Category Archives: architecture

My Secret Journal: Five, NW Neighborhood

Posted on October 7, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

(Note:  I am writing a journal that I don’t want to show before it is published in full.   I realized I can simply share some of the images without the writing;  These are a few blank pages that will … Continue reading →

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VSW: #2 Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco

Posted on October 5, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

The inspiration for this virtual walk came from a Preservation Leadership blog on Early San Fransisco Parking Garages.  I love funky old buildings, and these are anonymously designed (in some cases) and I don’t want them torn down! As usual, … Continue reading →

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USk: Frank Ching, Gail Wong Workshop

Posted on October 1, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I had the opportunity to meet the man who taught me more than most professors in college, and influenced my drawing style as a free-hand sketcher of the built environment: Frank Ching.  Architecture: Form Space and Order made sense out … Continue reading →

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VSW: Laguna Beach, California from Lifeguard Tower to Wyland’s

Posted on August 25, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Note: To see the images I drew from, click here. This was all about things not going well and forging ahead. And the difference between what you want to do (personal goals) and what happens when you are not looking! … Continue reading →

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VSW: Volterra, Italy, A Bit Further!

Posted on August 22, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

My virtual sketchwalk through the ancient town of Volterra, Italy began HERE. . . This virtual walk was a group walk with sketching friends from around the world! There were a couple of routes suggested, and I sketched the one … Continue reading →

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VSW: #1 A Short Walk in Laguna Beach, California

Posted on August 16, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

My home town seemed a good place to start our walks.  This will be a very short walk up about three blocks on the Pacific Coast Highway, starting at the historic Main Beach Lifeguard Tower, shown in black on the … Continue reading →

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USk: Slabtown New Seasons Opening!

Posted on August 12, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

We are so happy to have New Seasons blocks from our studio! No more driving all around for groceries!  YAY! We went opening day before we opened the studio. Mostly they were setting up and greeting their new customers, and … Continue reading →

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VSW (Short for Virtual Sketch Walk): Amsterdam

Posted on August 4, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

A virtual sketch walk is one in which you never leave your chair.  The opposite of urban sketchers, which is all about sketching your environment from real life, as a virtual sketcher you are sketching from your own, another person’s … Continue reading →

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USk: St. Patrick’s Church in the Alphabet District of Portland

Posted on August 2, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I love Saint Patrick’s Church in NW Portland. I drive by it all the time as it sits across from our bank. The Beaux-Arts church looks like it belongs in Italy, set into cobbled streets surrounded by a park and … Continue reading →

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USk: Meriwether’s Restaurant NW Portland

Posted on July 26, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Meriwether’s Restaurant looks like a nice house on a commercial street, but for the riot of bright yellow echinacea that bloom every summer in front of lavender and blue hydrangea.  Walking between the building and the flowers you might forget … Continue reading →

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Palace Cakes

Posted on July 20, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Good coffee.  Not Espresso but good coffee. Cake and coffee can do a lot to change your world! A bad day saved by Palace Cakes in Portland! Drawn in an Strathmore Mixed Media journal with Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Platinum … Continue reading →

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USk: Pyramid Juices + Schoolhouse Electric

Posted on July 15, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

Schoolhouse Electric is on Nicolai St. It’s been revitalized with a barista and a great home furnishing and lighting store. It was a hot day to sketch. Pyramid Juices was once made in Ashland Oregon before it was bought out … Continue reading →

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USk: MPF Conservation’s NW Neighborhood

Posted on July 13, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

I haven’t sketched outdoors much lately.  I wondered what I might make of our buildings. Our studio is in an industrial area in NW Portland. This is the approach from the freeway. We share space in the building with Portland … Continue reading →

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IFJM 30: Rome, Our Last Day

Posted on May 1, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

April 30 From my journal:  “Hard to believe it is our last day.  We thought to go to Vatican City, but we saw the lines and decided, another trip. . .  and back to Castel Sant’ Angelo, or the Roman … Continue reading →

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IFJM 29: Genoa to Rome, A Slow Drive on the Coast

Posted on May 1, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

April 29 From my journal:  “Last day in Genoa, and we wandered into the Mercato Orientale . . . a well-kept tourist secret.  We wandered the stalls, bought more chocolate (we ate what we bought in Nice — oops!), bought … Continue reading →

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IFJM 28: Genoa, the Painted City

Posted on April 30, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

April 28 From my journal:  “Genoa, a key city in the novel.  The colors of the city are like Pompei, bright almost garish painted facades.  So many influences . . .  Arab? Roman?  We haven’t had enough time as we … Continue reading →

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IFJM 27: Highway 101 in Italy

Posted on April 28, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

April 27 From my journal: “The yum shop! Breakfast of brioche + yummies + cheese.” “Another day of pure vacation as we head to Genoa . . . one of our takeaways brings us to remembering Eddie Izzard talking about … Continue reading →

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IFJM 26: Nice! I Fell in Love Again!

Posted on April 27, 2015 by D. Katie Powell

April 26 From my journal: “Everything is so close.  It took no time to get to Nice, and we decided to stay close to the water all the way to Genoa.  I had us stop at the train station, where … Continue reading →

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