Revisiting Columbia City

Last Monday, the day after my wet sketching at Folklife, I meandered over to Columbia City,  plunked myself on a stool and made another attempt at the center of Columbia City. I really had to stick with it to come to any point of satisfaction. And here's a record of the day-- two sketches from the same vantage point.

I worked this one with color, since that's what attracted me to the scene.

This black and white is another attempt at twig drawing. Mastery is a ways away.

University of Idaho Graduation

I was unable to attend this month's sketch outing because I was attending my brother's graduation from the University of Idaho. Fortunately, the University of Idaho is located in the middle of the Palouse hills and features a wonderful selection of historic buildings.

 Kiva theater on the University of Idaho quad.

 University of Idaho Administration Building

 University of Idaho Arboretum

 Undergraduates receiving their diplomas

 Inside the Kibbie Dome before graduation

  Last weekend, I also ended up at Folklife. I particularly enjoyed sketching the international fountain and all of the people enjoying it.

43rd Annual Northwest

I love Folklife. It's such a colorful and culturally diverse event. I managed to pick the weekend's rainiest day, Sunday, to get there. As I sat for my first sketch I figured out I needed to find a covered space and surprisingly there are plenty of them in Seattle Center --trees, outcropping roofs, covered walkways. Had I not forgotten my extra layer I would have stuck around and watched my hometown heros - Samba Olywa.

I've been wanting to try twig-sketching for a while and finally got my materials gathered, a good sized twig (or in my case a bamboo shaft), Chinese ink and some decently absorbant paper. It's not an easy tool; the pen dries quickly. I persisted and will keep experimenting. I like the rough quality and variable line quality. 

Rain City Burgers, Roosevelt and 65th, Seattle.

Folklife Festival 2014

We went on the last day and really lucked out with the weather. Here are some of my sketches.

 Almost all of these hats where from one venue.  It's almost like the Kentucky Derby and it's focus on Fancy Hats.

Pioneer Square, Seattle.

Old Volvo

I've noticed this nice older Volvo Wagon in my neighborhood 

and was sad to see that it got clobbered by another car.   

Slowly but surely it is being repaired by its owner

.  

NW Folklife festival

I haven't attended a Folklife Festival since the early 90's, but the Ad Hoc group of Sketchers planned to meet there so I joined them on what became a very pleasant, partly sunny Friday afternoon.  Adding to the pleasure of sketching outside was the nice mix of live music.
Before I did this watercolor, I indulged in my love of trees, and pencil sketching.  These graceful deodar cedars were in a small grove just outside the west-facing door of the Armory Building.  Strange how often I've walked around the Seattle Center, and NOT noticed these trees.

Ad hoc at Folklife

It was pouring rain as I left for the sketch outing this morning.  I was resigning myself to the possibility of finding some indoor sketching venues at the Seattle Center Folklife festival.

 The Friday ad hoc sketching group met at noon, later than our usual time, in order to take in the festival once is started.  By then the weather was clearing and we could all sketch outdoors.

I found several sculptures I had never noticed before.  These are whales in front of the International Fountain.



Then I found a sheltered spot in case it started to rain again.  It gave me a view of the Dupen Fountain, kids playing in the water and the Space Needle.  There are also a couple Folklife vendor tents.





As usual, we met back up after a couple hours of sketching to share our work and take a group photo.  We were a smaller group today..... perhaps the early rain kept others away.

You can tell it was very sunny by the time we were finished!

L to R: Natalie, Jennifer, Kate, Peggy H, Tina

Folklife!

Sphere juggler. This guy was amazing!

A year ago after our regular Friday morning sketch outing, Kate and I had made a side trip to sketch at the Northwest Folklife Festival in the afternoon. This year we decided to make the 43^rd annual Folklife fest the main sketching event. Although only a small group of sketchers showed up, it was fun to see the variety of views that caught our attention: Some focused on a particular musical stage performance; others sketched the color and festive ambiance.

For me, the life of Folklife is defined by the buskers and other “informally” paid street performers who stand under any shade tree, sharing their particular art form. (Some individuals’ “art form” consists of expressing their opinions on placards.) After I sketched a bongo drummer named Caleb who seemed to be having the time of his life, I dropped a dollar into his cup and showed him the sketch. Delighted, he also seemed surprised. “You come to Folklife to sketch?” he asked, and when I replied by saying it’s my way of participating and interacting with all the music and activities, he suddenly got it. “Oh, just like me!” Indeed, just like him.

Performance artist wearing a mask of flowers.

Bongo drummer

Accordian player

Steel drummers

The man at left is a Folklife volunteer. The other is . . .?

Bollywood dancing

Fremont again, this time facing east.

I tried to draw this scene several years ago but was overwhelmed by the detail and didn't like the finished drawing. Since then, I've learned how to reduce a scene in my minds eye into simple geometric shapes. The bigger obstacle was the constant traffic- frequent buses stopping right in front of me- and the noise, not just the traffic but the crashing from inside the Tawon Thai restaurant as they demolished its interior. But I stuck with it, partly inspired by the successful outing with the USk on Sunday, and partly determined to not let the scene defeat me and redraw the picture I failed at before.

Sketching along the waterfront in Port Townsend

More Georgetown and Trailer Park

It was a perfect sketching morning. You could still sit in the sun without dropping. So I sat across the street from All City Coffee.

Here's the fourth version of the Georgetown Trailer Park. It was the color in the corner that really caught my eye so I honed in on that.

Sketches from Rome

Field sketches from my recent trip to Rome in early April.  What a fantastic time to be there!

Bernini Angel, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome

Bernini Angel, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza Navona, Rome

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza Navona, Rome

Satyr, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Rome

Neptune and Octopus, Piazza Navona, Rome

 Boromini's Sant'Ivo, interior, Rome

Bramante's Il Tempietto, Rome

Georgetown Trailer Park- Bruce Donnally

First posting here on Seattle USk.  Great to participate with such an enthusiastic group!
Sat with a small group to draw and paint this wagon train of trailers in the Georgetown Trailer Park as they got ready to set up for the daily sales.
Medium is Moleskine watercolor book, Faber-Castell PITT pen size S, and Windsor & Newton pan watercolor for washes.

Georgetown

Sometimes the spark isn't there for me. This is how I felt as I walked around Georgetown yesterday, searching for a scene to draw. Finally, I settled on this view along Airport Way South, just around the corner from All City Coffee.

Hat 'n Boots at Oxbow Park

I have always wanted to sketch the Hat 'n Boots and remember driving by it when it was at its original location.  I don't think it was a working gas station at that time.  I'm glad they saved this 1953 icon.  There was only one spot in the whole park where I could get both the Hat and the Boots in the same view.  From most other points in the park they were either too far apart or you couldn't see the two boots and the hat together.  Here is the sketch I did and a photo of the park with my set up in the foreground.