TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip


Self-taught does not mean unlearned. People learn in different ways. For me, classrooms are a struggle. I would like to think I am just smart and brilliant, most likely it is that I am impatient. Then there is my ego and insecurity, which kept me from art workshops because I did not feel I was…

This week – friends, furniture, frames


We have been busy settling in, yet we find time to be with friends. We went to a block party in the Hollywood area of Portland, then had friends over for Sunday lunch. I finally have an area to do some painting. My small Guerrilla Pochade box sits nicely on a tripod in front of…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip


There is no magic pencil – or pen, or marker, or brush – art is a process of repeated iterations. My name is theTravelsketcher and I am a Niffler when it comes to shiny new art stuff. Unpacking my art things from storage and from France makes it clear that I have more unused, or…

A week of thanksgiving


This has been a truly thankful week. Much of our time of course has been unpacking and we have made a lot of progress, it feels like home. Saturday we had lunch with my son and daughter-in-law in Lake Oswego, Sunday our daughter and son-in-law, then on Wednesday our friends came over for a pre-Thanksgiving…

TheTravelsketcher’s Tuesday Tip


“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it” Salvador Dali Many a good sketch has been ruined by trying to make it perfect. If you captured the moment it is perfect enough.