Finishing my sketchbook (06-27-12)

When I complete a sketchbook, I sometimes add some finishing touches, such as color, collages, whatever strikes me as interesting. Since we are leaving on a cruise very shortly (this, despite my absolute fears of ending at the bottom of the ocean), I decided to do something that would indicate a them of voyage, without tipping over into scrapbooking.

This is the title page of the sketchbook.

A house, in the style of Flemish architecture (06-26-12)

During the first session of the Cartooning class I teach at the Milwaukie Center, I gave the kids the assignment to draw something without letting the pen leave the page. While they were busy, I decided to work along on the whiteboard.
It's funny, but as I started drawing a house, the style that immediately came to mind was that of Flemish architecture, tall houses with crenellated gables and small windows, as one commonly sees in Belgium in such cities as Brussels, Bruges, or Ghent...

Left: As drawn from memory           Right: A random example of the real thing

OSU Commencement (06-16-12)

What a long and exciting day!

Valérie just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with options in Choral Music Education and Piano Performance. And so, she participated in that necessary rite of passage, the Commencement ceremony...along with 3,500 to 4,000 other graduates from Oregon State University. 

What made the day a unique and especially challenging one was that Michelle Obama gave a speech at Commencement. Consequently, in addition to long wait times, access to OSU's Reser Stadium was subject to all the expected extra security measures, such as airport metal detector gates, unsmiling people rummaging through bags and purses, even sharpshooters on the stadium roof! 

The speeches were good, the graduates were happy, and the 30,000-strong audience consisting proud parents, relatives and friends was supportive. All in all, it was a nice day.

We sat on a sunny side of the side of the stadium closest to the College of Liberal Arts (and could see Valérie from afar), but as the afternoon wore on, shade came on our side while the other side of the stadium was still sunny, and there was a nasty little breeze that made everyone wish they'd brought a warm jacket...

Watching the ceremony

 To distract myself from the chilly weather, I pulled out my color pencils and worked on painstakingly trying to match the colors I saw; but I didn't quite finish my drawing...