Spring Awakens Slowly



Spring has been slow to materialize here in Portland this year....But at least on a few days, when I took my Illustration class out to sketch, we were able to enjoy some of the forest gems that were emerging from a soggy forest floor. There's nothing prettier or more uplifting than the bright greens of new foliage sprinkled on the forest floor or scattered in the canopy above!

The exercise was to walk slowly down the path ( located behind the main buildings to the north of the main campus of Portland Community College at Rock Creek) ....stopping every 10 steps to do a quick sketch ( of only 30 seconds or so!) and then moving on to do another sketch....and another! With 20 students I had a hard time getting them to spread out a bit, or to not spend too long on each sketch. The idea was to look at the overall shapes and patterns of dark and light, and to quickly sketch your impression...then move on...

We found many clusters of Trillium, lovely fern and Vanilla Leaf, moss-covered logs, and lichen covered tree trunks.

A walk in the forest in Spring is magical!

Back in my own garden, the new leaves are emerging and new pots are brightening up the decks....Even Lucca seems to be waiting for warmer temps and the Summer to come!