Technique Demonstration at Dick Blick (11-30-12)

I went to Dick Blick to see Corrine Loomis Dietz demonstrate an acrylics effects technique.

Concert at the Schnitz (11-19-12)

A great concert by the Oregon Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall.
I asked pianist Martin Helmchen to sign my sketchbook (signature covered with his photo to respect privacy).

IPRC Event (11-17-12)

For a while now, I had been wanting to see the new space where Independent Publishers Resource Center (IPRC) had moved to and I took the opportunity of an event scheduled there last night to stop by and check the place out.

Local indie bookstore Reading Frenzy was promoting some recently published Portland zine writers and artists who read or presented some of their work (including that of a woman who related how she biked to the hospital to deliver her child while in labor!). One thing that caught my attention was the hand-drawn Collective Tarot Deck, intriguing in its sizable black package.

The event was well-attended, and the space was open and welcoming. I liked the charm of the old space they rented downtown, but later improvements to the building ruined it for me; charm is elusive and best not tampered with. Anyway, the new space in a warehouse is functional and optimal to house printing equipment.

About the pano sketch above: I really like the challenge of working in my 5" x7" sketchbooks in a way to make things match from page to page (in this pano, the junction between the two double-page spreads is somewhere in the middle; the fact that it is not really noticeable makes it a successful sketch as far as I am concerned).
I usually clean my double-spreads in Photoshop to get the distracting page folds out but in this case, I just moved the page middles a bit to hide the shadows and didn't bother with any other correction aside from joining the two spreads.

Open House at SE Antique Store (11-15-12)

One of my favorite local antique stores is Bernadette Breu Experience.

It is one of those magical dreamy places where odd and delightful objects of every provenance are displayed in bohemian artistic displays. There is so much to discover that one must make the time to slow down, to look at every one of the many treasures inside.

So what a fun opportunity it was to be invited to do some sketches of the early Christmas event at the store! Many people were present visiting and talking at what seemed more like a social event than a sales event.

So many people!

By the snacks table

Faces in the crowd

I worked on some sketches of the crowd, but my attention was focused on a display of beautiful shoes covered in gorgeous fabrics and the fantastic west wall near the sales counter.

My unfinished watercolor

The model scene

I love it when a sketch works out!

The west wall

cre8camp Creative Workshop (11-10-12)

I attended the cre8camp workshop, which was informative, despite laden with creative industry jargon ("...We must foster the idealism-based drive that our clients bring to the table, in a way that will compound the idea-to-solutiont-to-impact components we can add to the creative conversation..."). Gosh, there are days when I want to hit my head against a wall...

Anyway, it was informative, especially since the subject of "comping" artwork came up, and the concept of exploiting artists by holding a carrot in front of them, under the guise that they will have a portfolio piece, and never mind being paid for their work. Hmmm... We haven't experienced something like that with a large local arts organization that purports to support artists in the region, have we? (Someone's work was used in a publication, but not paid...).

Attendees at cre8camp

About the Election (11-05-12)

I did not vote for the Count Dracula and Eddie Munster ticket.

In a world wrought by lack of compassion, I could not relate to a candidate whose allegiance rests with the rich, a candidate who voices arrogant disdain for 47% percent of his own countrymen, underlining a fundamental inability to serve and represent all of his countrymen, whether they rely on financial tax shelters abroad, or not.

In a world wrought by poverty, I could not relate to a candidate whose income is so far out of the realm of comprehensible that, as much as I personally can't understand what it means, I know that the same works in reverse: this person does not know what it means to not be able to pay of food, housing, schooling, student loans, and healthcare costs...

In a world wrought by lack of opportunities, I could not relate to a candidate whose fortunate background precludes any direct experience of life's challenges. Not all of us are born and raised within networks of well-heeled connected people; not all of us find doors opening at the mention of our family name, or the amount of money we make. Not all of us have access to the best medical care, nor do all of have stock options to sell off as the need arises...

In a world wrought by lack of balance, I could not relate to a candidate whose first agenda would be to dismantle the first real efforts at providing health coverage to people in this country, -however imperfect it may be-, and tear down the frail social safety net for the aged, without any aim for improvement, but just to make a point.

In a world wrought by lack of integrity, I could not relate to a candidate whose words ring hollow, and whose position on issues seems to change as the wind turns. A man of integrity is not a chameleon; he does not lie, but will open his heart and will be inspired to lead his nation by serving it, for the wounded need tending, the oppressed need relief, and the struggling need assistance.

No, I did not vote for cynicism and arrogance, because had I done so, I would have lost my self-respect.