Rufus Block BioSphere

Today I sketched the biosphere bubbles on the Rufus 2.0 block of Amazon.  I wanted to capture it before it was too complete.  I also looked back to last April when I sketched from the same location just as the construction was starting.  There is no signs of the bubbles, but the elevator/stair cores were just starting to appear along with all the cranes and concrete pumpers.
Now the new tower is almost complete behind and the structural frame of the bubbles are taking shape.  Look forward to coming back again when some more of the building is complete.

There also were many people stopping to take photos and asked me if I knew what the bubbles were for....I believe they will be a conferencing center and gathering spaces for Amazonians within a lush, terrarium-like space.  We will wait to see how it all turns out.

McMenamins; Anderson School

My first sketch while sitting in the courtyard with other urban sketchers.  This is the area behind the old school which they have turned into a wonderful outdoor sitting area with open fire pits to warm the patrons.  The only new building of the complex is the Shed, a small cozy pub that they nestled into the courtyard between some large trees. The weather was cool, but still dry as we all sketched and painted before the opening of some of the drinking establishments.

As I began to cool down, was about the time of the Shed opened up for the day.  I sat next to Frank, had a pint of cider and enjoyed capturing the interior while Jack the bartender attended to his preparations for his later customers.  The fire was crackling in the hearth as the rain began to fall outside, bringing other sketchers into the Shed.

Later after the meet-up, I headed for my van and decided a sketch of the front of the Anderson School was needed to complete my day.  Too much later in the year and the large trees along the street would obscure any view from this location.

Great turn out by all and enjoyed this location.  Look forward to returning in a little warmer weather.

Anniversary

It was on this date 4 years ago that I attended my very first sketch outing with Urban Sketchers Seattle.  That one was the Stinson Mansion.   What a wonderful journey it has been.  I am so glad I found this group!

Today's sketch outing was the 3rd time we've gathered to sketch the Wintergrass bluegrass festival in Bellevue, WA.


I've sketched there 2 times before.  That, combined with another nice morning, led me to sketch outside.  I have long admired this view from the 2nd story bridge between the hotel and the shopping center. 




There are musicians everywhere in the halls holding impromptu sessions.   Once back in side, I quickly sketched this group and enjoyed listening to them.



Sharing and group photo:

Jammin' at Wintergrass!

2/26/16 Wintergrass jammers

Today was Wintergrass, one of my favorite Urban Sketchers indoor sketching events! We’ve sketched the annual bluegrass music festival at the Bellevue Hyatt three years in a row (see 2015 and 2014), and it gets more fun each year. It’s hard to beat all that toe-tapping music as an accompaniment to sketching. I also see a parallel between bluegrass jammin’ and urban sketchin’ – people with a common passion getting together to do their thing. My only regret today was that I couldn’t stay longer.

2/26/16

Having just finished Suhita Shirodkar’s Craftsy course, Figure Sketching Made Simple, I warmed with a few pages of gesture sketches trying to capture the “lines of action.” Then I roamed around the Hyatt enjoying the music and impromptu dancing, stopping now and then to sketch groups of jammers.

With 10 minutes left to kill before the sketchbook sharing, I stood on the stairwell overlooking the main lobby, where bright red lanterns hang in a small bamboo grove.

2/26/16 more jammers

2/26/16 Bellevue Hyatt lobby

Another Perspective of the RV Safe Lot

 Today was a beautiful day in Seattle. 

At Lunch I sketched our 

neighborhood temporary RV Safe Lot.

Queen Anne Hill is in the background.

It's a wrap!

Last year I participated in a city sponsored contest calling for artists to submit designs for covering traffic boxes throughout the city. You may not even notice these gray, metal boxes that contain the wiring and controls for traffic lights in any city. Now you will - at least in Olympia.

The city posted all the submitted designs on Facebook and put it out to the public for voting. Two of my designs were chosen - one on the west side and another for the downtown area. Both are sketches of the legislative building with rhododendrons - two significant symbols for our city.

The following is a link to the city's Facebook article on the completion of the westside wraps:

Thanks to the amazing weather we had last week, the last of the traffic signal box wraps were installed on the Westside!...
Posted by City of Olympia - Government on Monday, February 15, 2016

The Shed at McMenamin's–Anderson School

Found this cozy space in the Shed, where I drew this view while enjoying the warmth of a wood-burning fireplace and a glass of McMenamin's Centinel IPA served by James the bartender

McMenamins Bothell

 

Great spot for today's Seattle Urban Sketch outing - McMenamins Anderson School built in 1913 and now remodeled and repurposed with art, bars, restaurants, and a movie theatre. Cozy spots, cool ornaments, and nooks and crannies galore.

Anderson School

This is a sketch outing to which I've been looking forward for months.  McMenamin's Anderson School opened last fall.  We delayed out outing there in hopes it would be less crowded.  While that was the case when we first gathered at 10am, by lunch time every venue was packed.
Though a bit chilly and overcast, it wasn't raining at first.  I took that opportunity to sketch the small shed in the patio area.  It houses a snug bar with fireplace.   There were several of us who braved the outside chill to sketch it.



My second sketch was upstairs in the Tiki bar.  This door leads to a tiny room overlooking the pool.



There were a few new people as well as some who haven't joined us in a while.  We shared our sketches, sheltering from the rain on the patio.



You can see the rain in our group photo!



About a dozen of us stayed for lunch together.  It was just delightful getting to know some new people and some I'd not spoken with at length before! 

All photos here. 

McMenamins Anderson School

2/21/16 The Shed

McMenamins is a Washington and Oregon chain of unique hotels, brew pubs and other venues housed in renovated historic buildings. Appointed with lively themed décor and artwork, the various McMenamins locations serve great food and brews (my favorite is the Terminator Stout!). Urban Sketchers Seattle’s ad hoc Friday group has sketched a couple times at McMenamins’ 6 Arms Pub on Capitol Hill.

This morning USk Seattle met at McMenamins newest location that opened last fall in the Anderson School property in Bothell. In addition to a hotel, this McMenamins also includes a movie theater and several food and beverage venues on the grounds of the former Bothell Junior High, built in 1931.

Although cold, it wasn’t yet raining when we arrived, so many sketchers got a sketch or two outdoors. Bundled up in my down jacket, scarf and fingerless gloves, I wasn’t too uncomfortable as I sketched the tiny Shed, which looks no bigger than an actual shed, except it’s apparently large enough to go inside and sit with an ale.

2/21/16 Inside the Tavern on the Square

When my feet started to get numb, I ducked into the Tavern on the Square, the largest food venue on the premises, to warm up. Joining a number of other sketchers scattered about the toasty fireplace and lounge area, I made a small sketch of a booth next to the bar. A glass of Terminator was tempting, but I had to drive myself home, so I settled for coffee.

I wanted to go back outside to take a few photos, but by then it started pouring, and a harsh wind came up, too. We all agreed that McMenamins Anderson School is worth revisiting, especially when the weather warms up.

McMenamins Anderson School sketch outing Feb 21

McMenamins Anderson School 

18607 Bothell Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011

Meet at 10 am just outside the hotel front desk reception

This new McMenamins property opened last fall. February 21st will be our first sketch outing there.   If there is no rain, there are many places to sit, but there is also lots of covered walkways too. 

If we sketch in the restaurants,  let’s support venues that are sketcher-friendly by partaking of their good food while we sketch their unusual and unique interior.  So be generous, be considerate of the establishment and their customers and show the world how sketching can help everyone to be happy! 

 Map of the school property is here.

Drunky's Bar Scene

This is what I was drawing when Tina captured me at the bar at Drunky's Two Shoe BBQ.

Four Seasons Vancouver BC

The bar at Four Seasons Vancouver BC with 15 minutes between meetings and no time to sketch at the Western Society of Criminology Conference.

Raining Cats and Dogs

It was raining cats and dogs in more ways than one yesterday at the Museum of Flight.

Feather and I had arranged to meet up for the "AirMail Valentine Doggie Delivery with Wings of Rescue"
Due to the foul weather, the arrival of the several aircraft was delayed until 1500.  We'd arrived at Museum opening, 1000.  Thus, we had a few hours until the event.  Of course, we sketched!

I've done a lot of sketching there.  I decided to go up to the WWI gallery as I've sketched there the least.  My first choice was the Museum's reproduction of the Nieuport type 24 bis.  This is a French aircraft but it was used by many nations.




Feather chose to sketch the frightening visage of the Lockheed M/D-2 Blackbird.


(set out below the Blackbird are the displays of the Northwest Modelers' show, also there this weekend).  

Back for more sketching after lunch.  I roamed the NW Modelers' show in the well of the Great Gallery.  But when I saw Pat working on the wiring of a model of the starship Enterprise, I had found my next subject!



Finally, right at 1500, the first aircraft arrived.  It was pouring rain the entire time they off loaded about at least a hundred cats and dogs... hence my title.  Five aircraft arrived but two had to turn back due to the weather.  The arrival was so late they did not bring any of the animals into the museum as had been originally planned.  So we didn't get to sketch them as it was far too wet outside. They carried them directly to the waiting shelter vans.




We had a good time despite being soaking wet and cold after 1.5 hours outside with the dogs!
All photos here

BBQ at Drunky's in Fremont

For a change I am actually posting my sketch from the Friday Ad Hoc group before it is yesterday's news! As others have mentioned, we met at Drunky's BBQ in the Fremont neighborhood. I can recommend the beef brisket, which the waitress assured us was their specialty.
As far as this sketch goes, it is pen and ink over acrylic, which I have randomly applied to several pages of my sketchbook with a printing brayer. I am trying to use them as I come to them, and the shape of this one fortuitously fit well with the perspective lines of this view.

Herkimer Coffee Contraption

They use this thing to roast coffee at Herkimer in Phinney Ridge. Unfortunately they finished and turned off the lights mid-way through my painting so I had to leave it as-is.

RV Safe Lot in Interbay

During a break in our rainy weather I popped out to sketch the line of RV's in Seattle's Interbay area. This is a temporary location until a large parking lot in Ballard is ready. I also wanted to illustrate how close the RV fire was to its neighbors

BBQ Sketching

Seattle Urban Sketchers Friday ad hoc group sketched over the lunch period at Drunky's Two Step BBQ restaurant.  This place fits in very well in funky Fremont. 

Shared sketches on the corner table and had a group photo outside, since it had stopped raining for a moment.



Four people missing from this photo; two left early and two were still eating!



Notice the roller skates hanging from the ceiling?  Kathleen in my sketch and she made it into at least 2 more sketches!

Donna gets a tune-up.

I'd planned on joining the gang at Drunky's, but obviously Donna took precedence. Donna and I spend a lot of time doing our own things while in each other's company, so hanging out and drawing while she read or played on her phone was not far removed from an hour in a coffee shop. I did have to teach the night after her surgery at the Gage and managed this in-class demo though my mind was not entirely on the class.

Drunky's in Fremont

2/12/16 elk head and Frank at Drunky's

Wherever you sit, whichever way you turn your head, your eyes are likely to land on something furry, feathery, funny or otherwise sketchable at Drunky’s Two Shoe BBQ in Fremont. Urban Sketchers Seattle discovered this place last summer when a few of us stopped there for lunch after sketching nearby at the Ship Canal. We agreed that Drunky’s was ripe for its own sketch outing some indoor-weather day. Today was the day.

I chose a stool at the end of the bar, and my eyes landed immediately on two sketchable sights: Frank Ching at the bar next to me and the elk head mounted on the wall. Behind them both was the sunlit backroom, where I regret I didn’t have time to sketch some of the many oddities in every nook and cranny. At least I got the chainsaw chandelier (one of two!) last time.

Homeless RV Safe Lot

This terrible accident happened close to my place of work.

Supercuteness at EMP

2/11/16 Super Space Titan Kitty
sculpture by Colin Christian

I wasn’t exactly a little girl when I discovered and became enamored with all things Hello Kitty. The Japanese pop culture icon was introduced to the U.S. market in 1975 when I was already in high school, but that didn’t stop me from collecting many red and pink plastic products with the white cat’s likeness. In fact, I was well into adulthood by the time I finally stopped collecting Hello Kitty (and if truth be known, it was only three years ago that I added one more item to that collection).

As it turns out, Hello Kitty isn’t so young herself anymore – she turned 40 last year, and as part of that celebration, Seattle’s Experience Music Project Museum brought in the exhibit “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” (subtitle: “Meet the icon that conquered the world in this supercute exhibition”). To be honest, I wasn’t inclined to pay EMP’s steep admission of $24 to see the show, but a friend with an EMP membership knew I wanted to go, so she generously gave me a free pass. Even if I had paid full price, though, I think I would have felt the show was worthwhile. As I saw case after case of coin purses, notebooks, lunch boxes, back packs and more cuteness – much of which I owned at one point (or still own, somewhere in the attic) – the fun and nostalgia fest were worth the ticket price.

2/11/16 time capsule

More interesting was the large selection of new art that had been created in recent years – either inspired by, mocking or satirizing Hello Kitty. By far the most impressive piece was “Super Space Titan Kitty,” a huge sculpture by Colin Christian, which is prominently displayed near the Guitar Gallery in the main lobby that I sketched a few years ago.

A large transparent time capsule shaped like Hello Kitty is partly filled with notes and cute objects from visitors to the exhibit’s opening. The filled capsule will eventually be sent to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics “to reflect our globe’s cultural diversity and how bringing each of our small universes together can change our view of the world.” The capsule will be opened again in Seattle in 2035.

After those two sketches, I was getting hungry, but I couldn’t get lunch without sketching a spectacular dress made entirely of plush Hello Kitties. The dress was worn by Lady Gaga in 2009 for Kitty’s 35^th birthday celebration.

(For a few photos from the exhibit, please see my personal blog.)

2/11/16 dress made of plush Hello Kitties

Street Car

With the spring-like weather, I decided today would be the best day to try out the brand new First Hill Streetcar.  I took the bus over to the Light Rail at Tukwila.  I took that to the International District station.  Just outside the station was the streetcar stop.  It's free until 2/16 so there were lots of people giving it a try out.
 


I found it rather slow.  The Streetcar has to travel in regular traffic with autos.  It is certainly more relaxing than driving and finding parking!   They're supposed to run every 12 minutes but I know I waited much longer than that... almost 20... for the return trip. 


I rode it all the way to the end at the Capitol Hill Station on Broadway and Denny.   Along the way, we passed Dick Blick.  After we arrived, I did a sketch.




This will be a very useful addition to my transportation options.  I look forward to the extension of the line further into Capitol Hill. 

Waiting for Scott - Fresno Airport

I came across this sketch from Thanksgiving. We were trying to time our flights just right into Fresno to visit my brother Ian in Merced for Thanksgiving. My brother Scott was flying in from NYC and we had about 30 minutes until his flight came in. I was interrupted by the excitement when he showed up and forgot I even did this until I just discovered it in my sketchbook.

Starbucks Roastery

I got to the sketchcrawl early to scope out a view, but it wasn't until Steven Reddy pointed me in the direction of an upstairs view--once I saw it for myself, I knew I had to attempt this. As usual, I get about 10 minutes into these complicated views and ask myself, "What was I thinking???"  But I plow ahead and hope for the best.

This is the initial blocking out of the sketch--can you guess what vertical corner I drew first?

And this is the completed pencil and watercolor sketch. I think at least half of the pencil work
ended up on the back of my hand, so it all got a little too gray and murky!  
Got very dark in the space too, so while I painted 95% at this spot, I did take it outside near a window to add the last bits...while I sipped a green tea latte next to Sunil's talented family of sketchers!

Click on this view to see it larger!

For anyone interested, I have some Seattle Urban Sketchers workshops coming up called Good Bones in which I teach basic perspective sketching made easy and also an intro to watercolor the next day. If you are interested, please read more on my website www.stephaniebower.com or on the Urban Sketchers workshops page (thank you, Gail Wong!)

You can also find a 50% off discount link on my website for my Craftsy course, "Perspective for Sketchers"...Craftsy offers several really great classes taught by a cadre of familiar Urban Sketchers.

And finally, I'm also very, very honored to be teaching in Manchester at the symposium this July! Hooray!!!