New Year's Eve (12-31-09)

We attended a very entertaining New Year's Eve party at the Watts, with a brilliant and well-researched presentation about the prophecies of 2012 by Jesse C.

Jesse C. and his audience

At Claim Jumper's (12-29-09)

It was a pleasure to see Lyndon L. again after many years. We had a good time reminiscing and sharing stories about his and Gary's time spent in Verviers as missionaries.

Annual Community Messiah Sing-Along (12-18-09)

This year again, we went to the Messiah Sing-Along at Central Lutheran Church. I sing Alto, but mostly follow the melody... so it was easier to just listen and enjoy Händel's gorgeous music (a German name NOT pronounced "Handle," but Hen-del"...).

I really like these few sketches; they are representative of the variety of people in the audience and how engaged they were in singing. The last sketch is of my daughter Valérie, with her sister Julia to her right (not visible).

A page from my sketchbook (ca. 11-25-09)

A page spread, worked on over several days...

At left, Julia, and at top middle, Wendy B.

LeeAnn B. at Church (11-22-09)

LeeAnn B. is always smiling and everyone loves her classes.

LeeAnn B.

Video Games Live (11-07-09)

Great concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall: Video Games Live. Although my knowledge of video game music is limited to the Metroid series, this was a superb concert!

From a Book of B&W Photography (10-23-09)

This sketch was done from a photograph of (I think) an industrial or banker from the 1940s, found in an older coffee table book with many photos of famous people from the last century. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know who it is...

Mystery Celebrity

An Entry for 1000 Journals!!! (10-18-09)

Such exciting news! I stopped by artFIBERfest at Reed College. One of the organizers, Tracy Moore (whose journals are fabulous) had one of the journals from the 1000 Journals project with him, and he asked me to draw something in it. I also got to draw in one of his journals.

Left: what I drew in Tracy's journal; Right: what I drew for 1000 Journals

Best of all, he drew a House Fairy in my sketchbook, with a promise that she'll intervene to help me find a new house...

Stan Ridgway at The Woods (10-03-09)

Well, once again, Stan Ridgway came to Portland, this time for an all-acoustic concert at The Woods. Although I prefer the louder sounds of old Wall of Voodoo and Drywall, it was a very enjoyable time... Here is my sketch of the musicians (autographs removed).

Pietra Wextun, Stan Ridgway, Rick King

Thugs (09-15-09)

This newspaper photo of three would-be terrorists caught my attention. Interesting faces.

TV: "Lost" (ca. 09-03)

A few sketches done while watching Lost.
Funny to see some characters that were once very important but have been phased out (usually killed off either intentionally by friend-turned-to-foe, unintentionally by enemy-turned-friend, or through supernatural-yet-cheesy means by the malovelent island).

Portland Creative Conference (09-12-09)

I worked as a volunteer at the Portland Creative Conference at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.


I am really pleased with the sketch of poster artist Emek, especially since it features him talking about his well-known poster of a Decemberists album, which I asked him to sign in my sketchbook (autograph removed). Pretty cool.

Emek and the whale poster

Party in the courtyard

Haikus: The Seller's Lament (08-22-09)

My house on Woodward
is lovely and for sale now.
Great neighbors. Much space.

Three bedrooms, two baths,
the best kitchen in the world.
An artist's retreat.

Time passes, so slow.
The house sits immutable,
while my hair turns gray.

Fickle buyers, all.
Only complaints: too spacious;
the tree...too much shade.

Complaints, excuses:
No lawn, no fence, tree too tall,
house and rooms too big.

What about agents?
Large or small, from the same mold:
"Make it bargain cheap!"

"Price low! Give it up!"
But one thing is sacred, one:
The commission, always high.

"Sell my house," I said
to all agents who came by.
No results. Nothing.

(By Pascale Steig)

Trip to Washington (07-31-11)

I tried to draw some cars on the freeway. I am not very good at cars, but I found that if I focus on the general shapes, I get a result that works, kinda...

Then I tried to draw trees... Here, it was also a matter of getting the general shape down.

In a Coffeeshop (07-11-09)

I stopped by a coffeeshop at the corner of Killingsworth and Albina; there was no one else aside this guy working on his laptop.

Mississippi Street Fair (07-11-09)

I went to the Mississippi Street Fair and had a great time walking around and working on a few sketches.

Street scene

With his soft and subdued demeaner, rap singer Madgesdiq caught my attention.

Madgesdiq

Julia at bottom right

Movie: Jesse James (07-07-09)

We watched the movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and I drew this with a pen that was almost out of ink; yet, there is something about the unusually fine quality of the pen strokes that I find visually pleasant and fitting with the subject matter.

BluesFest (07-05-09)

I love Blues, so I recorded another great Portland event in my sketchboook: the Waterfront Blues Festival! I wandered around from stage to stage, enjoying the wonderful music.

On the Bus: Homeless Man with a Hat (ca. 02-09)

I like the way he looks from under the rim of his hat.

"Daires" Rehearsal at Bridging the Gap Night (02-05-09)

I dropped by Cleveland High School and went to listen to the top Choir rehearse (J. is a member).

On the Bus: Woman and Man (ca. 03-09)

They were not a couple, but I like the way they both are disconnected: the woman looks away to negate the close proximity of other people, and the man has that suspicious look everyone takes on when gazing at others on the bus. (Who knows, with my sketchbook and pen, I may be some sort of crazy freak...Am I?)

On the Bus: Man Sitting (ca. 03-09)

This man looked like he was in his mid-50s, but I felt that he had a lot of life experience (I know, hat sounds inane, but there was something weary and wise about him).

A plant at Thuy's (ca. 03-09)

I liked the graceful shape of this plant in the waiting room at Thuy's (my long-time Vietnamese hairstylist).

Movie: "Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard" (2005) (ca. 02-09)

Bruce Willis in another stupid movie...

Food Cart on Hawthorne St. (ca. 02-09)

It was a cold, morose day, so I stopped for a cup of hot and delicious Gumbo from this food cart (the business operating Po' Boys has apparently expanded since).

Pretty Girl (02-18-09)

I drew this girl while waiting in line at the medical clinic. Her eyes and smile reminded me of a friend I haven't seen in a long time.

Movie: "Die Hard 3: With a Vengeance" (1995) (ca. 02-09)

Really, the things I do to make my husband happy...even watch this type of formulaic schlock.

Movie: "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" (1966) (ca. 02-09)

We watched "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," a classic Western with Clint Eastwood.

I remember my French teacher in 6th grade using the soundtrack of this movie as background to teach an elective "Relaxation" class, enthusiastically telling us that Ennio Morricone was a living genius. Anyway, it IS a great movie, and the actors' faces are unforgettable.

On the Bus: Woman and Child (ca. 02-09)

Movie: "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" (1990) (02-09)

Another formulatic movie. I miss Alan Rickman as the bad guy, though.

"Play Retreat" in Port Townsend, WA (01-29 to 02-02-09)

I went to Teesha Moore's "Play Retreat" at Fort Worden, WA. I did several drawings while there and posted them on a side page called Play Retreat 09.

On the Bus: Pirates (01-28-09)

Two homeless guys (with great pirate faces) at the front of the bus, -one of them holding a cup of coffee- (this is Portland after all...), engaged in a lively conversation.

Crystal Ballroom (01-25-09)

The Crystal Ballroom was open to the public in celebration of its 95th anniversary, so J. and I went to just look around.
As it was, the violin player in the group featured when walked in the 3rd floor ballroom was a girl J. knows from Dragon Boats.

PDX Collective (01-25-09)

After reading an article in the Mercury, J. and I went to check out the PDX Collective Sale at the Ace Hotel on Sunday. I wanted to see what type of clothes were sold in local trendy boutiques, like Le train Bleu, Moxie and others.
Really cool and great stuff, but $200 for boots on sale, that's just, uh, not my price range, -budget-wise, I'm more like a Target Clearance shopper,- not cool, but I still like looking at cute stuff even if I can't buy it.

I did a quick sketch of the shoppers.

Rose Festival Meeting (01-24-09)

J. had to attend an informational meeting organized by the Rose Festival Association because she applied and for the Rose Festival Princess program and was found eligible to participate.
I think it's great to see J. continue what seems to be a family tradition at this point, since both sisters M. and V. had also applied when they were high school Seniors.
This is a perfect opportunity for a young woman to learn to be confident, to talk in public, and to have a chance at representing the city.

I was late to the meeting due to a prior engagement and barely had time to start this sketch before the meeting was over.

Update: See the article in the Portland Mercury about how it unfolded...

Condiment Bottles at Sayler's (01-24-09)

We were invited to Sayler's Old Country Kitchen and had a great dinner.
I had just enough time to draw these bottles of condiment before the waitress brought my plate, and the steak was so good,I didn't want to let it get cold by drawing anything else.

Dinner at Firehouse (01-23-09)

M. asked us to take her to Firehouse restaurant for her birthday. M. had wanted to eat there for a long time: Matt, her former boss at New Seasons' is the owner.
We enjoyed a delicious meal and great service, from the pizza to the chicken to the desserts.

I got my diploma! (ca. 01-09)

Amazing News! I finally got my degree from Portland State University: a Master's in General Arts and Letters!

Moso's Birthday (01-21-09)

I took Moso to Todai for her birthday.
It was an epic meal; I watched her accidentally send a shrimp fly across the table.
In this sketch, Moso is concentrating on what food on her plate she is going to attack next.

Presidential Inauguration (01-20-09)

I wanted to mark the date in some manner, so I did this so-so sketch of Obama mostly from memory.

On the Bus (01-20-09)

I did this cool sketch of a young guy sitting across from me. I thought he looked like an artist.
I was trying to look casual, glancing at him every once in a while, but must have been totally obvious, since the woman sitting next to him thought I was drawing her! She got up before getting off the bus and asked to see the sketch. And then she was telling me how wonderful it is to be able to draw, etc., and the usual, "Oh, I wish I could draw, but I can't, just stick figures, etc."
A few minutes after she was gone, my young guy pulled out a sketchbook and started to sketch people on the bus! (So I was right about the artist part...) I showed him the sketch before I got off the bus.
Now, picture a bus where everyone could be busy drawing everyone...

My present sketchbook (01-18-09)

This is a photo of the sketchbook I am using right now.
My dad got several of these wonderful books in Hungary. I love the compact format, the many pages, the attention to details, the leather binding, the old-fashioned patterns...
Unfortunately, the manufacturer has discontinued this particular size of books. I still have a few blank ones stashed away, and when they'll be completed, I will have to reluctantly move on to something else altogether.