Holiday Three-fer

 One of the reasons it took so long to post anything was that this summer, like most, seemed extremely busy.  And parts of it really were.  We were gone to Ozzie-land for a week and half, visiting the beach and lake for some longer weekends, and I started a major house project to replace the backyard fence and gate and include a new deck.  Let's just say that most days were very industrious if not completely absorbed in R&R.  That all came to an abrupt halt on Oct. 1, 2025.  The longest federal government shutdown in history began that day and despite never having been furloughed during a shutdown in my 20+ years in federal service, this was the year they decided my position was unnecessary during such a shutdown.  I was optimistic that it would just be a week before congress capitulated or compromised but as the rhetoric became more clearly a stonewall, the reality sank in that this was going to be a long-haul ordeal.  Fortunately, at the same time our local Drink-n-Draw group had just posted an "Inktober" challenge to draw one image for each day of the month with a list of mythical and mystical creatures assigned to each day. 

At first, I didn't think I would have time as I would be back to work "any day now" but as the opposite became clearer, I decided to go ahead and take up the challenge.  Below are some of my favorite sketches from Inktober.  Some days topics were just not very motivating and there were several times I found myself behind on the assignment but at the end of October, I found that I had actually sketched one image for every day (plus one bonus day) and it was a great experience.  Most daily topics were figurative which I hadn't done in quite a while and organic figures are not my usual go-to for drawing subjects.  My favorite part of the exercise as that there were several subjects that lent themselves to charcoal so I happily made a mess of the dining room table charcoal dust and eraser nibbins!  It was great practice and if we have another shut-down by the end of next month, I might try a similar challenge.

Day 1: Leviathan

Day 3: Harpy

Day 9: Demon

Day 12: Sea Serpent

Day 15: Mermaid

Day 21: Skin-walker

Day 22: Banshee

Day 28: Brownie

Day 30: Phantom

Day 31: Jack-O-Lantern

Finding a Silver/Graphite/Ink Lining

 Lucky you!  More posts in one day, it's like it's a Christmas Miracle!  Or, more likely, it's just my sense of guilt catching up to me for taking so long to do this and a day where I have spare time on my hands (not literally, that would just be weird like a Salvador Dali painting.  Imagine the cleanup).  Either way, you win.  As I mentioned in my last post, a return-to-office order was imminent for me and I found out in early June that I would not be reporting back to the local federal building in Vancouver but instead, I was required to commute in to one of the buildings in Portland.  This is not good for many reasons.  

My first lunch-time sketch.  From the top of a parking garage looking down at the Motel 6 on Holladay

    For me personally, my commute is now two hours round-trip door-to-door where previously it would have been thirty minutes walking round-trip to go to the Vancouver office.  Oregon State now takes it's cut of state taxes of over $10K annually and to help mitigate all of that, I'm now working ten hour days which was something I could easily do twenty years ago but feels a lot more tolling nowadays.  For non-personal reasons it also means one more commuter on the road (albeit I take mass transit but that is also a cost to everyone as it's subsidized), occupancy of space that could have been used for something else including the utilities that go with it, and a much less motivated employee.  Of course on that last point, that was certainly an objective of Project 2025 and damn, they are doing a good job of it.  

My second and maybe my favorite for the subject.  This was the fountain of stacked coins in front of the West side of the Lloyd Center which was being actively demolished that summer.  All pray to God Money.

In spite of all this, I've tried to find some silver linings and the chance to explore some new space has certainly been one.  I can't tell you how many times I'll go on a road trip and on they way make mental notes of some visually stunning scenes that I swear I will go back and revisit to either photograph, sketch, or paint.  I can count on one hand how many times I've actually followed through on that.  This new predicament I find myself in has at least afforded me the opportunity to slow down and discover places that I can actually spend some time to enjoy for their visual interest.  Since I returned to the office in June, I had several months of good weather to go out and explore during my lunch breaks and capture some interesting images and I'm posting a few here.  If I was told that I could report back to the Vancouver office or, better yet, home tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to say "yes" but there are still a number of places in Portland that I'd like to revisit to try and capture stylistically.

Making Waves at the Fontaine.

I mis-titled this as Tri-Met HQ but this building actually houses Tri-Met's Mobility Center

15th and Halsey.  Sometimes, I just sketch whatever offers a decent place to sit.

Broadway Apartments.  With a bonus shadow image of my phone.

Crosswalk at 6th & Multnomah

Fire Alarm Telegraph Building.  This place fascinates me.  How did fire alarm telegraphs work?  Why does it need such a large antenna tower?  How has it not been torn down after all these years?

Catching Up With the Art Scene

I titled this one "The Severed Hand" because it looks like one.  Don't worry!  It's not really a severed hand, just some driftwood washed up near the south jetty of Florence, OR

 As usual, it's been a minute since my last post but that's not due to a lack of interesting things to share.  At the time of my last post in March 2025, I knew at some point that I would be forced to go back into a physical office for my day-job or risk losing it.  Along with that looming change, there was talk (and action) about firing personnel heavy-handed offers for early retirement or voluntary separation.  Needless to say, these potential events were causing anxiety and turmoil.  Taking up the pencil and pen on a more regular basis was a pressure relief valve of sorts.  I had already rejoined a couple of sessions with our local Drink-n-Draw/Sip-n-Sketch group and was getting back into a more steady routine of sketching just to keep the basic skills up to par.  I used some of those sessions to put on paper some images from recent adventures or imagined hellscapes.  

More driftwood from Florence beach

While I'm still not naturally an extravert, connecting with fellow artists, doodlers, and sketchers is therapeutic.  Not only does it help provide some inspiration for new ideas but it also gives one a chance to see others techniques and tools but also to talk about how they market or share their work if they're so inclined.   While I haven't been a complete regular at these sessions, I do try to at least make every first Thursday since it's in the evening and I tend to be less busy than on a Saturday mid-morning.  I'm posting a few of the sketches that I worked on or completed in the DnD/SnS sessions here.

@vancouverdrinkanddraw

From a dream I had the night before a DnD session.  I'm sure it's harmless...

Post-apocalyptic is still my jam.  I'm pretty sure I was thinking of Blaine the Train from Stephen King's Dark Tower when I came up with this one.