Portland, Part 2: Ole Bolle

 

6/24/24 Ole Bolle at Nordic Northwest, Beaverton

A highlight of my short Portland trip was sketching Ole Bolle, one of Thomas Dambo’s whimsical troll sculptures. The only other troll I’d sketched was the one in Ballard at the National Nordic Museum, so I was thrilled to be able to catch this one in the Portland suburb of Beaverton. It was an especially fun outing to go with a Facebook friend I had known for years but had never met before this.

After sketching the larger sketch at top of post, I went around the sculpture to capture a few details. All the Dambo trolls are made from recycled wood and other materials. It was fun to catch the couple and their dog posed under Ole's elbow for scale.

Someday I hope to get around to sketching the other trolls in the Pacific Northwest, but I can already say that Ole Bolle will probably be a favorite. It’s a delight to walk into the schoolhouse and look up at Ole through the opened roof!

Cindy and Tina

Photo by Cindy Smith