Old Jars

There are things in every day life we take for granted because growing up they were always there.  I always found my grandmother's empty canning jars fascinating because of how the imperfections distorted everything behind them.  The weird things kids notice but it stuck with me my whole life.  This is a graphite drawing I did a while back to learn the nature of glass.  Glass is a lot harder to draw than I thought it was going to be but I remember how fun it was.  The beauty of art - in an instant it takes me back to being a kid in my grandma's  basement pantry with jars of fruit and vegetables from her garden the previous year and all the empty jars waiting for more.  

Columbia City Celebration

My booth for the day.  

My challenge has been I have more vertical cards than I have horizontal cards.  I also have two different formats in the vertical versions which was the challenge to find a suitable holder so I was test driving some new wire holders I found.  They are designed in two pieces so they are infinitely adjustable.  I must say, what a clever idea. They work perfectly.  

The forecast projected rain but we got lucky and had a really nice day.  

The Old Church

Today's sketching site is now used as a concert venue but its history is remarkable.  I usually edit out people because they move making them hard to capture but I suddenly realized the people in front of me were not moving during the performance. However, the musicians did so I still have to figure out a representational pose for them. The concert only lasted one hour so we drew as fast as we could until the end. My drawing is far from done but the basic framework is there. I would really like to draw the outside while the weather holds up. The building is really quite exquisite.

The Old Church was built in 1882.  It is the oldest church building in downtown Portland. it has been remarkably unaltered since its construction in the 1880's.

CARPENTER GOTHIC
American Gothic Carpenter is an American style dating from the 19th century that reinterprets Gothic architecture in wood rather than stone. It was most commonly used for houses and churches. These structures typically feature elaborate, curved woodwork, which was enabled by the invention of the steam powered scroll saw. Likely the most widely seen example of Carpenter Gothic architecture is the house in the background of Grant Wood’s painting, American Gothic (1930). The Old Church has many original leaded, frosted, and stained glass windows, created by Povey Brothers Studio.  

While The Old Church’s interior is relatively simple it abounds in detail both functional and decorative. In the auditorium, the heart of The Old Church, cast iron Corinthian columns support a vaulted ceiling with plaster ribs painted the color of stone. The gentle curve of the hand carved fir pews, broken by aisles sloping to the stage, gives an intimacy to the hall, despite it seating capacity of 3oo. The focal point of the auditorium is the Hook & Hastings tracker action pipe organ, given to the church at its founding by the Ladd family and still much loved. Original fittings abound, including ornate floor heating grills, door hinges and handles, elaborate plaster window moldings, and built-in umbrella racks with drains.

#portland #urbansketching #sketching #bonnywagoner

This months press release

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Thinking about Christmas already?

I know it’s early but this year is just flying by so I am starting to think about what I want to do for my Christmas card this year. This is a drawing from several years ago named “The House of Beauty” using all of my warm and cool grey colored pencils to create the illusion of depth. So I’m mulling what will be this years design while I do my chores. 

Upcoming Columbia City Celebration

We will have a booth at the Columbia City Celebration in the Columbia City School on First Street. Mark your calendars for September 14th. The day starts with a pancake breakfast and then enjoy a beautiful art show in the entryway of the school plus the car show in the athletic field. Inside the gym is a wide variety of art and crafts by local artisans for sale (you'll find me there). And of course don't forget the book sale benefiting the library.

My new book, "The Unique Woodwork at Timberline Lodge: Book 1" just arrived from the printer so I'll have those on hand. I replenished my popular watercolor flower cards too. Stop by!

Lake McDonald Lodge in Montana

While I was inside Glacier National Park in Montana there wasn't any wifi. Only on the outskirts there was a hint of signal, just enough to maybe text... emphasis on maybe so it would be fair to say I've been out of touch for a week. To help catch up with what I was busy doing/seeing here's a tidbit:

The totem pole in front of the Lake McDonald Lodge. While I was thinking about how to best paint the lodge (there are some significant challenges with this particular site) I sketched the pole. Quite a few folks stopped to ask about the field easel bag I was using (designed by Darsie Beck and super useful!!) and then to find out what I was working on and then they asked for my business card until I completely ran out. Usually I’m invisible when I’m sketching so that was a first for me. I was busy painting when the first rain drops started to fall. I got everything packed up before the the skies opened and we had a good old fashioned thunderstorm. Watercolor and rain aren't a mix so that was the end of painting for the day but that's also why I tell folks before starting to sketch to take a picture so when stuff happens, it's not the end of the world. I often forget this valuable tidbit but this time I did remember to start with a picture so I'll still get that rock wall in even though I wasn't able to do it on site.