Wintergrass 2026

We are back to making an annual visit to the Wintergrass Bluegrass festival in Bellevue. There are always lots of musicians to sketch while they jam together in the halls.

Several sketchers gather around a jam session.

There were a lot of sketchers.

Still Sketchin’ the Jammin’ at Wintergrass

 

2/21/26 Wintergrass at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency

Wintergrass, the region’s annual bluegrass festival, has long been a favorite of USk Seattle and certainly of mine. In the past, we’ve always avoided attending on the weekends, expecting that the crowds would make sketching difficult. To avoid our greater nemesis lately – the I-5 construction mess worsening commute-time congestion – we decided to give it a try on Saturday this year. To our delight, the crowds didn’t feel constrained or overwhelming at all. I enjoyed the enthusiasm of jammers and spectators alike.

It’s especially fun to see impromptu jam sessions break out among small groups of friends and even strangers. I had assumed that most of the gatherings of guitar, fiddle and mandolin players were friends, but I overheard strangers introducing themselves even as they played tunes together. I always think of it as parallel to Urban Sketchers: people who come together with their common passion to form an instant community.

At the trade show area, several massage therapists offered musicians their services.

In addition to all the musicians I sketched, my favorite subject was a huge, white Great Pyrenees (misspelled in my sketch captions) who kept walking into my sketches like a polar bear! He looked very sweet, and I was told that he attends every year.

Retro Furniture at US Bank Center

 

2/14/26 US Bank Center

Last winter’s outing at US Bank Center was so popular that we knew it would become a USk mainstay during the cold months. Great coffee and pastries from Olympia Coffee and comfy seating on three levels make it ideal for capturing intriguing interiors and people.

Last year I sketched mostly the window views from the third level and people on the mezzanine, so this time I tried something entirely different. The third floor is furnished and decorated in a retro style with unusual lighting fixtures that attracted several other sketchers, too. Somewhat inspired by the color scheme, I also took some liberties. It was fun to focus on the furnishings as if they were a giant still life.

That sketch took longer than I usually spend on a single sketch; I was hungry by the time I finished. Taking my snack to the mezzanine level, I sketched other sketchers until it was time for the throwdown.

The Collective Joy of Super Bowl

 

2/8/26 Pre-game snacking and sketching at Project 9 Brewing Co., Maple Leaf neighborhood

I have an unusual perspective on the Super Bowl game that captured the country’s (and especially Seattle’s) attention last Sunday: It was my first time watching one.

An hour before I was to leave for the game, I realized
I couldn't go to a sports bar on Super Bowl
Sunday without wearing Seahawks gear!
Thankfully, my neighbor across the street had
exactly what I needed.

It’s probably stating the obvious to say that I have no interest in any sports, nor have I ever. In fact, when I was in college, I used to feel resentful that sports received so much funding and attention while liberal arts programs were barely hanging on. Over the years, my attitude mellowed to basic indifference, and I note the date of the Super Bowl only to take advantage of empty stores and light traffic.

As I’ve grown older, my lack of interest in sports has not changed, but I’ve learned to appreciate the bonding mechanism that sports provide in our culture. Beginning with a Mariners game I watched last fall, I realized that I could observe fandom energy the way an anthropologist studies a culture – with sketchbook in hand.

I invited Ching and Natalie to join me at Project 9 Brewing Co., my neighborhood brew pub, to watch and sketch the big game. Arriving early enough to find seats in the huge venue, we found an ideal table: It was at a bad angle from the TV screens, so it would not appeal to most patrons, but we could face Seahawks fans without their noticing us sketching them!

For a different viewpoint, I sometimes walked out to the entirely empty heated patio where no screens could be seen, but I could sketch other patrons easily.

In general, I didn’t understand what was going on (though Natalie tried her best to explain the rules to me), but it was fun to observe the explosive exclamations of joy or disappointment with each score or fumble. (The three of us left after half time, so I missed the final triumph. It must have been an ear-shattering roar, but I appreciated it from a distance when I heard fireworks in the neighborhood.)

Aside from the game, I was moved by the significance of the primary half-time entertainer, the Puerto Rican performer known as Bad Bunny, who sang entirely in Spanish (apparently a historic first at the Super Bowl). During the past year when all immigrants, especially Spanish speakers, have been oppressed and tortured, I hope we all heard the message of Bad Bunny’s exuberant, proud performance: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

Even without being a Seahawks fan, I appreciate the collective joy and celebration that the team’s triumph gave Seattle. This year, we needed this, more than ever.

Volunteer Park Conservatory and Seattle Asian Art Museum

Another great meet-up of USkSeattle urban sketchers. Some of us went in the Asian Art Museum, some hung out with the plants in the Conservatory, and some relished being outside on this unusually warm sunshiney day.

Great work, everyone! Thanks for joining us!

Sunny Trees at Volunteer Park

 

2/5/26 Volunteer Park

The USk Seattle outing was for a choice of either the conservatory or the Seattle Asian Art Museum, both at Volunteer Park and both of which are free on First Thursdays. But when the day dawned with a clear sky and a forecast of temps in the 50s, I knew I wouldn’t be going indoors at all; I bundled up for outdoor sketching!

Seeking a spot where I could get a dose of vitamin D, I first sketched the memorial of William Henry Seward outside the conservatory (above). I’ve sketched this statue a few times before, including one during my first year of sketching. I remembered that experience and how the statue had gotten lost in front of a background of trees painted in the same value. I’m happy that I’ve learned at least a few things since then.

Across the street from Volunteer Park Cafe, 17th & Galer

After a bite to eat at nearby Volunteer Park Café, I walked across the street to sketch a lovely bare tree that I had spotted on my way to lunch. Although the Capitol Hill neighborhood is full of Seattle’s oldest, most impressive trees, this one had beautiful light on its trunk, and I could stand in the sun myself to sketch it. It’s always about location, location, location.

UW Biology Greenhouse draws a record turnout

Perfect weather (grey and wet) for today's meet-up at the UW Biology Greenhouse. So, it seems, thought the 75+ people who participated!

We had an unusually large turnout, so I'm glad the manager Katie recommended that we come at a special time. So many choices of what to sketch: the desert room, the warm & humid room, and everything in between! So many gifted artists too!

Disassembly

 

This is definitely the final visit to the MiG-21 Project.

I went over yesterday to watch the crew take it apart. I sketched the already removed tail and another section under the wing and engine of the 747.

Today I went over but didn't sketch. I watched as they loaded the wings onto a flatbed truck. There were 5 flatbeds standing by for all the parts. They will be trucked back to the studio in California. There is no information on where it might go next but "negotiations are in process".

Incomparable Views from Columbia Center

 

1/24/26 Views from the Columbia Center's 73rd floor Sky View Observatory

During my first few years of sketching, the ticket price to ride up to the Columbia Center’s 73^rd floor Sky View Observatory was only $5. A small group of sketchers had gathered up there a couple of times, and I went up myself on other occasions (here’s a sketch from 2012, and another from 2013). Eventually, the ticket price crept up to the current price of $33, making it cost-prohibitive as a USk venue.

Lady luck and a kind ticket seller were with us this afternoon, however, when USk Seattle showed up. We thought we would have access to the entire interesting lobby area that’s open to the public on weekdays. Unfortunately, under a new policy, only the ticketing area to the observation floor is open on weekends. Taking pity on us on that cold day, the ticket seller offered us a generous group discount, so most of us opted to sketch from the 73^rd floor.

On a cloudless day, the 360-degree view was incomparable! In addition to Mt. Rainier and the Olympic mountains, Mt. Baker is visible from up there – one of few spots in Seattle where that northern peak can be seen. Yes, Columbia Center is even better than the Space Needle (a ticket to the top now costs $49), which is always jam-packed with tourists. Although some tourists were at Columbia Center, most snapped a few photos and moved on quickly, leaving all the cushy seating to sketchers.

And sketch we did! Nearly 40 sketchers enjoyed an inspiring afternoon in the sky.

Mt. Rainier and the Cascades to the south

Mt. Baker to the north

My 5-minute sketch of Columbia Center from 4th and Cherry