Halloween with Holidays on its Heels

10/23/24 Swansons Nursery

Swansons Nursery is a fall favorite for USk Seattle. More than a week before Halloween, the store was certainly decked out with autumn-themed decorations and plenty of pumpkins, but it was clear that other holidays were fast on their heels. Staff were already setting up the Christmas train display. Humphrey, the dinosaur topiary (whom I’ve sketched when he was fully “clothed” with greenery), was still wearing boots, hat and scarf in Seahawks/Sounders colors, but I was told his holiday gear was going up soon (as well as greenery, which he was sorely lacking). Workers were also replacing the sports-themed colored lights on parking lot trees with holiday colors. Whew – the retail rush is on!

In any case, we had fun chasing the orange before the colors turned red and green.

As is my usual pattern at Swansons (which we only seem to visit in the cold months), I sketched outdoors as long as I could stand the cold, then went into the café for coffee and chatted with friends.

Blustery Evergreen Washelli

10/20/24 Evergreen Washelli cemetery

I've sketched the Doughboy monument nearly
every time I've visited the cemetery. I decided on
an abbreviated composition this time.

Totally unsheltered Evergreen Washelli cemetery is an iffy proposition in late October when the weather can be all over the place, but it seemed like a fun idea right before Halloween. USk Seattle decided to chance it. With high winds blowing all day and a forecast of rain by 3 p.m., I was afraid I might be the only one waiting at the American Doughboy monument, but seven other hardcore sketchers showed up!

The weather was definitely all over the place: Despite the harsh wind and eventual rain, the temperature was in the balmy mid-60s – unusually warm for October. My sketchbooks were hard to hang onto. When I got tired of being shoved around by the wind, I drove to my favorite tree at this cemetery and sketched from inside my mobile studio: A gnarly yet elegant old sakura that I’ve sketched at least a couple of times before, including in April when the last of its petals were still clinging. 

Cherry tree

We decided to meet for our throwdown a little earlier than scheduled to avoid the oncoming rain. As I pulled out of the cemetery for home, the first drops of rain started falling. Whew!

The windblown look!

Seattle’s New Overlook Walk

 

10/14/24 Seattle waterfront and new Overlook Walk (note the Space Needle barely visible but peeking between buildings)

Seattle has a new public attraction: the Waterfront Park’s Overlook Walk. Under construction since shortly after the Alaskan Way Viaduct came down in 2019, the full Waterfront Park is not yet complete, but the newly opened Overlook Walk is a key feature and attraction in its own right. Now that the viaduct is gone, it’s possible to walk safely and easily down the otherwise steep slope from Pike Place Market to the waterfront without ever crossing traffic. The Overlook views are Seattle at its best – the kind you want to bring your out-of-town guests to see. And a big attraction to sketchers will be all the sheltered public seating that would keep us dry.

Scouting mission accomplished!

To plan a USk outing there, Kate, Mary Jean and I decided to have a mini outing first to scout it out. All three of us sketched from the waterfront looking up toward the new Overlook walkway and new aquarium addition, which also opened recently. After lunch, I sketched from the top of the Overlook looking down on the Big Wheel. In addition, I spotted some brightly colored maples on Alaskan Way where new landscaping has been planted near the old railroad tracks.

When I go again with USk, I might take a different approach and single out one view to make a larger sketch. For my first visit, though, I wanted to cram as much as I could onto one page with my comics style – an expression of being dazzled by so many fresh views.

My tax dollars were well spent on this new gem, and I plan to get my money’s worth with plenty of future visits.

Lots of public seating available under this shelter.

Magnificent addition to our city

This morning I explored the new Overlook Walk and Waterfront Park with Tina and MJ. It's a magnificent addition to our beautiful city. So many spots to sit and enjoy the multiple views. It ends with stairs or elevator down to street level in front of the new Seattle Aquarium building.

This was in preparation for scheduling a group sketch outing there soon!  So watch the blog here and your email. 

Quick sketch in a pocket Stillman & Birn.

The Space Needle is peaking out just right of center. If there is a view of the Needle, that's always what I want to sketch! New Aquarium building on the left and the overlook to the right.

 
Group selfie by Tina.

Georgetown Steam Plant

 

10/12/24 Georgetown Steam Plant

Rear view of plant exterior

The Georgetown Steam Plant was built in 1906 to support the region’s growing electric streetcar system. Since its decommissioning in 1977, building owner Seattle City Light has worked to preserve, repair and restore the building. Although it’s open to the public monthly, USk Seattle hadn’t taken advantage of an open day since 2018. It was fun to get back to the historic, fascinating relic.

Its scale was daunting the first time and remained so for me this time. Instead of focusing on a single big piece of equipment, I used my comics approach to capture a few different views at varying distances. And like last time, I went outside for my last sketch of the building’s exterior – if only to warm up! With all that concrete and metal, the building’s interior is always cold (we need to plan our strategy better and visit on a scorching day).   

Steamplant

We met at the Georgetown Steamplant this morning.

The Steamplant was built in 1907 to provide power to Seattle's electric street car system, as well as the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway. Trivia: Seattle was the 4th city in the world to have an electric street car system.

Since it's Inktober, I decided to work in ink and practice hatching. This is the General Electric Vertical Curtis Steam Turbine Generator. It's one of only two such left in place in the entire world. The other one is right next to it. This is the "newer" one.

I'd never gone out behind the plant. A volunteer suggested the facade there was the best. Then I noticed the interesting kinetic sculpture that another volunteer told me went to Burning Man. Under that small dome is a truck. It's titled "Interspecies Communication" by Ela Lamblin and Lelavision. Pulling a rope hanging from the bird would flap it's wings.

 

 We've not been to the Steamplant in a few years. Guessing by the turnout of sketchers, we could put it on our annual list!

 

Seattle Center with WSU Students

10/11/24 Pacific Science Center

Chihuly's "Sonic Blooms"

A long-standing USk Seattle tradition has been to host interior design and landscape architecture students from Washington State University for an urban sketching meetup. Organized by prof Bob Krikac and his colleagues, the annual outing is always a fun opportunity to sketch with engaged and enthusiastic young people.

I missed last year’s outing, so I was especially eager to attend today’s gathering at Seattle Center. In fact, the last time I was at the Center, it was for a rainy Folklife, so I had done all my sketching indoors. Friday was chilly but dry, and I was in the mood to hit a few icons that I hadn’t sketched in a long time: the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center’s white arches and Dale Chihuly’s whimsical and colorful Sonic Blooms outside the glass artist’s museum (at left and below).

Knowing that the Center grounds are full of trees, I came prepared for color, too, and found some brilliant yellow ones in front of the Science Center arches (top of post).

This was the first time I sketched the Space Needle close enough to see people walking around on the newish transparent platform up there!

Including the 49 students, we had a huge throwdown full of impressive drawings. Bob and fellow instructors Michael Sanchez, Steve Austin and Alaina Pulay stress the importance of practicing drawing by hand from direct observation for the design work their students are studying. It was exciting to see from their sketches that they are well on their way to careers that will make use of their observational skills.  

It was a bit unnerving for this lone Husky to take a selfie with so many Cougs behind me. ;-)

I wasn't the only one who tackled the Space Needle!

The Great Pumpkin

 Actually, several. The largest one was 2200 pounds and the next in line was 2000. Usually there are signs about them, including the growers. Since the weigh-in was just on Sunday, the signs had not yet been placed.

Urban Sketchers Seattle and Urban Sketchers Tacoma chapters met for an ad hoc outing in Kent on Monday afternoon to sketch the pumpkin patch. There were only 4 of us. We had a nice chat about painting techniques and supplies while sketching the giants.