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.