2/16/25 Red Square and Suzzallo Library, UW campus
Warm, cozy, artistically challenging – Suzzallo Library on the University of Washington campus is a winter mainstay for USk Seattle. If the size of our group last Sunday is any indication, we have high pent-up demand for comfortable sketching opportunities – what a turnout!
While I waited for others to show up at the library entrance, I made a couple of quick sketches of Red Square to set the location (above). Once inside, I wasn’t in the mood to challenge myself with daunting architecture. Instead, I picked one of the elegant pillars flanking the stairway to finish the page.
That done, I spent the rest of the outing pulling out different media to experiment with tone and color temperature (which have been on mind with Sarah Bixler’s class). The small monochrome at left is Suzzallo’s main reading room entrance.
Elsewhere in the library, I found quiet spots to study color temperature using watercolor pencils (below). At lower right, the strong diagonal is one of many internal supports throughout Suzzallo. They look jarring mixed in with the stately Collegiate Gothic Revival architectural style, but it’s reassuring to know that the centenarian building is seismically safe.
Urban Sketchers chapters in Seattle and Tacoma met at Southcenter Mall in Tukwila to sketch the magnificent Lunar New Year Dragon making an appearance for the second year in a row.
Since I sketched it at least 3 times last year, I think this will be my only visit this year.
This morning Urban Sketchers Seattle met at the Museum of Flight.
I'd planned to sketch the TESSERAE Space Habit as I could have sworn I got an email that the display had been extended. It is a 20 foot high full scale mock up of the self assembled dome. It's designed to support astronauts living in space.
Not so much. So I sketched the crates that held it!
1/17/25 Museum of Flight (Most of the aircraft were sketched from the upper level. I glued in a piece of my wristband to fill the long, horizontal space at the bottom of this page -- an ideal spot for a bit of collage. )
I made this small page to catch a couple of sketchers.
As I walked into the Great Gallery, it felt like it had been ages since I last sketched at the Museum of Flight. Indeed, I missed last year’s USk outing there, sothe last time for me was in 2019. I had skipped sketching in the Great Gallery altogether that time, so on Friday I spent the whole USk outing there. The largest gallery, it’s also the most intimidating – lots and lots of planes and other aircraft covering the floor and hanging from the ceiling.Instead of making portraits of individual aircraft as I’ve always done before, I made small vignettes to tell the wider story of the museum atmosphere. Truth be told, it was also much easier to make thumbnail-size sketches rather than page spreads trying to get a whole jet’s wingspan to fit. Lazy or smart? You decide. In any case, I had a ball!
Many thanks to Kate, a long-time volunteer, for offering Urban Sketchers free guest passes to the museum.
The larger and more intimidating the space, the smaller I sketch!
Sometime during the pandemic, the US Bank Centre building’s lobby underwent a huge remodel – so much so that I didn’t recognize it as a place we had sketched back in 2017. Interestingly, though, the view from one of the second floor windows was vaguely familiar, and that’s because I had sketched it back then, too! It’s funny how the compositions that had attracted me then still do now. In any case, the multiple levels that are open to the public gave USk Seattle many places to settle into cozy seating with their beverages from Olympia Coffee on a chilly morning. We’re happy to have another winter mainstay!
I enjoyed sketching these backlit people from the mezzanine level.
I spent my morning documenting the procession of over 100 buses honoring the memory of murdered King County Metro driver Shawn Yim, who was stabbed to death in December 2024 while on the job. It was the first time in 26 years this has happened in Seattle.
There were a lot of media folks on the bridge over 4th ave on Yesler
this morning but I was the only one with a sketchbook. A little after
10am police blocked off the street and the buses started rolling through
below us. The first one displayed "Shawn Yim / 21882" on its sign.
(21882 is his King County Metro employee number.)
There were a few vintage buses in the procession along with tons of
Sound Transit and King County vehicles, including maintenance vans and tow trucks. I saw drivers representing agencies from as far away as Grays
Harbor & Skagit counties.
Using watersoluble pencils, I quickly drew some of the buses as they
drove down 4th Ave, and added colors after the procession.
Around 11, I finished up my drawings and headed to WAMU theater by
Lumen Field, where the memorial service was being held. The cavernous
space was pretty much full of people, mostly of safety vest wearing
folks from transit agencies. A huge turnout.
I definitely teared up while taking notes from the speeches. It was
good to get to know some more about Shawn Yim as a person. He seemed
like a really kind guy and it's such a tragedy to lose someone like that
involved in public service. The few speeches I was able to stay for had
notes of humor, sadness, and anger.
I don't have any personal connection to Shawn Yim besides that I
used to ride the #70 route a lot (the one Shawn was driving when he was
killed), but I am a transit user. I want to show my solidarity with the
workers who move our city and are put in danger far more than they
should be.
I don’t know why it took USk Seattle so long to get back to Union Station after the pandemic (the last time was in 2019), but it was high time we did. In fact, it should definitely become a wintertime mainstay – elegant, challenging, fun – and we always seem to have the place to ourselves!
Last used as a functioning train station in 1971, Union Station now houses the offices of Sound Transit, which operates our light rail system. It’s also rented out for private events on weekends and evenings, but during weekdays, the huge space is open to the public. Other than the security guards, sketchers seemed to be the only occupants on Wednesday afternoon. We certainly took advantage of all the tables and chairs! (I forgot to take photos of the whole interior, but my post from 2019 includes one.)
In my usual on-location comics style, I tried to capture a variety of parts and pieces of the station to tell the story of the beautifully restored Union Station. I was impressed by the number of sketchers who took on that daunting domed architecture! (I kept my attempt to a 2-inch square.)
We met at Swanson's Nursery for a winter outing to sketch remaining decorations.
I wandered around outside for a while. It was drizzling but there was cover. However, I got a little chilled so I sat in the warmth of the cafe to sketch the small Dino Santa.
Several of us drew this Swanson's 100 display.
It was a big group of over 25, with at least 2 missing from the photo. Stephanie Bower took the photo. Srinath V., who just moved here from a USk chapter in India, had to leave early.
On the drive home, I got caught on highway 99 with the First Ave S. drawbridge up to allow a crane to pass underneath. Sigh. But, then I realized the Urban Sketchers' joke and took it as a command. I drew the draw bridge up while I waited. Draw Bridge while sketch-waiting!
At mostUSk Seattle visits to Swansons Nursery, I typically start sketching outdoors, then move indoors if it’s cold. But the chilly drizzle on Friday morning pushed me indoors right off the bat – first in one of the large retail areas, then a nice table in the café with a few other sketchers. It was a fine view of plenty of plants and the popular koi pond.
New at this visit were lots of banana-shaped caution cones scattered all over the store – bright yellow, eye-catching and fun to draw!
Welcome to new Seattle resident (but longtime USk member) Srinath Vasireddy!
