Multnomah Falls Oregon

Entry number three of the landscape sketchbook is of Multnomah Falls. I was very pleased with the initial outline sketch, but disappointed in my choice of greens for the foliage. Green is one of the hardest colors for me to capture, yet ironically I have a green aura.

Still learning...

St John's Bridge, Portland Oregon

Portland is known as Bridge City because we have so many. The most beautiful in my opinion is the St John's Bridge in NoPo (North Portland for you non-locals). This long sketchbook is a new experiment in drawing iconic places in Oregon up close. After painting 20 quick landscapes in my memories journal, this one will have more detailed sketches. I am trying to use fewer colors but still capture the image I have of the landmark. It's definitely a new learning curve, and has got me thinking it may be time to take a formal watercolor class next year. 

A visit to the mountains

This past weekend, my family and I took drove to Mt Hood-about 2 hours east of my home-to get some cool mountain air. We had been experiencing a lot of smoky air due to the wildfires this month (August), and this was a great opportunity to get out of that bad air. Of course, it rained while we spent the weekend in a rustic little cabin, but I did get some time sketch Mt Hood up close. I used the 400 series by Strathmore because they offer it in a 6" x 18" landscape. This allowed me to capture the profile of Mt Hood with some detail. I also used M. Graham watercolors because I love the brilliance. It turned out very well for having to sketch this in the car due to the wind continuously blowing my hair in my eyes.

Last week, as we were preparing for our weekend getaway, I sketched the mountain from a view at Trillium Lake. This was done on Bee Paper watercolor postcards, and I made it especially for my pen friend in New Zealand. Mt Hood reminds me a lot of Mt Taranaki on the north island of New Zealand. It's nice to be able to exchange artwork with another person on the other side of the world, and it was her artwork that has inspired me to teach myself sketching and painting. This was the postcard I made for her: