Spring, Life, Rain

In time of silver rain
The earth puts forth new life
again,
Green grasses grow
And flowers lift their heads,
And over all the plain
The wonder spread
Of life, Of life, Of life.


from 'In Time of Silver Rain'
by Langston Hughes

I don't know about on the plain, but here in Portland, we've had plenty of rain this spring, bringing an abundant growth  of grass, weeds, and flowers.  All are thriving.

It's often too wet to be out sketching for long, but I can always grab a handful of flowers and bring them  inside to sketch in comfort. Here are the latest:

This was sketched from inside looking out, waiting for the rain to stop so I could plant the runuculus and pansies.

One of my sketching friends, Linda D., made me this lovely little sketchbook filled with pages made form one large sheet of thick, watercolor paper. It looked spring-like, so it's full of spring sketches. (Well, no rain clouds.) And there's my new Lamy Pilot pen, which I love. Now what am I going to do with the dozens of other pens I've collected?

The first pages have blossoms from our pear trees.

Then I tried to draw some camelias we saw on a walk. This is a very tough flower for me and the results show. I lost interest.

Back inside, these are Ranunculus, Spanish Bluebells, Narcissus, Tulip, Grape Hyacinths, and Azaleas.

I decided to tackle some camelias again and since the petals don't seem very defined, I added ink and shadows and the result doesn't look anything like my usual light pallet.

And now, the lilacs are starting to bloom, so I stuck them in a cup I got at the Oregon Pottery show last weekend and tried to capture them.

I love how lilac buds explode out like fireworks.

Ah, Spring!

Sketching with the Portland Urban Sketchers

The Portland Urban Sketchers met at the Canvas this week. The model wore an unusual dress of recycled orange cording material. Most of the time, I chose to ignore the dress.

By the end of the evening she was getting tired, but not this tired.

      And here's a previous sketch from the Canvas, when that model wore a very tiny nurse costume.

You never know what the Monday night model will wear at the Canvas, but it's always a fun (and cheap) place to sketch, eat, drink and meet others who like to paint or sketch.

More Small Things in the Square Sketchbook

Shells, Portland Collects, and Paula's show

It was rainy outside and since I couldn't go to the Bahamas for more shells, I bought some at a neighborhood terrarium shop, Artemesia Garden and Gallery.

I didn't know there was such variety in snail shells.

I did a little sketching at the Portland Art Museum's show, Portland Collects.

Buddha

A friend, Paula, has a display of her paintings at a local hair salon.

Here are a few small sketches from another trip to Rejuvenation Hardware.  There were some unusual clown decorations on a wall.

Jazz faces, Coffee Heads, Small Objects and Another Grid

As part of the Portland Jazz Festival, Duo Chronicles was playing at the Benson Hotel.

The Portland Urban Sketchers had a sketchcrawl that never left Stumptown Coffee Roasters since it was, once again, very cold outside. These are my sketches of a few of the people out for coffee this weekend.

 At home, I added a couple more pictures to my sketchbook of grids and small objects. Some of these shells were from the Caribbean. I think I need to go back there to get some more. Sun...warm ocean...walking in the sand...it all sounds very enticing right now.

The Book of Grids and Some Very Small Objects

I have a square, Stonehenge sketchbook that I am devoting to grids and small objects. This is the title page. Hmm, a Sara Midda influence, perhaps.

The button idea came directly from looking at Andrea Joseph's Sketchbook blog. http://andreajoseph24.blogspot.com/

These double snowdrops were our first sign of spring.

Valentine's Day

My sketching group went to Taborspace andbrought things for a still life. We also celebrated a birthday. These are my sketches from that day. The hearts were knit from yarn although that doesn't come across in the sketch. I found the blocks especially difficult.

This was one of the birthday cakes that we had. Delicious!

Michael brought me a gorgeous Valentines bouquet of lilies, fresia, and orchids.  They were lovely, warm colors.