Inside and Outside Urban Sketching

After days of rain, Monday in Portland was mostly sunny. My husband and I took advantage of the weather to walk over our newest bridge, Tilikum Crossing. (This is the one bridge that might escape destruction should the predicted huge earthquake occur.) As it was Martin Luther King day, many people were out enjoying their walks in the sunshine. After taking in the view from both sides, we finished up with a coffee and snacks from Elephants Cafe on the west side. There was just enough time to get in a sketch.

On Saturday, the Urban Sketchers of Portland met at Union Station for a sketch crawl. Again, with the holiday weekend, there were sudden arrivals and excited greetings of travelers.

This sketch was made at f & b cafe inside Rejuvenation Hardware, but if you know the barista, you won't recognize him here. I changed his mutton chop sideburns to a full beard (among other things) and the poor customer is made of parts of at least two different women.

Train Day

Today, the Urban Sketchers gathered at Union Station to record the festivities of National Train Day.

I started with a quick sketch of a fellow sketcher.

Next, I tried to capture the crowd waiting in line for a close up look at an old steam engine. There were people of all ages, lots of little kids, train buffs, and several clowns.

watercolor and ink on toned paper

 After a while, I escaped the crowds and sketched in the garden outside the station.This napper had a dog that watched over her. There was really only the one dog, but I liked it in both positions. Later, another young woman switched places with this one and brought another dog! I felt like my sketch of two dogs made it happen:) I decided I'll draw a large pile of money to test this theory.

I went back for another quick sketch of this engine and added the gel pen and marker at home.

ink, marker, and gel pen on toned paper

As always, it was fun and inspiring to sketch with the Urban Sketchers of Portland.