Barry’s, Eugene, OR

Despite the unusual cloud cover (we’ve gotten spoiled by the sun!), eight of us gathered to sketch together in the courtyard at Barry’s – Barbara Sommers, Barbara Shirk, Jan, Penelope, Erik, Sandy, Tricia (& Jane behind the camera).

      Here are the early birds, fast at it: Jan, the two Barbs, & Erik – on the right you see how quickly Erik develops his sketch in layers.

       Jan had her eye on the Black-eyed Susans – check back to see more.

        Barb Sommers used a frame (left) to chose her images, and on the right you see how the sketch came to life.

      Barb Shirk had her eye on a couple across the courtyard, and here’s how that sketch took on additional depth & color.

      We love it when we’re somewhere that allows us to pull up another table to accommodate more sketchers – here’s Sandy, Tricia, and Penelope, with Sandy’s emerging sketch of the Black-eyed Susans.

       Tricia is working on adding value to a previous sketch, and Penelope added her morning quiche to a sketch of a prior jazz performance.

        Jane’s page became a series of vignettes – across the street way above people’s heads in the photo on the left is the wiring graphic, and on the right is Sandy’s fabulous Bike Friday bike.

Later that night, Jane made a presentation at the Emerald Art Center about her book “A Year of Daily Gratitude Sketches.” She’s holding her original sketch pages, with a PowerPoint on screen.

Barry’s, Eugene, OR

   Hanna Yoshimura is back with us from Japan, and Penelope got a kick out of showing her the bird & map she drew from her trip to HI.

Meanwhile, Sharon Heinz & Barb Shirk have a chat about tools.

   Hanna got right into the swing of things, sketching her breakfast treat, and then adding on to her sketch journal page.

    Penelope followed suite, adding today’s treat to one from last week.

        Barbara had us baffled, but slowly her mother’s fountain emerged.

      Sharon was working on sketches from her weekend trip to the coast, where Hanna will be next week for the annual Sandgren paint out.

       Erik was busy layering his colors – zow! It’s Barbara!

     So here’s how the table was laid out in the courtyard, missing… Hanna sitting on the wall’s edge to add more to her sketch, and…
    Jane, chuckling with Erik, while she adds strange designs and applies an even stranger sticker she liberated from the side of the building.

San Francisco, CA

While the rest of us were all caught up in dealing with the heat, family and visitors, and all kinds of projects, our  teacher, mentor, and friend Ken O’Connell was busy sketching while out of town.

What a treat (& incentive!) to have him share! Thanks! We’ll be back at it next week.

New Day Bakery courtyard, Eugene, OR

Hard to believe we’re looking for a shady spot, but suddenly it’s hot in Eugene! We were happy to welcome newcomer Anne Tiegen, too.

     Barb Sommers starts sketching while Barb Shirk shows Anne and Sharon Heinz her typical sketchbook pages, in which one image leads to another. Wonder how her rabbit page will develop!

   Barb started adding a sketch of Barb Sommers underneath the clematis arbor, then took up the challenge of using the brush pen.

   Here’s Barb Sommers with first a pencil outline, & how it looks inked.

      Anne, a dedicated painter, gamely launched into sketching folks at the table, then got inspired for a possible design for a painting.

    Jan was tempted by the clematis over the courtyard entry, then went on to include the brilliant colored balcony across the street!

      Jane first ignored the courtyard flowers, and focused on the hose hanging on the wall between Anne & Sharon; then the flowers.

    Sharon started out with graphite pencil, then added colored pencil.

    Then Tricia and Erik showed up – here’s Erik’s sketch.

    Trisha began her sketch with ink, then added watercolor.

   Meanwhile, a report from the road – here are sketchers Joby (with husband Jim), Sandy & Hugh taking a break from their bicycling outing up the valley, along with the sketch Joby managed to sneak in from their stop at Thompson Flour Mill near Halsey.

Owen Rose Garden, Eugene, OR

At last, a warm sunny day on a Tuesday! We were beginning to think we were hexed on our scheduled sketch day.

Jane & Erik happily enjoyed sketching there, Jan shaded, Erik in sun.

          It’s a bit difficult to see in the shade, but Barb Sommers brought her sketch of the truck from the Farmers Market, then on to sketching.

    Jan showed her abstracted sketch of a creek bottom – too weird? How about this one of Kokopeli?  NO, we all agreed – very cool!

  Tricia found a place in the shade, and decided to work on contrast.

       Erik got those preliminary arches down just right, and the foliage began to grow (until hunger pangs took him away for lunch!)

      Jan’s style blends expressionism with just enough representation – so charming and full of life.

    Barb Sommers made a sweet sketch of the wild geranium, and beside it the tiny blossoms of feverfew – so light and delightful.

   And here’s how Tricia’s study in contrasts evolved – some leaves were in the direct sun, some in deeper shade. Well done!

Jane was busy taking photos, and doing little design vignettes from  the plants in bloom all around them. What a lovely special day!