New Amazon Construction

The two blocks that Sellen Construction is building for the next Amazon expansion was my focus on Sunday.
The first sketch is the concrete elevator & stairway core that will be the main structural element for the new high-rise.  The second is of the sidewalk on Lenora St. where they have scaffolding, cones and other safety elements to protect the pedestrian walking the block between 6th & 7th Avenues.

More construction

South Lake Union is a jungle of cranes and construction sites. Between deciding where to focus and the rain, time allowed only one sketch last Sunday. I was just getting the hang of drawing cranes when the rain decided to visit. I tucked myself back into Cafe Suisse to finish the watercolor to this point. I may add a bit more color, but for now: 

The day before I oriented my paper horizontally, plopped myself on a market bench and focused on some of the fruit stalls: 

Line to Color Workshop in Tacoma

Announcing "Line to Color Workshop"  happening in Tacoma, Washington  September 12-14, 2014. In this intensive workshop, architectural drawing instructors Frank Ching and Gail Wong will walk you through clear steps covering the complete process of making a sketch on location, from the time you draw the first line until you apply the last touch of color. This workshop will occur over a 3 day period meeting at various historic locations in Tacoma and will include  dinner with a 1-hour keynote presentation on Friday,  two 4-hour sessions on Saturday, two 2-hour sessions on Sunday and a final 1.5-hour  sketch crawl Sunday afternoon with instructors available for help.

Topics will cover, perspective, composition, process in developing the sketch, approaches to watercolor and value. Ideas introduced in this session will be demonstrated on site and practiced in the following sessions with one on one help from Frank and Gail.
For more information about the workshop see Workshop Details Link.

Mass and Space on Vashon Island

Sketching with another artist who has different preferences for subject is a challenge. I like to draw dense clusters of objects, while Donna focuses on the play of light in the spaces between objects. Urban Sketchers Seattle met on Vashon Island Friday. Having never been there before, Donna and I spent way too much time wandering around, comparing locations. We finally settled where she had a view of the Sound, while I drew the nearby clump of mailboxes.

Construction Sketches (Pre-today's Sketch Crawl)

Today's Sketch Crawl came out of an idea that I wanted to capture the construction of building over time.
A friend of mine (Dan Foltz) had a building that was starting construction in 2013. It was near my office (and I could see it from my desk too), so I began capturing it in different sketches over this past year from different viewpoints.  The building is a high-rise residential project, located at 9th Ave and Pine St, across from the Paramount Theater.  The architecture firm is Weber Thompson.

Happy Anniversary

Gail & Jane told us this is the 5th Anniversary of Urban Sketchers Seattle!  Jane brought some special beverages so we could have a toast.   Thanks to Gabi who started it all (on left in red jacket)! 

July Sketch Outing

Sunday, July 20th

Meet at 10 am at Café Suisse at 2008 Westlake Ave  (at 7th and Westlake Ave).  It's on the South Lake Union Streetcar (trolly) from Westlake transport hub.

This month’s Sketch outing is preparation for our (Usk) participation in the Seattle Architectural Foundation annual Model Exhibit titled “In PROCESS”. 

Southlake Union is teeming with new construction sites and so this month we will sketch construction sites (which is part of the in-process of the building design and construction) around the area of the new Amazon campus addition at 6th and Westlake.  Ideally each of us would come back at a later date and sketch the same view with the building farther along in its construction progress.

Pilchuck Glass School Open House

Last Sunday, I attended and sketched at the 

annual Open House at Pilchuck Glass School

up in Stanwood, Washington.  

There were many activities for people to watch

and or participate in.

We also got to see some behind the scenes

glimpses at places that the public

sometimes doesn't see.

 Buster Simpson's Tree House was pretty nice and people

from the school use it to stay in, 

however there is a size restriction for the tenant.

Buster Simpson was an artist living on the property when the 

school was starting.

 This was like a little roadside chapel in the forest.  Really magical.

 Hot, Hot Hot! and a lot of fun to watch.

Regular folks got a chance to play around

with molten glass too. 

USk workshop sponsored by Seattle Art Museum

Thirty five sketchers took to the streets in and near Pike Place Market on Saturday June 28. Gabi Campanario, Frank Ching and Gail Wong lead the group from three different locations focusing on different approaches to urban sketching.

The workshop included a tour of SAM's exhibition on Modernism in the Pacific Northwest: the Mythic and the Mystical. 

 Michelle Cooper: 

Jim Bumgarner: 

David Richardson: 

Frank Ching

 Gabriel Campanario

Enjoying Mount Rainier from Ruby Chow Park

This past weekend, I decided to head down to Georgetown and take some time to sketch the neighborhood's historic brick buildings. As I drove down I-5 towards the Albro exit, I rounded a corner and saw Mount Rainier rising in the distance.

I knew at once I had to take this opportunity to sketch Seattle's famous mountain. I parked by Fantagraphics Books and walked over to Rudy Chow park at the end of Boeing field. The wide sweep of the airstrip beyond the park provided the perfect viewscape for the mountain.

After finishing my watercolor, I walked back into Georgetown and took a moment to sketch the historic City Hall turned dental clinic. The impressive brick building has been refurbished to serve as a dental office and beautify the neighborhood. I particularly liked the building's well maintained landscaping.

 

Portland for the 2nd Annual West Coast Sketchcrawl

My wife and I had a great time in Portland sketching, meeting new & old acquaintance's (West Coast Sketchers and some East Coasters too!) and celebrating our 28th anniversary.  We decided to make it a weekend because there was way too many things to do in town.  We stayed in a great AirBnB called "Stay@ Jan's" that we highly recommend down by the Oregon Health Sciences Campus.  An easy street car ride to downtown for a buck!

 Friday evening we had great beer and food at McMenamins Ringlers Pub.  We spent the time talking and sketching each other in the great atmosphere of this wonderful Portland establishment.

 Some Vashon Sketchers Darcy and Bob.

Some of the San Diego contingent (Location of next year's crawl)

My first Sketch of Saturday morning was of a grand century old apartment building located on the edge of the South Block Park near the museum.  The weather was perfect and so I took my time in capturing this view.

In the afternoon as the heat increased I sketched two down by Directors Park where a Bastille Day celebration was happening; good French food and music!  The first one was an older classic building with Pastini's restaurant at the street level and the second one was of a new high-rise being constructed on the edge of the park.

Before the afternoon meet-up as the temperatures continued to rise and we were all getting tired, I headed into the Portland Art Museum an did a quick sketch of a modern sculpture hanging in the lobby.  The air conditioning was wonderful!

Finally my wife and I celebrated a wonderful dinner in the Pearl District before returning to our BnB by street car.

It was a full moon rising as we walked  from the the street car to our room for the night (the hospital tram overhead).

The next morning we left and drove up the I-5 corridor to finish out the weekend with a Sounders game against who-else but the Portland Timbers!  Great game and weekend with a Portland theme.
Sounders 2 - Portland 0