if she’s captured him & his sketchbook.

    Ken has to follow his own edict – sketch first! Then he borrows some “palette mud” from Tricia to finish his sketch.   

      Meanwhile, Tricia has been sketching Ken & the breads behind him. (See her notes on latecomer sketching protocol- it works!)

     Finally, Penelope capitulates and starts sketching, too.

Perugino’s, Eugene, OR

      Only the person on the left has changed (in order to get us all in the photo!) Jan Brown on the photo on the left, followed around the table by Barb Aten, Barbara Sommers, Joanne Palmer, Barb Shirk, Barbara Stevens-Newcomb, Sandy and Hugh Larkin. In the picture to the right, Jane Harrison starts the lineup of sketchers.

    Then Ken O’Connell came in to show his rice paper sketchbook, testing tools to see if they bled through the paper. This took Sandy away from her sketching of the man across the room from us.

     Barbara A started a sketch of the design on the table, while Ken made the rounds, here encouraging Joanne; & Barb’s final sketch.

  We caught Joanne at a funny moment, while her sister Barb Shirk had a serious art exchange with Barb Stevens-Newcomb.

    Not that Barbara Shirk wasn’t sketching – here’s the design she did last week incorporated in her sketchbook, and the beginning of a sketch of a birdhouse from Perugino’s!

    Barbara Sommers shared a sketch she’d done at home, then started sketching some of the decor at Perugino’s.

    Jane had a print out of a sample layout Urban Sketcher Ruslan Gonchar uses (from the Ukraine), and she tried the frame layout, too.

   What are you doing, Jan? “Oh, just doodling.” Which was the perfect accompaniment to Ken’s doodling leaves in his new sketchbook.

     Hugh got a lot accomplished on his sketch of the view through the display case to the doorway and windows at the front of Perugino’s.

Coffee Plant Roasters, Eugene, OR

    Everyone got right down to sketching, but what were they seeing?

    Here’s  Ken’s from this viewpoint last April, and what he saw today.

     Erik chose a tastier view – Barb Sh helped find the color for shadow:

       And where did Barb Sh find those chairs to fill in her existing page?

    Jane was mesmerized by the old time clock on the wall.

     Penelope, intending to save half her biscotti for sketching, forgets her intention when she gets immersed in reading Ken’s Saab comic.

   But she takes Ken’s advice on how to do a biscotti save.

        When she adds her half consumed biscotti, Hugh says she should add the crumbs, too! And here’s Hugh doing the window view.

     Tricia says, “What shall I draw?” then finds the grinder & lamp behind Penelope & Hugh, and moves on to the Roaster sign:     

   And meanwhile, Barb Sh has been working on a negative space challenge – here’s how she resolved it.