Tag Archives: Corvallis

Got Clippers?

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"February is for Pruning", mixed media by Kerry McFall

February is a good time for sleeping in, especially if you’re a groundhog, or a cat.  (I suppose that ”sleeping in” is kind of a misnomer for cats because it implies actually getting up at some point in 24 hours.)  If you have a garden, standard wisdom is that February is also when you need to get off your buns, grab your clippers and the bucket, and get out there and prune!

For our two baby fruit trees out front, it almost seems a shame to snip those plucky little branches, but I know from experience that they are way too skinny to manage the wieght of Asian pears, so snip I did.  Then I tackled the herb pots, and I even dead-headed the hydrangea.

I brought one of the pear branches in, and a lacy blossom to sketch.  The pear “stick” is full of color – wine-red buds, green-gold bark with ivory blisters.  But the blossom is a literal ghost of its once brilliant blue self, papery, stained with mold and mildew, translucent.  Even so, it’s lovely, and now I’ve accomplished two things today – pruning, and a sketch!  It feels good.  Who knows, maybe I will get the snow peas planted this year!

 

Daydreaming about May

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Sketch of wild iris

"Daydreaming about May", mixed media by Kerry McFall

Going through photos from 2011 as part of my “get better organized” New Year’s resolution yielded a nice shot of wild iris at Finley Wildlife Refuge from last May.  It’s been so bleak and soggy here since we got home that I felt like a bit of Flower Therapy was in order for the sketch book, so I spent a couple of glorious hours Sunday afternoon daydreaming about May…  I put into action a suggestion from a wonderful  book about sketching that I’m reading (The Art of Travel with a Sketchbook by Mari Le Glatin Keis) – start with a watercolor wash on the page.  So simple, but so effective, and as I read I was delighted to recognize the names of several contributing Corvallis artists I know: Gale Everett and George Norek.  I wish I had read the book before I traveled, but then again, it felt like I had enough going on without more ideas to overwhelm me!

After enjoying the book so much, I was left with a sense of real loss when I googled her name and discovered that she died about this time last year from breast cancer.  She was about my age.  I wish I had known her.  The book seems like such a gift for those of us who couldn’t go with her on her sketching journeys.  And it is inspiration to keep looking and seeing and sketching – and daydreaming on paper.

Bavaria, Franconia, and Ingolstadt

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sketch of pretzels

"Bavarian Pretzels", by Kerry McFall - watercolor, ink, colored pencil

Europe at last! Our friends live in Bavaria about an hour outside of Munich in a Corvallis-sized town called Ingolstadt. The first Bavarian state university was founded here. Beavers gnaw at trees along the Danube. The resemblance between home and here ends there. Bicyclists rarely wear helmets. Pedestrians of all ages (not just college students) cross the street at unexpected times and random spots, cars honk at them but rarely slow down. There are no bumper stickers. The town mascot is a creature that is obviously a griffin – well, maybe a dragon – but they call it a panther. Centuries of history unwind as we walk along cobbled streets. Duke Ludwig the Bearded built a New Church in 1418; he was succeeded by his son Ludwig the Rich, who apparently imprisoned his father to be sure he DID become “the Rich”. Museums abound, notably the “Alte Anatomie” medical museum, which served as inspiration for the Frankenstein tale. We had a delicious Pancake Soup with our lunch – what a fabulous way to use up leftover pancakes! – at an inn whose claim to fame was serving the local doctor who was the model for Frankenstein…

When we arrived yesterday, our host presented us with a traditional Bavarian midday feast of steaming white sausages drowned in honey mustard, fresh pretzels, and Hefeweizen beer – mmmm. The pretzels were gorgeous and golden, spread with real butter (there went my illusion of losing weight with all the walking). Sketching them was the logical choice for the day, given my jet lag.

As I worked on the sketch and tried to stay awake, Markus baked a fresh plum cake and tea for the four o clock traditional “snack”. The “eat dessert first” philosophy may have originated here! At the evening meal, (fresh salad, cheese, cold cuts, more pretzels, and bread) I was introduced to the region of Franconia via Franconian wine. Evidently Franconia (spelled Frankisher in German) is in north Bavaria – somehow we skipped that in 5th grade geography… but it’s pretty important out here… kind of like the Corvallis/Sweet Home relationship… It was a crisp Pinot Grigio-type and was quite good. We’ve been promised a different wine with this evening’s meal… I really like Bavaria so far!

Divergence

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sketch of redwood tree and leaning pole

View from Our Front Window

The sun shone all afternoon, giving me both time and inspiration to finally sketch the redwood in the park across the street.   I’ve sat and stared many hours at the huge, beautiful trees, trying to decide how to make a good composition out of this strange little park.  It is the oldest city park in town, dating from the late 1800′s.  The trees keep it green and shady year round.  It is surrounded by motley little houses built beginning in the first few decades of the 1900′s, and by the pickups and beaters driven by college students too cheap to pay the university parking fees.  “No Dogs Allowed” the sign says, but a much more appropriate sign would be “No Males Between 14 and 24 Allowed.”  The dogs that play in the park are too busy chasing Frisbees or rolling in the grass with their children to do any damage.  The young males, however, are Hazards to themselves and society.  They spit, they pee, they shout obscenities, they break whatever they can reach.   There are exceptions, of course, but not many!

But I digress.  The tree itself leans slightly south, the utility pole is teetering north.  The combination is unsettling as I step out the door each morning… vertigo anyone? I also wonder about the dead top of the tree, which judging by the overall shape has been blown out or zapped off more than once.  The city arborist assures me it can and will grow a new top.  I hope so!

This sketch was created in colored pencil, then manipulated in Photoshop.