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On Saturday morning the weather was so perfect that I headed down to the waterfront for a little sketching—not to mention a little quality time with one of my Droplets!
I guess you could count this as working over a holiday, but it sure doesn’t feel like that. To me, it feels like the best way to enjoy a summer day.
We’ve had a string of unseasonably sunny days lately—so rather than stay cooped up inside the studio, I headed down to Portland to do a little drawing. Just east of town is the stunning Historic Columbia River Highway, which serves up vista after vista of the Columbia River Gorge. All I had to do was sit back, open up the sketchbook, and enjoy the view.
We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the restored Point Defiance Pagoda yesterday, marked by its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places this week.
I spent a day sketching at the Pagoda this month, raising a silent toast to the next hundred years. You can see my sketches over at the Drawn the Road Again blog.
I cross-posted this (in a slightly different form) over at Drawn the Road Again, but I’m too excited not to share it here, too. After I illustrated two iconic Tacoma theaters, the kind folks at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts offered me a media sponsorship of one of their upcoming shows. I was happy to say yes (hey, free tickets for me and my friends!), but I didn’t give it much thought beyond that—the illustrations were plenty of fun on their own. But then they said, “We think we have the perfect show lined up for you.”
Photos by Mariesa Bus (left) and Laurie Cinotto (right)
And that’s how I got to chat with Ira Glass yesterday. (Yes, of course he’s charming and super nice!)
While I waited my turn at the meet-and-greet, I did what I always do: reach for pen and paper. The best part was the sketch turning into a collaboration—when I asked Ira for his autograph, he added the word bubble.
Yep, that was a good day.
It’s gloomy again today, but last week was so gorgeous I just had to drop everything and sketch outside. This is from one of my favorite neighborhood spots in Tacoma—sometimes it’s still hard to believe I live here.
Photo by Candace Rardon
If you know me at all, you know this is how you’re likely to find me. But I’m not the only one known to be seen with a sketchbook and paintbox.
My friend and fellow travel sketcher Candace has been in town visiting lately, and we’ve spent most of our time together with sketchbooks in hand.
In addition to showing her my favorite haunts, it’s been fun to introduce her to some other Urban Sketchers I know.
And I have a feeling you can guess what happens when a bunch of sketchbook nuts get together.
Look what was in the gigantic mailbag yesterday! The kind folks at the Australian magazine Frankie did a feature on my Drawn the Road Again blog! Not only is it an honor to be included, but this might just be the most gorgeous magazine I’ve ever seen. (And they even tied it up with pretty twine when they sent me my copy—swoon.) I know that at least a handful of stockists carry Frankie outside of Oz—so if you’re lucky enough to live near one, be sure to pick up a copy and see all the beautiful goodies inside.
Many thanks to Holly M. and Frankie Press for interviewing me!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got everything I need here.
I love the hush that takes over the house, after the turkey goes in the oven and the table is set (and the sketches sketched!), but before the guests start arriving. It’s that little breath of time that reminds me to pause and remember that every raised glass, every hug, every laugh around the table makes the world just a tiny bit better. I’m thankful for that today—and for you, for joining me here as you do.
Whether today finds you snowbound or sweltering, at work or at home—happy Thanksgiving.
Every so often the Tailor and I rack up a list of errands to run down in Portland. So we pick a Saturday and hit the road early. But before we tackle our list of stops to make, we always start our visit with a quiet cuppa somewhere. Since Portland is chock-a-block with fantastic bakeries and coffee shops, we try to hit a different place every time. This weekend it was the French bakery, St. Jack—and some quality time with the ol’ sketchbook.