New art exhibit

 Aircraft installation for The MiG-21 project continued yesterday. I was at the Museum on Monday (6/9) to make a delivery and but then after I was home I saw via Insta that the aircraft exhibit had arrived. Thus I went over to the Aviation Pavilion yesterday (Tues., 6/10) to do a sketch of the aircraft.

The full exhibit opens June 21 and it's the world premier of "South African artist Ralph Ziman’s 5-year, multidisciplinary project transforming a decommissioned Cold War-era, Soviet-designed MiG-21 fighter jet into a stunning work of art entirely covered in tens of millions of colorful glass beads."

The explanation of this art and exhibition is on the Museum's web site. In part, "The reclaimed jet turns an icon of violence into a symbol of resilience and collaboration."

The MiG-21 is in the back of the Aviation Pavilion on the East campus. There will be more items and objects on exhibit in the Red Barn on the West campus.

Museum staff and the artist's crew worked to assemble and document the process. Here are the crew plus Museum's Senior Curator on right, PR Director on his left, and others helping to move a section to attach to the aircraft.

While I did the line drawing, I thought, "How am I going to color this?" I decided the best medium was colored pencils but… yikes! It took parts of 2 days and it's my representation of the multicolored aircraft.

Seattle Chinese Garden, 6 June 2025

What a beautiful day, and what a great turnout for the @seattlechinesegarden !

A mix of new folks and veterans explored this gem near South Seattle College. Most everyone was looking for shade before our time together was over, and STILL we had such a variety of work. We even had a visiting sketcher from @urbansketcherspune who was in town for his daughter's wedding. 

#usk #urbansketchers #uskseattle

Sunny and Shady Chinese Garden

 

6/6/25 Seattle Chinese Garden 

Seattle Chinese Garden in West Seattle is a USk Seattle mainstay, especially in late spring when the peonies are in bloom. Meeting there on May 1 last year, I remember it was cold – 56 degrees, according to the notation on my sketch. Today we were treated to full-on summer – sunny with temps in the low 70s! It was a gorgeous morning to pull out my colors for a change.

Special Guests at Drink & Draw

 

5/30/25 Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

Sunshine and warm weather have a way of bringing people out! One of our biggest turnouts ever at a USk drink & draw included a special guest who came all the way from Pune, India. An enthusiastic member of USk Pune, Rajeev was in Seattle for his daughter’s wedding and brought his whole family to Project 9 Brewery – and they all sketch!

Rajeev (at left) and his family

Your USk Seattle Admin Team!

 

At your service: the USk Seattle admin team! (From left, Tina, Kim, Jane and Kate)

Lots of History Behind U-District Street Fair

 

5/18/25 U-District Street Fair

In its 54^th year, the U-District Street Fair is the longest-running festival of its kind in the country. Although I’ve sketched at it only a few times, I’ve been attending regularly since the late ‘70s when I was a University of Washington student. The fair has a long history, and I learned a bit more of it on Sunday with USk Seattle.

Shiga's Garden at 55th and University Way NE

As I walked slowly up and down the 10 blocks of the fair, I stopped occasionally to capture snippets in my sketchbook. Most fun was the Bellingham juggler who said he has been performing at this street fair for 15 consecutive years. With a continual comedic patter, he juggled a variety of props for his captive audience circled around him. Related trivia: Jane’s son went to school with the juggler!

During the throwdown, I learned from Noel (a Seattle native and current member of USk DC) that a nearby P-Patch was named for Andy Shiga (1919 – 1993). The longtime U-District merchant and owner of Shiga’s Imports was also the founder of the U-District Street Fair in 1970. On my walk back to my car after the outing, I happened to pass the P-Patch, which was an appropriate final sketch for the day. (The shop’s website includes interesting history on the Shiga family in Seattle.)

While the rest of USk Seattle was having fun sketching at the fair, Ellie Doughty was working hard at her booth!

Last Resort Fire Museum

 

5/15/25 Seattle Fire Department Headquarters and Last Resort Fire Museum, Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square, where some of Seattle’s oldest buildings stand, is an apt home for the Last Resort Fire Museum. Housed within Seattle Fire Department’s Headquarters and Fire Station 10, the free museum holds a fascinating collection of historic fire rigs, other fire-fighting apparatus, old photos and vintage artifacts. Used in 1907, the oldest truck was originally a horse-drawn steam pumper that was eventually motorized. Although no longer in service, the vintage rigs are maintained so that they could, in fact, be used if needed in a pinch; hence, the museum’s name.

In the drizzle during the throwdown outside, I discovered that this Pilot brush pen's ink isn't as waterproof as I thought it was!

Staying dry and comfy on a cool, drizzly day, USk Seattle had a challenging time figuring out ways to squeeze the enormous rigs into our sketch pages. I kept trying to back up in the crowded museum so that I could get enough distance to see entire rigs, but that was usually impossible, so I focused on capturing small pieces of what I saw.

Thanks to Kate for discovering this gem of Seattle fire service history for USk Seattle. Supported by volunteers, the non-profit, free museum appreciates donations. 

The Last Resort

We met today at the Last Resort Fire Department to sketch their vintage engines and equipment. It's a relatively small place but there were lots of fire trucks. It's next to a modern Fire Station so we had to be prepared to move out of the way if the Chiefs' needed to roll out in their cars, which were also stored in the museum garage. 

I started with the 1924 Seagrave 800 GPM Pumper. I only sketched the front half as I wanted to leave room on the page for other objects in a montage. The boots and helmet were on the floor behind a battalion chief's vehicle. I presumed they were there so as to be quickly put on. This was a very fancy chief's badge on one of the helmets on the floor.

Old and New Around the Roastery

 

5/7/25 Melrose & Pike area, Capitol Hill

Although USk Seattle had an outing at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery last year, I missed that one, so our outing this morning was the first time I’d sketched in the area in years – probably since before the pandemic. At the border between downtown and Capitol Hill, that vibrant part of town is one of my favorites to sketch. It’s an interesting mix of traditional and modern architecture.

Probably the most traditional and certainly most majestic building in the area is the dome-topped First Covenant Church. I did a wonky job this time, but I made a better rendition of it several years ago.

As a counter to that one, I also sketched the high-rise Nexus condo building, which opened just in time for the pandemic. It looks like messily stacked boxes that have been taped together just as messily. Because each “box” is slightly askew, I thought the design would hide any angle errors or sloppiness on my part, but it was still very challenging to draw. Compared to all the other identical glassy boxes downtown, I like this one’s distinctively funky look.

Around the corner from the Roastery is the Voodoo Doughnut shop that opened last year. Since I had already indulged at Portland’s original Voodoo (and decided it was overrated), I passed this time and instead sketched its corner (one of the area’s older buildings, which happens to be bright pink).

Eventually I went inside the Roastery to share a table with Michele and Kim. Of course, I couldn’t resist getting an overpriced but beautifully presented beverage – a seasonal ube coconut latte.

I’d like to get back to the area again this summer, either with USk or by myself – I snapped several photos to remind myself of things I still want to sketch.

USk Week 2025 at the first Starbucks Reserve Roastery

Thanks to all who came to sketch the Starbucks Reserve Roastery - 9 years old now - on Capitol Hill today. So many cool views of the neighborhood, including the new Voodoo Doughnuts, First Covenant Church, and more. It was fun to meet up with some Usk veterans and also some newer folks. (Tina got an Ube Latte, hot, purple with latte art on the foam... Yum.)

#watercolor #directwatercolor #acuarela #aguarela #水彩画 #penandink #sailorfude #watercolorpencils #usk #urbansketchers #uskseattle #USkWeek2025 #urbansketchersdelhi #artdailycollective #artdaily0504 #embracethewonkiness

Out and About for the Last Day

Today is the last day of International Urban Sketchers Week so I went out to two locations in my suburb to the south of Seattle. I traveled light and only took my Art Tool Kit.

My first stop was the Filling Station Coffee shop in a neighborhood above Coulon Park. It's a delightful place. As the name implies, it used to be a gas station. The covered area which once had the pumps is now a really nice patio. In the background across the street is a half-timbered church.

Next I went to my local IKEA for lunch. In fact, I live 20 minutes from the only IKEA in WA. I specifically wanted to get a slice (or two, to take home) of their rainbow cake. For each slice sold, they are donating $1 to Rainbow Railroad which has "helped LGBTQI+ individuals around the world find safety through emergency relocation, crisis response and other forms of assistance"

They didn't have any in the dessert shelf of the restaurant. I asked and the very nice Charlane B went behind the kitchen to get me some! I ate my Swedish meatball lunch while I sketched the background. Then I added the cake.

 

Fishermen’s Terminal For USk Week

 

5/4/25 Fishermen's Terminal

The first week of May is the annual international Urban Sketchers Week to help promote the activities of the community and local chapters. A new initiative this year was to pair local chapters and encourage them to share their sketches with each other virtually. USk Seattle was paired with USk Delhi, a large, active group whose members have been sharing daily on social media.

For our part, USk Seattle had a huge turnout today at Fishermen’s Terminal, one of our perennial favorite locations and the site of our very first outing ever. We didn’t plan the outing to land on this date, but it happened to be the Terminal’s annual memorial service to honor people in the fishing industry who were lost at sea. I was happy to be able to capture that.

Although we were treated to lovely sunshine and a mostly clear sky, the wind was brisk and harsh at times. Still, there’s nothing like being part of the Urban Sketchers community, both worldwide and right here at home. Happy USk Week!