Music in the Park

The other day, a friend and I drew in Laurelhurst Park. I was trying to work on drawing trees and didn't have much luck. (Those sketches won't be posted here.) As we were leaving the park, we heard music playing. We got closer and saw this young woman, with a keyboard attached to her bicycle, practicing her music. I'm pretty sure I've seen her busking on Hawthorne, collecting gratuities in her bike helmet, but today, she  was composing and working on her tunes. It was dark and shady in this part of the park and so nice  to have a musical accompaniment to our sketches. 

Summer in the City

We have great farmer's markets in Portland. Each day of the week, there's at least one going on. For someone like me, who didn't plant any vegetables, they're great places to pick up delicious produce. They're also great places to sketch, if you're quick and don't mind losing your view in the crowds.

This week, I sketched at a market in the South Park Blocks, downtown. A friend and I perched near a pile of peppers. I had a pretty good view of a fountain, some flowers, and of course, the peppers. While we drew, we were entertained by a couple of classical musicians, "playing real nice, for free."

After the concrete got a little hard, we wandered over to some comfortable chairs and a free concert outside of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. A trio of folk singers performed French songs while many lively, little children danced and jumped to the music.

Before leaving, I bought some blueberries and the best chocolate chip cookie in Portland from the Pearl Bakery tent. Sketching with a friend, fresh fruit, live music, and a chocolate chip cookie--gotta love summer!

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Two weeks ago, I went sketching to the Chinese Gardens to sketch with a couple of friends.  It was a gorgeous day and not too crowded. It's always tricky for me to draw the pagodas so I went for the smaller things like leaves and bonsai plants:

I sketched the goldfish, lotus, lilies and a dragon ornament.

An osprey was perched on the tip of a pagoda eyeing the fish. Right after I took this photo, it swooped down and picked up an eight inch fish! Easy pickin's for a city bird of prey.

According to a volunteer at the garden, the osprey is often at a nearby building. Between the river and the garden, the osprey has a good source of food. Unfortunately, the garden is missing at least one fairly large fish.

Seashells