Laurelines

Oregon sketches, last batch

It's always fun to sketch with another person. Sketching with my daughter Cecelia is more than fun... it's thrilling and so gratifying. Because we were together, I sketched more in the short time period than I often do. Well, and it was so beautiful where we were. That kind of incentive works well, too!

I drew the mountain several times, as you have seen, each time from a slightly different perspective and in different light conditions. I could have gone on forever, I think. I'm hoping to go to the Bavarian Alps next December and that may be my next mountain trip. I'll be more than ready when the time comes.

Here is my daughter drawing in her large sketchbook on our first morning. It was warm enough that day for us to sit and sketch without (fingerless) gloves and hats.

I am always drawn to figurative sculpture, from the fountains of Paris to the folk art of New Mexico. At Timberline Lodge, the interior of the building is animated by lovely carved wooden animals. These and much of the original furniture were made by artisans expressly for the building, in accordance with the Works Progress Administration's goals of providing work for laborers and craftsmen during the tough economic times of the 1930s.

Another quick sketch of the mountain, made with Caran d'Ache crayon, Cretacolor nero pencil, and watercolor wash.

Finally, a sketch of the restaurant/bar area at the Residence Inn in the Pearl District of Portland. Cecelia and I sketched there together last August and we did do again last week.

I'm home now and glad to be here, but I miss Cecelia and our time together in Oregon. Good thing I have these sketches as mementoes!

Oregon sketches, first batch

Last week, in spite of cancelled flights due to horrible ice and snow eruptions along my travel route, I managed to make it out to Mt. Hood, Oregon AND back. I went to have some time with my daughter Cecelia, hoping we'd be able to sketch together and to enjoy the mountain together. And we did!

For this volcano-loving, mountain-loving artist, you couldn't ask for a better place to be. Mt Hood is the largest dormant volcano in Oregon. Sitting on a giant tufa boulder (ouch!) to sketch the south flank of the mountain that first morning was thrilling... all was quiet, all was bright. We don't ski, but we were able to snowshoe a bit up the mountainside later in the day and get even closer to this majestic cone of earth.

Here are a few sketches of the mountain and of handsome Timberline Lodge where we stayed, one of FDR's Works Progress Administration constructions from the 1930s.

More sketches to come!