4-T Trail Hike

Way back at the beginning of August, my friend Gretchin threw a birthday party which involved inviting all of her friends to go for a hike! The 4-T Trail uses a combination of public transportation and hiking paths to make a loop from downtown Portland up through the west hills and then back via the south waterfront. * A principios de agosto, mi amiga Gretchin organizó una excursión por el sendero 4-T. Pasamos por el centro de la ciudad hasta la cima de las colinas del oeste, usando una combinación de transporte público y senderos rústicos en el bosque. 

Most of my time was spent walking and chatting with the wonderful people at the party, but I did get in a few sketches at the main rest stops. * Pasé la mayoría de mi tiempo caminando y charlando con la gente en la fiesta, pero también dibujé en algunos lugares donde nos paramos para descansar. 

When we returned home after the hike, I thought I was headed straight for a nap. But--surprise!--there was a block party going on that had a live band in the street. We ended up hanging out with more nice people and enjoying the music to finish off the day. * Al regresar a la casa, yo intentaba descansar. Pero--¡que sorpresa!--había una fiesta en nuestro vecindario, incluso una banda tocando en vivo en la calle. Pasemos un rato charlando y escuchando la música antes de terminar el día.

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.)

Sketching Stroll

This trio watercolor sketches are from a walk we did with the "Ten Toe Express" group, who paired up with Muse Art + Design to inject an art theme into their normal neighborhood strolls. It was fun to be out with around 30 walkers, sketchers, and photographers, admiring the neighborhoods of SE Portland at an "artistic pace!"

Thoughts on Waterfalls

I went on an Urban Sketchers adventure to the Ira Keller Fountain yesterday. This hidden park in the heart of downtown Portland has an astonishing set of fountains that mimic a rugged, rocky waterfall--it's really astonishing to behold.

As I sat there, trying to capture the movement of the water with my pen and watercolors, I could clearly remember a field trip I took when I was in junior high school. We were at some natural monument with a very tall waterfall, and it was impressive to stand at the base of it and look up towards the top of the falls. The roaring noise, the dynamic and shifting patterns of water and gravity, the fresh spray on your skin, the distinct temperature difference in this misty place. I had my little tourist-camera, but it was patently clear to me that there was very little point in trying to take pictures of a waterfall--how could a still picture even come close to capturing the amazement of being there, the overwhelming multi-sensory feel of it all?

With that memory in mind, I entered into this sketch wondering if I'd be totally thwarted at trying to capture the astonishing sound, motion, and texture of this monument to falling water. I tried studying the patterns of how the water behaved at different moments in its fall, and was amazed to see how different the dynamic was on all of these surfaces. Sometimes it flows smoothly and quietly over an edge and then gradually gets more turbulent (and therefore more white and frothy) as it falls. Sometimes it makes a graceful arc that's very regular. Sometimes it dives over the edge in distinct writhing ribbons of water that meld together further down.  Sometimes it's a crazy diagonal splatter, volleys of water-blotches fired out of a machine-gun. The variety was mind-boggling.

I look at this sketch now and I know that I didn't capture it perfectly, that it's just a shadow of the multi-sensory experience of being there in person. But, sitting there and doing the sketch gave me a chance to really look, to really think, about the shapes and patterns and angles and motion. I think that my junior-high self would agree with my current self that it was well worth the time to draw the picture. I may not have been able to capture it as gloriously as I wanted, but I got to spend time really looking at the scene, and that was well worth the adventure.  

Winter Boat Parade

Last night I finally met up with Urban Sketchers Portland! We had a nighttime sketching adventure, trying to capture the twinkling of the city during the Christmas Ship Parade.

It was certainly dark out, but the lights from the freeway helped give a general glow to our corner of the riverbank. 5 of us came out; those who were traveling by car eventually took refuge in the shelter of their automobiles to warm up, while those of us who get around on foot were happy to tough it out in the open air. (It was a lovely night, really!)

I brought a sketchbook of black paper and a tube of white acrylic paint. First sketch, above--the general view of the skyline of downtown Portland.

Second sketch: trying to capture the reflections of car headlights as they crossed the Hawthorne Bridge. (Those bridges are a terrible tangle of struts and supports, even with daylight on one's side!)

 Third sketch: one of the boats was decorated with an adorable whale. Turns out, when they left the marina and were out on the river for the parade itself, that there was a mini-whale tagging along after it!

 Last sketch of the night: buildings framed through the legs of the freeway bridge. Portland is a very sparkly town, indeed.