American Bison

Hot day. Just about to cool off with a coating of dust.  It wouldn't work for me or my friends but these guys love it.  I was thinking some nice cool purples and blues  could make him think twice about a wallow in the dirt.  My great nephew thinks I should have just used brown but I didn't have any earth tones in my palette.  Maybe next time, crimson and orange.

A Day to Waterolor Sketch

     Today was the weekly sketch meeting after the breakfast. It's hard to keep a regular sketching schedule in the summer because of the outdoor distractions and Carolyn is off babysitting her grandkids.  Today Celeste and I did finally get tgether to paint. Yay! Had a great session.  If you would like to see the rest of our accomplishments check these out.

Frog Lake , Mt Hood

We stopped at Frog Lake on Mt Hood so the kids could look for tadpoles and have a picnic.  We watched lots of those little pontoon boats with a single fisherman.  The water was high and pretty cold so we saw quite a few trout being caught.  The guys having the best luck were using flies. Some guy showed us the 20 inch trout already on ice. I had time to do some sketching  and get some pictures after lunch.  From past experience I know the lake perimeters will be loaded with frogs in August.

Above; Pen and Aqua Pencil  5 x 5 inches

Photo of Frog Lake on Mt Hood..

Sunday Bikes and Movies

More than 31,000 bikers, peddlers skippers and walkers showed up for Portland Sunday Parkways last weekend. 8miles of city streets were blocked off to cars in North Portland linking up Peninsula, Arbor Lodge, Kenton, and McCoy Parks. It was warm and sunny off and on. We envied the kids wading in the fountain surrounded by roses of every color and fragrance. Later in the afternoon a large outdoor movie screen was the backdrop for a friendly three piece musical group with North Portland roots. Finally it was dusk; the fountain behind the gazebo subsided and the movie started. It was a perfect summer day.

Above; Pitt Pen sketch of Gazebo at Peninsula Park  5.5 x 7 inches
Watercolor...Shaded Path at Peninsula Park....5 x 5.5 inches

Georgia and Vincent

I was visiting my sister in Central Oregon a few weeks ago and got out to sketch some scenery and her Iris patch.  I had a brain storm while deciding my setup - ran over to the bunk house - brought out a bison skull and designed a painting theme; Van Gogh meets O'Keeffe.  You can see bison photos here.

Return to the River

It's raining. Must be Saturday. That was the first thing I saw on my face book written by Maddie from Seattle.  Hey, its the same down here...... but yesterday was fine, hot ,and sunny!  I wanted to go back to River Place and sit in front of the marina. Before I got that far up the path, I saw a nice shady spot close to the bank.  I quietly sat and painted across from Omsi  recording these two watercraft bobbing in the river..  I met both boat owners as they rowed ashore for quick supply runs - the boat on the left was called 'Night Owl' and on he right, 'Electra.'

Black and White Mask Studies

Sometimes you feel like using color, sometimes not. I used a 'General's Sketch and Wash' pencil; #588. These masks lent themselves as the perfect subject matter for a sketch and then washed over with a wet brush to blend. (Or not blend)

Water Lilies

 

My Plan today was to go back to River Place and paint these lilies growing near some condos on the south end.  I guess big gray heavy clouds are going to keep coming in so I need to find my big golf umbrella if this is going to happen. Cross your fingers I don't get caught in a downpour!

Glass Box Vases

One unexpected nice spring morning Carolyn and I took advantage of vases of flowers left on the deck at O'connors in Multnomah Village. This one didn't make it onto 'Behind the Scenes blog' due to my forgetful habits. I gotta work on that. It's been a while now, a few weeks since I painted these and I remember there were yellow daisies but I don't remember what the white or pink flowers were - must have been carnations.  I do remember trying to focus on shapes and repetition rather than each blossom.  I liked trying to allude to different floral  textures and glass  is always a good challenge!