Virtual Sketch for September

I found an interesting site through someone's blog, Virtual Sketch Date . Every month there is a reference photo posted a week before the dealine. You then sign up on comments and post your sketch on your blog on Sat. and Sunday all the entries are posted at Virtual Sketch Date. I started with contour drawings of the petals, continued from there and added watercolor.

This is the reference photo for Sept. I don't usually sketch from photos so this was a little different for me. It is great fun to see how everyone's sketches are the same but different. Wonder what next month will bring.

Robert Bateman 5" x 7" Sketchbook
Pen and Watercolor

Washington Sketches

After our trip to Astoria I spent more time with my sisters and mom in WA. Saturday we went to the Vancouver Farmers Market. My sister, newphew and I sketched in the park as well as things in the market. It was a great place to work on sketching people.
One of the booths at the market was filled with wonderful birdhouses. I asked Richard for permission to sketch some of his houses, telling him I was a sketcher not a birdhouse builder. He was very generous and yes. His birch and copper houses are specific for each type of bird. They are beautiful and fun to sketch.
Sunday we went to the Lewisville River Park. First I sketched the river, did a blind contour of Emily and watched as Case and Emily crossed the river. Emily only fell in three times. After a snack the three of us went on a sketchwalk in the rain. Yes, more rain....it is Washington afterall.

Robert Bateman 6" x 9" Sketchbook
Ink and Watercolor

A Little More Astoria

Well, You know me and my grids! I prepped this page with some background color and the grids before we left the B&B for our own sketchwalk down to Pier 39. These were flowers I saw along our way. The purple smear and the blackberries are really the juice of wild blackberries. I also found a few sweet ones to eat.
We stayed at the Benjamin Young Inn with our hostess, Caroline. It was great! Lovely old home, good food and lots of laughs. One morning we had the most delicious scones and she shared the recipe with us. We had our coffee and tea in big china mugs every morning and evening.

We went up to the Column at the top of the hill. You could see down to the water and all around Astoria. It is a beautiful place. We looked through papers and magazines for collaging and I found "Soundings in Fathoms" on an old sea chart. Using a play on words I see it meaning, "Deep Thoughts"

My Sister and I went to Flavel House in town. It is a historical home and museum of Captain Flavel. I walked through the house and sketched things that caught my eye. I am particularly proud of the Mason and Hamlin Organ that stood at the end of the long hall. It was fun sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway and sketching history.

Robert Bateman Sketchbook 6" x 9"

Ink and Watercolor

Astoria, Oregon

Another wonderful trip with Mari Le Glatin Keis in Astoria, OR. This time my sister was able to join me and we had a marvelous adventure. We met a great group of women and made new friends and new memories. There was even a great art store we just had to visit, twice. We had some interesting weather, cool and rainy with some sunny breaks, but it is Astoria, 96" of rain a year!

Three of the group lived in Astoria and one of the husbands took us on a motor cruise on his 40' sailboat. It was fun to sketch from the boat for an hour or so. I sketched things from the shore as well as thing on the boat. It was grey, cloudy, blue patches, grey, sun, rain, wind, cloudy, and we sketched away! We never let the weather detour us from our joy of sketching.

His boat was called the Pelican and we had our photo taken as we passed by Pier 39. There is a great little cafe and coffee place on the pier, Coffee Girl, where each group waited while the other cruised. We spend some wonderful times there eating, drinking, sketching and laughing. Their Chai Latte is grand. The old bouy floats were hanging in the corner.

After our motor cruise we met up at another gal's floathouse for our afternoon meet up and appetif. She has a wonderful place with a wrap around covered porch with great sketching opportunities. There was a steady rain so we couldn't sketch the floathouse from the road but we managed things from around the porch. It was quite peacful sketching and hearing the rain on the roof.

Robert Bateman 6" x 9"

Ink and Watercolor