Caricatures (09-02-11)

Some made-for-TV faces, as seen...on TV.
 

Edward... Twilight... Arrrgh! (08-25-11)

I've watched two of the Twilight movies so far and I can only say one thing: they do nothing for me. The plots are terrible, and the acting (what acting?!) is dismal. As for me, I was snickering the entire time.

Tormented, probably from having to pretend to act

 Anyway, here is Edward, as drawn while watching the movie in the dark at one of the city parks (insert sound of swooning audience...)

Interpretation Job (08-22-11)

I worked on an conference interpretation project where the clients communicated by Skype; so during lulls, I drew the two French participants.

Barbecue at Patrick's Parents' House (08-20-11)

Our daughter Valérie and her boyfriend Patrick are planning to get married in October; we're very excited. We were invited to his parents' house in Springfield for a barbecue. I took the opportunity to do a small panorama sketch of some of the adults at the dining room table.

The Big Day at Edgefield (08-18-11)

 ...I have Gary to thank for the wise idea to set the entire booth up in the driveway, to see what fits and what doesn't. This saved a lot of time during my booth set up at Edgefield.

We were so busy, I barely had the time to walk the grounds to look at other vendors' booths (consequently, I still don't know what other people sold). My booth was next to Wendy and Ron Brown's Vintage Market. Wendy has beautiful items, and she also has a nice variety of furniture. As for me, haha!, I've been known to get interested in weird stuff, such as the electric fuse box or the headless doll that drew many comments from visitors...

I couldn't have done this without my four children, who all helped in one way or another. On the way there, we took Gary's truck and trailer and my PT Cruiser, and as soon as they were unloaded, Valérie and Christopher turned around to make another trip back to the house and load up again. Julia helped with setting up, she took care of signage, and worked as money changer. Monica helped her brother and sisters take everything down and pack up. Luckily, it took only one trip to get home...

It was an exhausting but fun experience. I must also thank the Plucky Maidens for the great planning, carried out down to the small details, -such as someone walking around passing water bottles to thirsty vendors-, and the lunch provided was perfect.

Preview: My Booth for the Junk Fest Vintage Sale (08-17-11)

At Gary's insistence, I set up a "trial" booth in the driveway, to see where everything will fit tomorrow.
Since all the outdoor stuff was spilling out of the gazebo perimeter, it quickly became obvious that I needed a full 10 x 20 space rather than the 10 x 10 I had planned for (luckily, I was able to secure a larger space at the last minute)...

What a huuuuge task! (But it looks so cool!)

Beautiful pictures

Memorial for Dr. Richards (08-13-11)

We wouldn't have missed the memorial for Dr. Richards for anything in the world. He was a beloved teacher among music circles, and we'll miss his gentle presence and his sense of humor.

A remarkable man

Inside the Chapel at Lewis & Clark College

The meeting inside the Chapel was emotional and underlined the range of people who were touched by this great teacher.

A great Dixieland Quintet was playing for the crowds exiting the Chapel

Art Class at the Milwaukie Center (07-27-11)

I drew this sketch of some of the students in the Sketching for Journaling class I teach at the Milwaukie Center. We worked on outdoor scenery elements in the lovely community garden at the back of the building.

The challenge I encountered in this exercise was to keep everything on a (mental) grid, with credible perspective reflecting my position on a higher plane. Pretty tough!

An Update... (07-26-11)

As many of my readers may know, for the last three years I have been sporadically posting on several different blogs...: sketches on The Hyphenate; drawings on Maxine on the run; comics on Maxine's BD; house-related misadventures on No Ducks and Bunnies; vintage resale endeavors on No Ducks and Bunnies Vintage...

As you can imagine, it's been an exhausting process, driven by a quasi OCD-like need to have everything in my life separate, organized, and under control.

A few days ago, I was looking at comments people had posted on one of the blogs and I came across one someone wrote, that it seemed pretty complicated to have all these different blogs, etc. Reading this simple statement made me realize that, yes, it's been pretty complicated and, actually, even a drag at times.

I decided to merge all the blogs into a new one called The Competent Eclectic, since that's what I seem to be, a (competent) person with many (eclectic) interests, and to see how long I can stand having everything gathered under one banner...

So, dear readers, this is why you may from now on read about another cultural event in Portland, followed by complaints about failing to get organized for the next vintage sale...

Feel free to comment and give suggestions...

I'm Gonna Be a Vendor Again! (07-11-11)

Exciting news! I've been selected to be a vendor at the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest at Mc Mennamin's Edgefield in August! Be sure to stop by my booth and say hello!

I've started going through what I can sell, and I got so many great items, it's hard to envision what exactly I have: antique trunks, paintings, framed chalk boards, dressers, chairs, small breakables, clothing... and more.

New Seasons Job Fair in Southwest Portland (07-07-11)

I went to the New Seasons Job Fair on Allen Blvd. in Beaverton and spent a few hours working on the following panorama of the people waiting to get called in for their chance at getting a job at the new Progress Ridge store that will open next month.

The book I used was a small Moleskine accordion fold book, and the scene reflects a 360 degrees view of what was going on around me. This was a fun project, but not an easy task, since I had to carefully compare the proportions of the people in relationship to each other... The last panels are sketches of people's faces, and I tied everything together with a self-portrait holding the book and drawing.

New Seasons Job Fair in Southwest Portland (07-07-11)

I went to the New Seasons Job Fair on Allen Blvd. in Beaverton and spent a few hours working on the following panorama of the people waiting to get called in for their chance at getting a job at the new Progress Ridge store that will open next month.

The book I used was a small Moleskine accordion fold book, and the scene reflects a 360 degrees view of what was going on around me. This was a fun project, but not an easy task, since I had to carefully compare the proportions of the people in relationship to each other... The last panels are sketches of people's faces, and I tied everything together with a self-portrait holding the book and drawing.

Blues Festival on the Waterfront (07-03-11)

It looks like things were pretty regimented at the Waterfront Blues Festival this year: chairs could be no taller than a specific height, blankets no be larger than a specific size (different is it's a blanket for two vs. a blanket for four...), not pests, err...no pets whatsoever.

So, armed with our (non-regulation) fold-out chairs, Gary, Valérie and I went to brave the crowds and listen to some good music this afternoon. We found a spot on one of the lawns, incurred the territorial irritation of a few people, but such is life...

It's un-be-lie-va-ble how many people were there! We were all piled up in one place for the concerts, and anyone sitting close to the stage, got their ears blasted off, those further away had to resort looking at a screen (we could have brought binoculars). As for those who were cross with us because of our chairs, the minute the concert started, the people in front stood up and blocked their view anyway...

 But Gosh, how I LOVE the Blues! It's everything "America" to me... at least, everything I've always associated with yearning for a place where anything (good) can happen.

The big event of the night was Buddy Guy, who was pretty funny and a virtuoso at the guitar, but I also liked Patrick Lamb's band. What a great time!...

Good looking young guy

There was also a little kid tirelessly dancing in the crowd that got everyone around rooting for him...

People Studies at Blues Festival (07-02-11)

http://www.waterfrontbluesfest.com/On the way home, I stopped on top of the Hawthorne Bridge to draw people at the Waterfront Blues Festival, a perfect way to enjoy the good weather (and one of the only sunny days we've had so far this year).

The drawings below look like caricatures because people were moving along pretty fast, so one focuses on catching general details (I know, a contradictory statement) that give personality to the subjects (whether size, clothing, hair, etc.).

Mensa Conference in Portland (07-02-11)

So... I read in the Oregonian that Mensa was holding its annual conference in Portland, and I decided to take on the challenge and try out for the test (it's this thing I gotta prove to myself that I can still be one of the best...)

Well, I most likely FLUNKED! I finished only TWO out of 20 Math questions... Arrrgh! Even after all these years in the U.S., I can't make any sense out of the U.S. measuring system and I freeze the minute I see the words "Gallon" or "Yard"... As for the other tests, either I ran out of time, - my brain was playing elevator music to itself -, or the very 70s retro graphic images were so tinny, I couldn't figure out what they were (aside from something that looked like mashed up intestines...).

A reaffirming message to remember

Taking the test gave me a pass to attend the conference the same day and I went to an informative workshop given by French member Thierry Brunel, about Gifted Adults in the Workplace. Small consolation about the test: he advised me that one should always take the test that applies to one's native culture...

Meeting for the Pacific NW Region members

Girls at Pioneer Courtyard Square