Saturday, September 29, 2012

Urban Sketching

Today Portland's Urban Sketchers sketched in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. We met at The Hof, which is a "symbiotic companion" to the Goose Hollow Inn. It was a very friendly place with excellent hosts and tasty food. There were lots of interesting decorative objects (old toasters, egg beaters, and more) that will be fun to draw sometime when the weather isn't as nice at it was today. Today, there seemed to be lots of neighborhood regulars, as well as a mayoral candidate meeting upstairs.


A block away, I sat outside of a little park and drew this Victorian...


and later I drew this florist shop that is full of autumnal offerings. I'm not happy with the crosshatching that I did, but there's no going back when you use ink.


It was a beautiful day to be out sketching and it was fun to be with the group. I'll definitely be going back to this neighborhood, and the Hof again.



Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Purple Hat Project

My son's fiance told me about the Purple Hat Project through Legacy Hospital.  Knitters make purple hats to be given to families of newborns in the months of November and December.  The purple hats are to remind parents of 'The Period of Purple Crying.' The goal of the campaign is to help parents understand crying, how to deal with frustration and to end shaken baby syndrome.

The letters of PURPLE stand for:
P Peak Pattern Crying peaks around 2 months of age and then decreases
U Unpredictable Crying can come and go unexpectedly with no apparent reason
R Reistant to Soothing Crying continues despite soothing efforts by caregivers
P Pain-like Face Healthy, crying infants can look like they're in pain, though they may not be
L Long Bouts Crying can go on for 3-40 mins. or longer
E Evening Cry Crying occurs more in the afternoon and evening



It sounded like a very worthwhile project, so I promised to knit some hats...


and I got a couple of friends to knit some more...


I like imagining little newborns wearing their purple hats with the little umbilical cord type topknots.

Here's a link for more information about  Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Period of Purple Crying. Although it's probably too late for this year,  here's a link if you'd like to knit or crochet a baby hat for the project or if you just want to see some adorable babies in purple hats:  http://clickforbabies.org/.




Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sheep, Goats, Alpacas, Llamas, and More

Yesterday, when I was reading the paper, I noticed that there was a Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. There would be exhibits of sheep, goats, llamas, rabbits, alpacas, and more. It sounded like a great drawing opportunity, so this morning we headed out of town for the festival on this lovely fall day...


At the festival, I started with some quick sketches of sheep and goats...







There was even a Romney ewe (not for sale)...



I moved on to llamas and alpacas....

These two looked so cute with their haircuts...




In the llama and albaca exhibit hall, I met a nice woman, Brenda from Bend, who raises alpacas for pack trips. She told me that they need hay, grain, minerals and a minimal amount of water and they can carry their supplies as well as the hiker's. Because they have two stomachs, their food is well digested so they don't deposit seeds or other invasive things on the trail. They're eco-friendly as well as being just adorable to look at.


These people were watching the sheep judging...

There were dozens of vendors of yarn, looms, spinning wheels, and everything related to wool. I did a quick sketch of this woman spinning...


 On the way out of the fairgrounds, there was an Irish Wolfhound show, so we paused to watch so I could do a little more sketching....



It was a great day, but we were hungry and not wanting to eat the local food...



we went on to McCormick and Schmicks for a late seafood lunch.


Here are a couple more photos from the festival...





And believe it or not, this isn't make-up...





Wednesday, September 19, 2012

"We Need a Little Rain"

Portlanders, used to months of complaining about rain, only look around and whisper it: "We need a little rain." We've had days of sunshine and shadows, blue skies, and warm weather. It's odd to still be watering plants and wearing clothes without hoods. An especially wonderful thing about this weather is it creates more opportunities for sketching outdoors.

The farmer's market had strong shadows and falling leaves.


It's been warm enough to sit outside of Zupans and draw the top of the Pied Cow...


or sketch a colorful SE Portland house that reflects the values and politics of its owners.

These summer days will be gone soon. Enjoy them!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Summer Sketches

 For the last several weeks we've had real summer weather here in the northwest, and I've spent quite a bit of it floating in an inner tube on a river. Needless to say, that's not conducive to sketching, but I have done a bit in the last month.

I experimented with shiny surfaces...


and painted art supplies...


I drew in a doctor's waiting room...

I went downtown and drew with sketching friends...


Portlandia sculpture

People watching an outdoor ballet rehearsal

I drew an Italian still life on a friend's patio...




 And I drew a little at our cabin on a river....




 Now, there's a chill in the air, so I think there'll be no more tube time for me this summer...but there should be more time for sketching--both are good.