Pioneer Courthouse Square

While everyone else hung around the square, I  went off to look for a lion that I'd been lusting after.





I found it on Alder, on the Electric Building.  Two lions, actually, facing each other across the entrance.  I did a line sketch, then saved that much aside and continued, obliterating the lines with color.




Then I went back to Pioneer Courthouse Square, to hear a bunch of pirates singing sea shanteys and Christmas carols.  I did a sketch of one of the singers, but my tablet was balky and unresponsive.  And after I'd rebooted it, to fix that problem, I'd lost the sketch.



Back up to the balcony, where most people seemed to be sketching the square, with the tree and the courthouse beyond it.  I sat down and sketched the sketchers.

9th International Urban Sketchers Symposium and Call for Proposals

The next Urban Sketchers Symposium will take place in Porto, Portugal on July 18-21, 2018. The Education committee is calling for proposals for Workshops, and Skit Sketch by Friday, December 15, 2017 (11:59 p.m. GMT). Read more...

1 tree, 2 leaves, 3 persimmons

Here it is again, looking not much different from the stick that I planted in April.  Except for those orange things.

December Sketchcrawl - Pioneer Courthouse Square

3rd Saturday Sketchcrawl
December 16, 2017

For December, we'll meet at the Starbucks on Pioneer Courthouse Square to sketch holiday festivities in Portland's Living Room. 

Image courtesy of dguides.com

Please bring one or two of your favorite seasonal ornaments or holiday decorations. We'll put together a little collaborative still life for anyone that wants to stick around and sketch inside the comfortable cafe, just in case we get challenging weather!

For intrepid outdoors sketchers, options at the Square that day include the IKEA Toy Shop, the 75-foot Douglas Fir, and a holiday-pirate-themed sea shanty performance from 11-12. 

10:00 - Meet at Starbucks on the Square, 720 SW Broadway
10:30 - Sketch around the Pioneer Courthouse Square area or stay indoors and sketch ornaments. 
12:00 - Gather back at the Starbucks for a quick sketchbook sharing, then optionally migrate to Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 802 SW 6th Ave at Yamhill

Pill Hill sketchcrawl

When I got to the top of the tram I hung out for a bit at the edge of the platform so I could enjoy the view.  But then, mindful of the antibiotics in my system, shifted to a bench out of the sun.  And did Hood, which I haven't seen in weeks, along with an unfamiliar man who appeared to be sketching.

But when he turned, I saw that he was just fiddling with his phone.  With a stylus.  Yes, he was sketching, on his phone.  His name is Chad, and he's a friend of Ellie's.

I was getting cold by then, so I went into the pavilion, and did a trio of sketchers who are hardier than I am.


And then headed towards the skybridge.  But never made it, stopping at a closed coffee shop with a stupendous view.




A Perfect Sketching Day

We rode the tram up to OHSU where we could take in the magnificent fall views of the city, Mt. Hood and St. Helens, the river and gorgeous fall colors. The air was chilly, but the sun was shining so by putting on hats and fingerless gloves, we could stay outside or we could head inside for the coziness and the comfy chairs.

The views, the sun, and the comradely must have worked to inspire such excellent sketches. Here's what we did.

I hope people will still post their sketches, because it would be wonderful to see them close up again.

Thanks everyone for such a fun day!

10th Anniversary Global Sketchwalk

With three stops and wonderful weather (for November) we ventured out for a full day of sketching in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Urban Sketchers.

SW Park, New Deal Distillery and Cartopia. Thanks everyone for yet another great outing!

Storm recovery - persimmon

I gotta admit that I cheated.  I didn't do this one from life, but from a photo that I took on Sunday when the sun was out for five minutes.  (Which was lucky, as Monday's windstorm blew at least one of those leaves off the tree.)


This is obviously not the same variety as the big tree at 25th and Savier, but looks to be the same as the persimmon tree in the Chinese Garden.  Where the plaque says that the fruit won't be ripe until December. 

And when I said that the storm recovery was finally complete?  Well, I lied.  One section of the new sidewalk isn't quite up to code and will have to be redone.  Sometime.  The company is lining up all of their ducks, with one eye on the weather forecast.  My hope is that it gets done before the anniversary of the storm.

Lan Su Garden

I showed up at 9:30, for a memorial service... for a tree.

Osmanthus Life Celebration


There were speeches about how everyone loved the tree - how the Buckman neighborhood donated it to the garden (and how they used heavy equipment to dig it out, transport it and plant it) and how it scented the whole neighborhood in the fall.  I myself had never noticed it before.  It's been suffering for years and is more than a bit scraggly now.

Then we all got cups of tea and drank the traditional Chinese toast for departed loved ones - to heaven, to the earth, and to the ... tree.  (Actually, you're supposed to pour the tea out on the ground, but we drank it, rather than wasting it.)

The tree will be removed tomorrow, with a replacement showing up on Monday morning.  A smaller tree, but it will still need a crane to get it in.

Then I stuck around for Kalina's sketchcrawl in the garden.


Our First (and only?) 5 hour Progressive Sketchwalk

Andrea's brilliant idea for the 10th Anniversary Global Sketchwalk was to keep the sketching going over a 5 hour period of time in 3 different locations. We met at the Museum where there were lots of sketching opportunities. I headed up to PSU.

From there, some of us walked and some took the bus across the river to the New Deal Distillery where the very generous folks there allowed us to sketch the beautiful still. Of course I sampled the whiskey.

The last stop of the day was Cartopia. I wound up with my back to the carts so I sketched the intersection.

What a fun day!!!!

Urban Sketchers 10th Anniversary Global Sketchcrawl

About a dozen of us gathered at the art museum (as opposed to the hundreds lining up for Wordstock) and we passed out the hashtags to use and the schedule for the day.  And took a couple of group photos, and then dispersed.



I walked straight back into the museum, wading through the book lovers, and did another sketch of the giant skeleton in the Laika exhibit, from below this time.

I'd put on a nametag, as I was officially volunteering for the sketchcrawl.  Which meant that people passing thought that I was a volunteer for the museum, or for Wordstock, and kept asking me for directions.

Also, my preferred sketching apps seems to have upgraded itself since the last time I used it.  And has a different UI.  And more brushes.  And more colors.  So many that they've given up on naming them and just give them numbers.



After that I wandered towards the farmers market.  It was drizzling, but I was able to stand in the entrance to the library and see one of the booths (doing coffee) from the back.





Then down to the Urban Center, where I stood under the shelter of a MAX stop.




Then across the river on the Hawthorne Bridge, and down to the esplanade, where I stood under a tree to do downtown.



At this point a slow-moving freight train was blocking my path to the next stop, so I climbed back up on the Hawthorne Bridge to go over it to get to the New Deal Distillery.  Here a bunch of us gathered to draw their still.




Then we straggled over the few blocks to Cartopia, the food pod at one corner of Ladd's Addition.






November Sketch Crawl - OHSU and the Tram

Image credit: Wikipedia

3rd Saturday Sketchcrawl
November 18, 2017
 
It has been a while since we've gone up to OHSU.  Hopefully we will still have some nice fall color.  No matter what we will have great views.  And we'll be safe from rain if there is any.

The Tram costs $4.70 for a round trip ticket.

Schedule:

10:00am - Meet at the South Waterfront Lower Tram Terminal at 3303 SW Bond Ave, Portland, OR 97239, for introductions.  Take the tram at your own pace up to OHSU on Marquam Hill.
10:30am - Sketch around OHSU Kohler Pavilion, VA Bridge, etc.
12:00noon - OPTIONAL sketchbook sharing near the Marquam Hill Upper Tram Terminal, 16 SW Campus Dr, Portland, OR 97201.   

Cozy sketching

I stayed inside the Rocking Frog last week with the other sketchers sketching each other.  What a fun place.  I had to try one of their fresh out of the oven hot donuts.  Had to eat it before sketching it though.



Last week when we met with Jane, the foreground seemed a little dull, so I first turned around and sketched the sunflowers behind me.  Then I turned back around and sketched the tents and trees that had also caught my eye.  I will try that again some time.

A Rainy Day Sketching

Even with a forecast of 100% chance of rain all day, we had a good turnout of sketchers. Kate (Seattle USk group) even joined us!

We started at the Rocking Frog on Belmont.

We had people on the porch, one who sketched in her car, and a couple of sketchers who sketched in Lone Fir Cemetery.

I was part of the group that sketched inside the cafe the whole time.

                               Kalina, on the other hand, ventured out and got pretty drenched!

Thanks everyone, for a fun way to spend a rainy morning!

10th Birthday of USk - Global 24hr Sketchwalk - Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017

Hello Portland Urban Sketchers!

Portland Urban Sketchers will be participating in the international Urban Sketcher’s official 10th birthday (11th November 2017), for the first 24hr Sketchwalk ever!

USk chapters around the world will come together and hold sketchwalks in their cities on that day. Through our social media accounts we will travel across the globe over 24hrs, following the timezones, as we broadcast hourly the sketchwalks happening live in different cities.

Portland Urban Sketchers will join in with a progressive sketchcrawl throughout the city that day. Please join us and other urban sketchers around the world!

Schedule:
Location A - 10am - 1pm: South Park Blocks (PSU / Farmer's Market / Portland Art Museum) - meet around Museum Grounds Cafe, 1219 SW Park Ave
Location B - 1pm - 3pm: New Deal Distillery, 900 SE Salmon St
Location C - 3pm - 5pm: Cartopia, 1207 SE Hawthorne Blvd

"Shepherd" volunteers will be available to help you get from one place to another via public transit, bike, or walking. It's a max of 1.5 miles between each location.

"Point person" volunteers will also be available at each location to answer questions you may have.

More info on the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration of Urban Sketchers can be found here: http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/10-year-anniversary-celebration.html

See you there!
Andrea

Old and New Portland Architecture

I'm sure you recognize these houses from the sketch crawl posts on this blog. I couldn't resist going back to New Seasons to sketch these colorful oldies.

This new building is the Karl Miller Center at PSU.  I sketched it from the covered deck of the Urban Center building. It was a perfect for a drizzly day.

USk Group Exhibition is Canceled for now

Message from Amber Sausen, the President Urban Sketchers this morning:

Dear Urban Sketcher Regional Admins,
We regret to inform you that the Ave Maria University exhibition has had to be cancelled due to a number of factors that resulted in a very short deadline. We're disappointed, as we're sure you are too. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. While this particular show is cancelled, Urban Sketchers does plan to host another exhibition in future...

USk News: Call for Entry to USk Group Exhibition

The USk board is pleased to invite urban sketchers to submit sketches for an upcoming USk group exhibition at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida, USA. The university seeks images that portray the motto of Urban Sketchers—we show the world, one drawing at a time.

The exhibition will run from November through February 2018 in the Canizaro Exhibit Gallery at Ave Maria University. This exhibit is one of several that will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Urban Sketchers.

Please submit up to three images that highlight life in your neighborhood/city/country.

International Deadline: 4 October 2017 23:59 CDT.

Details are provided in the submission form:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/USkExhibitAveMariaUniv

Slabtown Gouche Sketch

Here is the sketch I did from Slabtown this weekend. I'm really happy with how the gouache paint colors turned out. I used Talens 24 color opaque watercolor gouache tin from Blick and a pencil to layout shapes.

Oct. 21 Sketch Crawl - Lone Fir Cemetery

3rd Saturday Sketchcrawl
October 21, 2017

Let's sketch the Lone Fir Cemetery!  Seems appropriate for October.  There may be some nice fall colors.  And if it's rainy there are some little shops nearby on Belmont that people can duck in to.

We will start and end in Rocking Frog Cafe.

Schedule:
10:00am - Meet at Rocking Frog Cafe, 2511 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97214, for introductions, coffee, and snacks.
10:30am - Sketch around the Lone Fir Cemetery or on Belmont.
12:00noon - OPTIONAL sketchbook sharing and lunch back at Rocking Frog Cafe.