Fractals, Points of View, and the Ghosts of Warehouses Past

There are some newish art installations along SE Grand Ave here in Portland which I've been enjoying every time I go by.

My impressions of them are mostly that they are an interesting experiment with fractal structures, much like how the bare branches and increasingly smaller twigs of winter trees make patterns against the sky. Of course, the metal rods being arranged at right angles give them a vaguely architectural air as well.

But when I was headed to this weekend's sketchcrawl this weekend--on foot in the steady rain, having missed the streetcar by a mere 30 seconds--I suddenly saw these sculptures from an entirely new angle. Wait--is that the shape of a building appearing out of what I had always just seen as abstract lines in a playful tangle?

 And, look, it's there in the other one as well! A burst of internet research reveals that artists Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo were specifically invoking the "ghosts" of old industrial buildings that once stood in this area of the city (an industrial district that's steadily converting to juice bars and yoga studios.)

Browsing further on teh interwebs, I also found images of their installation titled "Non-Sign II," which immediately brought to mind that delightful Talking Heads song:

"There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
(you've got it, you've got it)
If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower..."

Small Doodles

My little pocket notebook, which I intend to use for grocery lists and other mundane notes, sometimes catches little random sketches simply because it is on hand and convenient. Here are a few recent examples. * Tengo un cuadernito que llevo conmigo para apuntar cosas sobre los quehacers mundanos del dia. A veces, lo uso para dibujar simplemente porque lo tengo conmigo. Aqui hay algunos ejemplos recientes. 

 

Bee-mimic fly & brick building. * Mosca que imita una abeja, y edificio de ladrillos.

Punk rock dude & urban goats. * Un tipo punk-rock y tres cabras urbanas.

National Train Day

Normally I don't cross-post sketches that I've already put up at the Urban Sketchers of Portland blog, but I really like how the watercolors from our adventures at Union Station came out today! So I'll share them here too.

I happily discovered that I had packed a tube of "Moonglow" watercolor paint in my kit, which was a really fun addition to the shading in locomotive 700, and also made for some nice shadow tones on the brick work in the towers in my second sketch. (I unfortunately forgot to pack a tube of sunblock in my kit, so my right arm is a fascinating shade of "Pyrrol Red" now...sigh.)

DC: White House and Navy Memorial

The presidential inauguration is happening on Monday! I should get my last sketches from the trip to DC posted in time for that, huh? * ¡La inaguración presidential toma lugar este lunes! Debo compartir el resto de mis dibujos de mi visita a Washington, DC, ¿no?

White pencil on black paper. *

Lápiz blanco en papel negro.

Our first night in town was actually election night. Fast sketch the White House, all lit up while votes were being tallied around the nation. * La primera noche del viaje fue la noche de la elección. Este dibujo rápido de la Casa Blanca iluminada de noche captura el momento en que estaban contantdo las votas por toda la nación.

White pencil on black paper. *

Lápiz blanco en papel negro.

DC is a town full of memorials. One of the favorites we found on this trip was noteworthy for its simplicity--the Navy memorial features a lone dude with his bag, bundled up against the cold wind, waiting to depart on his ship. Tells a heck of a story with very little "pomp." * DC es una ciudad llena de momumentos comemorativos. El monumento del Navy era uno de nuestros favoritos. Hay un chavo solito, con mochila, abrigado contra el viento frío, esperando salir en su barco. Presenta un cuento muy emotivo sin mucha pompa.

 

Pillars

Washington DC is a monumental city. I packed my black-paper sketchbook for last month's trip because I knew the dramatic marble would call out to be sketched. * Washington DC es una ciudad monumental. Llevé el libro de dibujar con el papel negro durante mi visita la mes pasada, porque supe que había un montón de edificios de mármol para dibujar.

 
Drawing all these giant pillars by daylight is certainly fun... *Claro que es divertido dibujar las columnas en la luz del día...

...but trying to capture the way they are illuminated after dark is an even more interesting challenge. * ...pero después de anochecer, con las luces prendidas en ángulos dramáticos--dibujando ésto es un reto aún más interesante.

Last sketches from San Luis Obispo

My goodness, you can tell it's a good sketching trip when, a month later, you still haven't gotten all the scans posted! Here are some sketches that I did while exploring San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles last month--focused on historic buildings and neighborhood scenes.

Híjole, es obvio que dibujé mucho en mi visita a San Luis Obispo y Paso Robles: una mez ya ha pasado y ¡todavía no he compartido todos mis bosquejos!  Aquí hay algunos dibujos que hice al explorar la cuidad, enfocados en edificios y vecindarios históricos.