I have no idea why it took me three months to put these sketches online. I think they were mostly all finished back then, too, except for maybe a few tiny color touch-ups. (There’s some other Portland pieces that really, genuinely aren’t finished yet, which is a whole other pile of excuses). Prior Portland sketches are here and also here. Remarkably, this time around, none of these are directly related to a place I was eating.
Anyway. Better get these up before I completely forget everything about them!
On July 12, Professor Becky invited me to bicycle up to Sauvie Island with some frisbee people for berry picking and beaching. It was very nice!
On July 13, Paula, Stone, and Sage bought some gelato at a Museum of Contemporary Craft festival.
My main bicycle “commute” was along the section of the Springwater Corridor Trail between Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge and Division Street. On my last day in town I made time to draw a few views from there.
Portland has great public waterworks (also see the PDF linked from here). In addition to the Benson Bubblers, there are several immense and imaginative fountains designed to welcome and encourage play and relaxation. (Perhaps the best known one is Salmon Street Springs; I didn’t have a chance to draw it, but Seattle Sketcher Gabi Campanario was in town around the same time and did a great job drawing it!) Below are my sketches of Ira’s Fountain and Jamison Square.
Jamison Square is great for smaller kids. The water level rises and falls as the waterfalls start and stop—lots of fun!
One of my absolute favorite places in Portland is Ira’s Fountain. It’s hard to even believe this place is legal in the USA, and that no one has died on it (it’s actually cleverly engineered to be safer than it looks; it would be hard to fall too far or too fast). It’s the best possible thing a city could have on a hot summer’s day!
I love that you love Ira’s! I’ve shown that place to so many people after I discovered it. I can’t help but smile looking at your sketches of Portland. Thanks!
— capnleela October 12, 2008 #
Thanks for smiling Cap’n!
I’m glad you know Ira’s. A lot of Portlanders seem to have never heard of it.
— Jason Das October 12, 2008 #
Jason, thank you deeply for your kind sentiments about my pooch. I’m sorry you’ve gone through it too, but it seems to be the way of everything. You gotta feel pain to love.
Anyway, it’s a crime for me to not have seen your sketches before. I’m a big fan. I cannot be sure, but do we have a mutual acquaintance in a Mr. Einspruch? If this is so, then I am glad.
— Seamus October 14, 2008 #
Thanks for liking my stuff, Seamus!
You gotta feel pain to love. Exactly.
I don’t think I know any Einspruchs (unless that’s a clever pseudonym I’m not getting).
— Jason Das October 14, 2008 #
Hi Jason, I love your sketches, especially those places in Portland I recognize (I’m new to PDX so I don’t know about Ira’s fountain.) Are you interested in joining us on the sketchcrawl october 25? We’re meeting downtown at the starbuck’s on SW Park and Clay, at 10am. We can spread out to sketch from there.
happy sketching!
— alanna October 15, 2008 #
Thanks for loving my sketches, Alanna! Unfortunately, I’m not in Portland now—I was only visiting for a month. But I hope your sketchcrawl goes great!
— Jason Das October 17, 2008 #
These are simply delightful!!
Lisa
— lisalou October 18, 2008 #
Thank you, Lisa!!
— Jason Das October 19, 2008 #