Traffic Box Wrap Entries

I entered a contest to wrap one of our city's traffic boxes with art. 

Check it out. The entries with the most "likes" wins! 20 in all.

Westside Entry

Downtown Entry

Greenwood Car Show 2015

This year's Greenwood Car Show was a Hot One!

I got caught sketching the low rider in this group that I am posting.
I used to feel timid about plopping down in the middle of the street but

now I feel a little more comfortable about it.
 

Lookout Terrace

Had to leave early on Friday from the ad hoc meet up at Kubota Garden but managed to do a couple of drawings of the recently completed Lookout Terrace. This one is from the dry-laid stone base looking back at where several others were drawing.

Dry Stone Wall

Last year, the Seattle Urban Sketchers Friday ad-hoc group visited Kubota Garden  to see stone masons Junji and Suminori Awata and Tetsuro Tanabe, a master stone splitter.  They came from Japan to build the 8-foot tall ishigaki or dry stone stacked rampart base for the new Terrace Overlook.

We returned today to see the result of the stonemasons' work.  The timber pavilion was built by local carpenters.  It overlooks the koi pond. 

 
Four of us sketched nearly this same view! 




I was delighted to meet Jennie, a visitor from Michigan via Australia!  She is living in Michigan not very far from where I grew up.  The Midwest Urban Sketchers group is quite spread out, so she sketches with the Melbourne Sketchers when she goes back to visit her home town in Australia!  We also welcomed Martha, a new local sketcher to join us.

The Shelter, Greenlake neighborhood.

Met with the Sketch Pistols, the sketch group organized by Dave Adams, at the just-opened Shelter in my Greenlake neighborhood.

Wrong time, wrong, no! Right Place

So I decided to bike from my Greenlake area home down to Kubota Gardens to join the Ad Hoc sketchers at Kubota Gardens.  I thought it was at 10 AM, so I set out at 8:40 AM...well it's about 11 miles? - and I'm 67, so...on the way, I "discovered" the Chief Sealth Trail, a nicely paved off-road bike trail that would take me right to Kubota Gardnes.  But as 10 Am neared, I came upon this view - this AMAZING view!  When I called the group to say I'd be late, I discovered they had met at 9 AM. What a perfect excuse to stay right where I was, and sketch this scene - which does NOT look like I was actually within Seattle City limits!! - but I was, and only 8.5 miles from NE 50th St.

Kubota's Terrace Overlook Completed

6/26/15 Kubota Garden Terrace Overlook

Nearly a year ago, the Friday sketchers met at Kubota Garden to sketch a team of rock wall-building masters and their students cutting stones for a structure that would become the garden’s Terrace Overlook. The overlook was dedicated in May, so it was time to return.

6/26/15 Sketched from the terrace.

I found the same spot where I sketched last time (see last year’s sketch at bottom of page), which was mercifully shady on this warm morning. Starkly beautiful, the platform is made of boulders that were hand-chiseled and assembled with a dry-stone stacking method – nothing gluing them together – which is a 10,000-year-old Japanese technique. I remember the clinking of their chisels as the craftsmen worked, amazed that every stone would be cut by hand. In my sketch from last year, a crane was on the premises moving some of the largest foundational boulders. Although you can’t see it in my sketches, the terrace looks over a large koi pond below.

For my second sketch, I walked over to the Terrace Overlook itself, sat in its shade and sketched a small sculpture of stacked stones that welcomes visitors there. Even a gardener’s noisy mower nearby couldn’t spoil the serenity. 

Sketched 8/8/14

A Crosswalk is a Symbol

6/24/15 E. Pike Street and 11th Ave., Capitol Hill neighborhood

When I first saw media photos of a freshly rainbow-painted crosswalk yesterday, I assumed it was a temporary decoration for Pride Week. But it turns out that the 11 rainbow crosswalks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood are permanent, according to The Seattle Times.

Fabric banners and other rainbows are commonly seen on Capitol Hill, but knowing that these crosswalks were a permanent investment by the city gives them greater meaning. Sketching near the intersection of East Pike Street and 11^th Avenue, I felt proud of Seattle for displaying these bold rainbows in the street.

Less than a week ago nine people were murdered in Charleston for being black. I would like to believe that Seattle is a safe place for people of all colors, beliefs and sexual orientations. Given that the particular intersections were chosen for these crosswalks because they had been the sites of violence against people based on their sexual orientation, I’m not sure how much confidence I have in feeling that way. Still, the crosswalks are a symbol of where we stand as a community.

In the wake of the Charleston murders, the controversy rages on about whether the Confederate flag should be removed from the South Carolina state capitol. Many people feel strongly that the flag represents their southern heritage; others point out that that heritage includes slavery and racism.

Symbols do matter.

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

It's been a busy time these past couple of weeks - lots of sketching and not much time to post anywhere except instagram. I got to work at the 13th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, an annual fundraiser for the Madison Square Park Conservancy.  Since my son-in-law was an official pit master and my daughter, his events coordination manager, I was fully immersed in smoke and ribs.

Starting on Friday night with the "Brisket Sessions" a panel discussion by six pit masters representing some of the best BBQ joints in the country and continuing (non-stop for the pit crew) through Sunday afternoon. Here's a few highlight sketches.

Signs for the Skylight Inn owned by Sam Jones of Ayden North Carolina.
"Where I come from BBQ is the great equalizer between the class divide."

Hometown Barbeque tents beneath Madison Avenue arches.

That guy in the green shirt on the left is the legendary Mike Mills of 17th Street BBQ - Murphysboro, Illinois

The rest of the story can be found on my blog.

Fremont Solstice Parade!

6/20/15 Nude bicyclists lead the parade!

Although Greg and I have always loved the Fremont Solstice Parade, we’ve skipped it in recent years because we tend to avoid crowds. But yesterday was such a gorgeous day that we didn’t want to be left out of Seattle’s annual celebration of the sun and the official start of summer! We decided to brave it.

Hopping on the bus to avoid the nightmare of traffic and parking, we arrived in Fremont just in time for the beginning of the parade. We managed to find a terrific spot high above the parade grounds in a small parking lot near the Aurora Bridge, where we had a great view of the nude bicyclists streaking by in the hundreds! Once the rest of the parade got going, we moved further down the parade route to get a closer view. It’s difficult sketching marching bands and bicycle-powered floats as they go by, but I attempted a few minimalist gesture sketches with a brush pen. Below are a hoola-hoopster, a unicyclist (clothed!) and a man wearing a top hat and ostrich costume.

Happy Solstice!

Let the Sketching Adventures Begin...

One of the very best things about Urban Sketchers is being a part of a world-wide community of people who like to sketch as much (or even more) than I do.  As luck would have it, my travels in Italy this summer happen to overlap with the amazing Montreal sketcher Marc Taro Holmes and his wife Laurel.  We all sketched together as part of a group last summer in Brazil after the Paraty symposium and enjoyed it so much, we will also sketch together as part of a group in Cambodia after this year's Singapore symposium. Someone pinch me, this is all pretty amazing!

I am now spending a few days sketching in Venice with my husband and Marc and Laurel. Marc just finished teaching his workshop in Cortona, and I will start teaching my workshop in Civita di Bagnoregio this week.  

It always takes a few days to warm up and find the right feel in a new place, but here are some starting sketches on location for the trips this summer...

If you want to follow these sketching adventures, I invite you to check out my blog and flickr page too.  Happy summer sketching, all!

Sketching on Leary Way

It was great to see so many people at last Sunday's sketch outing. It was a beautiful day to get out and draw some scenes from Fremont's industrial area. The star of the show had to be the tug boat under construction at the Western Towboat Company.

Of course, there were plenty of other sites as well. I was particularly intrigued by this old warehouse building with giant windows for lighting. The window trims were painted a distinctive red that drew my eye to this otherwise  bland building.

Thanks to Way Station coffee for allowing us to use their space to meet. They had great breakfast sandwiches. I also loved the paintings by Henry on display in the space. I look forward to seeing everyone at next month's outing.

Gray Sky Studios

I'm doing a series of drawings of artist's workspaces for my upcoming book. Laura Van Horne​ and Corrie Ebel​ kindly let me sit in their studio for a couple of hours and draw the tools of their trade. They even let me choose the Pandora soundtrack (Blood, Sweat and Tears) as we chatted and worked on our separate projects. Thanks, Ladies! Check out their work here: http://www.grayskygallery.com/laura-van-horne

From Giant Coffee Cups to Jackalopes - in Fremont, of course

The Fremont sketchcrawl:
Gail gave an overview of the area as sketchers arrived at the back patio of the Way Station Coffee House. There was a plethora of eclectic subject matter for Seattle Urban Sketchers to choose in the Fremont district on this warm, breezy Sunday morning, June 14, 2015.

The Burke-Gilman Trail runs right along the middle of today's four block area. There were plenty of cyclists, walkers, etc. out this morning.

As I sketched my backyard view of the Way Station, I realized the scale of my coffee cup went from a Giga-Grande to an espresso, relatively speaking. There are enough other sketches of it in previous posts with proper scale, if you need it.

Next, I took a walk northwards up the street and was stunned by the exterior of  Drunky's Two Shoe BBQ! Horseshoes in the pavement, a "Road Window", big Western Style false fronts on the building and a shiny Airstream in the back. This part of Fremont isn't as polished as the area down by the Fremont bridge, but it is every bit as eclectic. I think it has a kind of  60's vibe.

The top of the Air Stream sported a TV antenna and an olive green matte finish.

Mike, the Pit Master of Drunky's BBQ, says that the Airstream in which he now lives was once the first place where Drunky's sold their BBQ. A few of us went back to the restaurant for lunch after sharing our sketches.

I played peek-a-boo with a couple of chickens fenced between the patio and the sidewalk.

A racoon modeling a box of Cracker Jack, gas mask, emergency water and possibly Howdy Doody.

There were too many things I wanted to sketch as I gazed upwards during lunch. I managed to sketch the crocodile head and the jackalope, then wrote a short list of things to sketch next time:

• Chainsaw Chandelier, see Tina's and Gail's sketches from lunch, Kate did the fern with a horse jumping out of it
• Wall mounted taxidermy: bass, mountain sheep, deer, pheasants
• O'Keefe style cattle skull
• Chicken (live)
• American Flag with 13 stars
• Velvet Elvis
• Velvet Elvis with Jesus
• A Dodge grill, possibly from a pickup truck
• A canoe on the roof, but over the doorway
• Bronze rooster and pink flying pig
• Bear Trap
• Pig on a tire swing hanging from a ceiling fan
• Oh, and the bar has tractor seats.

Way Station Coffee, Drunky's 2 Shoes BBQ and a Concrete Residence

We had a  great day of sketching in a funky little area of Fremont.  What originally drew me to this area was the giant size coffee cup on top of  Way Station Coffee,  I stopped off one day while trying to scope out places for us to sketch and walked around to find some other real interesting buildings, like  Drunky's 2 shoes BBQ and a concrete residence down the block that looks like one of those practice towers they have at Fire stations.   You could sketch in this neighborhood for days.

Here are some photos and sketches from the day.

Concrete residence

Chainsaw Chandelier

Sketching the industrial side of Fremont

We met in a different section of Fremont today.  There is about a 4 block portion that has a lot of interesting industrial subjects to sketch.

However, I first went "off piste" and went over to Theo's Chocolates to sketch the first of 24 "Astronauts on the Town".  As part of The Museum of Flight's 50th Anniversary celebration they have launched this public art project. It features 25 six-foot astronaut statues, each painted by local artists and displayed in public locations.  The website has a map.  My summer goal is to sketch them all.  There have been 3 deployed so far.   This is "Happy Constellations" by Fin’es Scott 



Before heading out today, I looked over the suggested locations and picked Fleur de Lis Garden Ornament as my favorite.  It was an odd building that almost seemed to be a tent.



When we met this morning at a coffee shop, I noticed this large tug boat in dry dock down the street. I still had some time, so I got in my boat sketch for Urban Sketchers' weekly theme!



While there, I ran into Michele sketching the same scene from her car.  She has a custom set up to turn the driver's seat into a mobile studio:





We met back up at Way Station Coffee to share out sketches.





Then a few of us went to lunch down the street at the very funky Drunky's Two Shoe BBQ      Others sketched the chainsaw chandelier.  I sketched what was in my field of vision:  the water table on which sat a fern with a horse jumping out of it!