• Home
• Discover Bend Oregon
• Where to Stay
• What to Do
• How To Get Here
• Move Here
• Plan a Meeting
• About Us

Is solitaire your style, or are you up for a frisky game of strip poker?

Er, that’s not an invitation. But it is one way you can use the awesome new custom illustrated playing cards featuring 52 detailed sketches of unique Bend landmarks.

You can also skip the games and just enjoy the cards for what they are – one of the coolest collections of Bend art you could ever hope to hold.

Several months ago, Visit Bend solicited the talents of renowned sketch artist, Aaron Trotter. Aaron is well known for his pen-and-ink sketch work, but it’s his playing cards that put him on the map – literally. Aaron has created decks of playing cards for Portland, Astoria, Seattle, Vancouver BC, San Francisco, and Paris.

Bend, however, was Aaron’s first custom deck, and I was lucky enough to follow him around one chilly morning to watch the master at work. The process was fascinating.

Aaron is a stickler for sketching everything on-location – no working from photos. As he stood near the footbridge over Mirror Pond in Bend’s Drake Park, I watched as he used a ballpoint pen to capture the details of the ducks paddling around in frigid water.

Though he normally takes the sketches home to Portland to finish, we found a nearby bench so he could demonstrate the inking process. His tools include his grandfather’s quill pen, a fountain pen his aunt bought in Paris in 1910, and a generous supply of Higgins ink.

On average, he told me each sketch takes 20-30 minutes for drawing, and another hour to hour-and-a-half for inking. Tally up the number of playing cards in a deck, and you know this project was no simple undertaking.

The Mirror Pond scene I mentioned (the eight of diamonds, in case you’re wondering) is one of 52 scenes appearing on the backs of these super cool playing cards. Other landmarks include breweries, mountains, historic buildings, local art, recreation sites, and Mt. Bachelor. The latter appears on the cover of the box, since the Visit Bend team decided that’s one of the most recognizable Bend landmarks of all.

Want to get your hands on a deck of cards? You can pick them up at the Bend Visitor Center for $20, or online at visitbend.com. You’ll also see them at the Portland Saturday Market. Vendors interested in selling the cards can contact Visit Bend directly about wholesale pricing.

If you’re interested in winning a deck, just leave a comment sharing your favorite card game. We’ll draw a winner on Tuesday, April 24.

Happy playing!

 Photography by Craig Zagurski

---

23 responses to “Visit Bend offers custom illustrated playing cards with 52 sketches of Bend landmarks. Read on to win a set!”

1. Kevin writes:
   

   Euchre! Hands down! These cards look sweet! If I lose, I’m buying some!

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:05
2. Linda Bell writes:
   

   I love to play Solitaire!

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:12
3. Elysia Nelson writes:
   

   I would love to have a deck to bring along when I move!

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:14
4. Elysia Nelson writes:
   

   oh, my favorite card game is spoons!

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:15
5. Lisa Marie Safadi writes:
   

   Our favorite family game to play is war. If I don’t win, please save me a deck of cards, the next time I come to Bend, I’ll make sure to stop by and buy some!

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:20
6. Tim Seeberg writes:
   

   It’s a deadlocked tie between Texas Hold ‘ Em with increasingly inebriated Hermanos and a differently heated and multi-deck game of Garbage with highly competitive people who appreciate that playing cards can — and should sometimes be a contact sport.

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:24
7. Tom S writes:
   

   Very cool deck of cards. Looks like a real labor of love. Draw poker is my favorite game.

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:57
8. Sarah Holtzclaw writes:
   

   I would definitely use them to play Texas Hold’em too. Maybe even invite Seeberg.

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 17:59
9. Tim Seeberg writes:
   

   It’s a deadlocked tie between Texas Hold ‘ Em with increasingly inebriated Hermanos and a differently heated and multi-deck game of Garbage with highly competitive people who appreciate that playing cards can — and should — sometimes be a contact sport.

   @ April 12th, 2012 at 18:12
10. Nikki ogle writes:
    

    These are so great! I’m really excited to see the whole deck. My favorite card game has to be spades. I recently moved to Bend from Dallas, Texas. Before I headed cross country I played one last hand with my best friend and her husband for old times sake over a couple pitchers of Margaritas. Many fond memories of that night!!

    @ April 12th, 2012 at 18:12
11. Carly writes:
    

    I like cribbage and would love to play with these amazing cards!

    @ April 12th, 2012 at 18:56
12. Annie writes:
    

    Egyptian Rat Screw! Also known as Slap or Egyptian War or a bunch of other things. The one where you slap and collect related cards.

    @ April 12th, 2012 at 19:01
13. Kevin Lepic writes:
    

    What a perfect compliment to all of the Deschutes paraphanalia at our cabin. Long nights of Texas Hold Em await!

    @ April 12th, 2012 at 20:31
14. Roxanne Lenahan writes:
    

    Favorite must be war! Loved to play it my kids!

    @ April 12th, 2012 at 21:46
15. Sarah Holtzclaw writes:
    

    I’m all in, Texas Hold ‘Em with a bunch of great friends and good local brew. You can’t beat it. I’d even invite Tim…hmmm… wonder if he’d join us. If you are playing with people under the age of 12, a good game of Go Fish will go a long way too.

    @ April 13th, 2012 at 07:52
16. lynnette writes:
    

    I can’t get enough of the card game Spit? The spit battles between my cousins and sister went on for hours/days/weeks.

    @ April 13th, 2012 at 09:44
17. Tish Ooi writes:
    

    Gin rummy is my game and would love to play it gazing at these cards. Hope I can keep my mind on the game while looking at the cards!
    Tish Ooi

    @ April 13th, 2012 at 13:08
18. Jennifer Lewis writes:
    

    Dang, yes! I am so in! Although I’m afraid I’m not that experienced with cards…. more of a Egyptian Ratscrew kinda girl…

    @ April 13th, 2012 at 13:16
19. Trina-Lea Briggs writes:
    

    Gin Rummy…those cards are works of art…I’ll be searching them out on our first visit to Bend next month.

    @ April 23rd, 2012 at 08:49
20. Selena Schmidt writes:
    

    Euchre, Hearts, or Sheepshead. Something that keeps you on your toes and paying attention. Cribbage is good time as well! Hope I win! Looking forward to a trip in July!

    @ April 23rd, 2012 at 09:49
21. Michelle writes:
    

    Blackjack, naturally!

    @ April 24th, 2012 at 14:10
22. Michelle Perez writes:
    

    Hope I’m not to late to weigh in…Blackjack is always fun. I’ll just have to get a few more sets of cards to make the deck complete!

    @ April 24th, 2012 at 14:13
23. Tawna writes:
    

    Drumroll, please…..

    And our winner is Nikki Ogle. Congratulations, Nikki! We’ve sent you an email regarding your victory, but feel free to touch base at tawna at visitbend dot com. Thanks, everyone, for your comments!

    Tawna

    @ April 25th, 2012 at 14:04