On the Waterfront

A view from the South Waterfront

The new Tilikum Crossing from the Eastside Esplanade

Black and White or Color

Last week, I went to the waterfront with some sketcher friends and we drew the dragon boats.

I never got to the painting, so my boats do't show any of the vibrant colors that we saw. Of course, with watercolor, mine never would look bright. Someone thought it had the look of a woodblock.  I may try making a linocut  print. 

On Saturday, the Urban Sketchers of Portland went to the Sunnyside neighborhood and some of us sketched the people painting the sunflower in the street intersection. I tried ink and then found that it was easier for me to capture loose gestures using my magic mulit-colored pencil. 

Still, the colors were far from the magic of the colors of  life.

 

By afternoon, another sketcher and I sketched in the shade of the trees and structures of the Sunnyside Enviromental School. Most of the colors here were greens and browns and grays. When adding the watercolor, I realized  that my new Sailor calligraphy pen I had tried had water soluble ink, so any colors I used would be mixed with black. I decided to go for a limited palette.

On Sunday, I had a very short time for a downtown sketch, so I went for the minimalist approach. The car (one of my least favorite things to draw) came after I started and there was no way to work around it. Just as I packed up, the driver pulled away.

I love color, but I always feel more comfortable with black and white...and maybe an accent or two.

Summer in Black and White (and Red)

On a recent trip to Cannon Beach, I sketched some items in a friend's home...

I practiced drawing figures in the method described by James Richards...

I drew the beach, without its iconic Haystack Rock...

and I sketched outside the quilt shop....

In Portland,  I sketched our lilac branches...

I sketched our view from brunch in the Pearl...

and a bench...

and a condo gate....

After the 4th of July, I sketched a very exhausted dog in her Thunder vest...