YARRRR! The Swashbuckler’s Ball

Portland, OR: Last weekend I put on a big hat and dressed up as a pirate, as you do, and went to the annual Swashbuckler’s Ball, a big party for Portland pirates at the Melody Ballroom. What great fun! A pirate’s life for me. Of course, I sketched. I first sketched the Portland pirates last year at Dr. Sketchy’s and was keen to come back up to sketch them some more. I was attending with fellow pirate sketcher and USk Portland correspondent Kalina Wilson, whose excellent work is a real inspiration (check out her Flickr stream). She also kindly helped me obtain my pirate hat (from “DressLikeAPirate.com”). Here she is, sketching the swashbucklers:

I personally was struggling a bit with my sketching, and didn’t do quite as much – drawing pirates who keep moving about is a pretty tricky business for a salty barnacle such as me. I felt oddly self-conscious of sketching people armed to the teeth with swords and cutlasses (only joking), so I kept it quick.

The music was great, and there were a lot of pirates dancing – it was a ball after all. Even I danced, which may surprise you. Whenever I was struggling to sketch, I would wander off and dance. I believe it helps get the rhythm of the sketches going. I did manage a couple of quick individual pirate sketches, to which I added my own observations. I really wish I had had the courage to ask a pirate to pose for a sketch, just for a couple of minutes, but I am a lily-livered land-lubber, so that didn’t happen.

To find out more about the Swashbuckler’s Ball (and hey, maybe I’ll see you there next time!), visit their website at: http://www.swashbucklersball.com/

YARRRR!!!!

by Pete Scully