Garden in the Sun

What a beautiful day!  Sunny and warm.  I checked that Soos Creek Botanical Garden is now open for the year again.   It's not very far from my home and a beautiful place to sketch with several different garden environments.

I had intended to sketch a sculptural fence I'd seen there last time but it was gone.  So I sketched a small bridge and then a large bell.






On my way home, I stopped at my favorite view point for Mt. Rainier and did another sketch.

Sketching the Opening of the New Light Rail Stations

Since we are talking about the Light Rail link to UW......

Saturday March 19th was the grand opening of the Sound Transit Light Rail connection between Capitol Hill and UW Stations.  It was free to ride the trains that whole day so I decided to check it out.  My son dropped me off at the UW station and 9:30 am.  I was expecting to see balloons  and lots of people at the station waiting for a ribbon cutting ceremony  (found out that had happened at the Capitol Hill Station instead). 
What was interesting was a gathering of people demonstrating in front of the station for a more affordable U-Pass…The U-Pass use to cover public transportation for UW faculty, staff and students for a very reasonable price.  I haven’t purchased one in a while so I guess the cost must have gone up.

This is the view of the UW Station from Husky Stadium.  There had been a line of people waiting to get into the station on the right side.  By the time I finished the ink sketch they had all funneled into the station.  More and more people started gathering around as the morning wore on.  The Husky drum line played in the background while I sketched.

Entry into the UW Light Rail Train Station

Waiting for the train to Capitol Hill Station

South East Entrance of Capitol Hill Station on Broadway

North East Entrance into the Capitol Hill Station on Broadway

Interior view of the Capitol Hill Station with the Pinkie Mural.

Waiting for the train to the UW Station on the way back.

Plans for the future of Sound Transit Light Rail

I started the day at 9:30 and ended at 1:45 pm. The sketches were all done in ink on site. I ended up taking pictures of each location so I could add color later.

Playing "Hop Sketch" In Seattle

There is such a thing as a "sketch crawl". What Tina, Kate, Feather and I did today was anything but a crawl. We met at 10:00am at Husky Station, sketched for an hour, then hopped on the new Link Light Rail to Capitol Hill, Denny and Broadway Station. We warmed up at the Oddfellow Cafe, having lunch while sketching, hopped over to Dick Blick Art Supply for a bit, then back to the new Denny St Station for more transit sketching. I have coined the expression "Hop Sketch" to fully describe this game. But that's not all!

After sketching outside the new Denny and Broadway Station, sharing our sketches on a bench on the underground Link Platform, and getting a trophy shot, one of our party, who shall remain nameless, shivered her way home. That left three. We hopped on one of the new streetcars and rode the line down to 5th and Jackson, near Uajimaya and King Street Station. During the ride, I sketched the commuter with the hat pulled over his eyes. The stationery department at Uajimaya beckoned. As we ogled the gleaming display of Lamy pens, my husband called from King Street Station with an invitation to dinner. What? Who can be hungry surrounded by pens, inks, paper, and socks with funny  sayings embroidered on them, such as "My Favorite Vegetable is Wine" and "I Love You" (above the ankle) and "Weirdo" (below the top line of the shoe).

But then, we had to part ways. The new Amazon store at University Village was calling my name....and dinner. That left two. Where they went from Uajimaya, I don't know. They may still be there.....sketching with their new Lamy pens, wearing their witty socks.

Scouting the Stations

3/28/16 Capitol Hill Station

3/28/16 University of Washington Station

Scouting for a future Seattle USk outing, Kate, Michele, Feather and I met up at Sound Transit Light Rail’s new UW Station this morning. It was a lot colder and wetter than was predicted, so my sketch of the station (and Husky Stadium behind it) got cut short, but I’m posting it here anyway (at right) for posterity.

After we rode the rails to Capitol Hill Station, also brand new, and warmed up over lunch, the day had warmed up a bit too, so I sketched the station entrance (above). It’s marked by a huge graphic hand -- artwork by local cartoonist and Capitol Hill resident Ellen Forney.

Look forward to a sketch outing at one or both of these stations -- to be scheduled on a warmer day!

Democratic Caucus at Montlake Community Center

Following along with Jane's post,  my family went to the Democratic Caucus at our local Community Center.  This was the first time for our youngest son.  It was jam packed and great to see the neighbors and community out caucusing.  I miss seeing neighbors at the voting polls since we have changed to mail in ballots.  It turned out 50/50 in our precinct with a very civil discussion and support for both Hillary and Bernie.   

Our caucus was well organized,  a bit crowded but we were in and out with in an hour.  Only one person got turned away from our precinct because he came late and we had already voted.  

The Caucuses!

The Caucuses were held in Washington State today. My precinct was held at The Evergreen State College, one of the most liberal colleges in the country and a two mile bike ride from our house. At the start of the caucus, the leaders explain the procedure: spllit up into your precincts, fill out the form for your choice of candidate, band together with like-minded-thinkers and put together a 3-minute commercial, followed by moderate argument and the concession, "Well I prefer X but if they don't get the nomination, I'll definitely vote for Y" 

It's chaotic, only slightly organized, risky (you have to out yourself to your neighbors, and risk their animosity) but in the end, it works! 

Swanson's in Spring

Spring seems to have arrived, both by calendar and by weather.  It was a beautiful, mostly sunny day that wasn't too chilly. We met at Swanson's Nursery to enjoy the spring flowers.  We sketch there at Christmas time and just this year decided to try another season.  It offers lots of out door spaces with interesting arrangements as well as indoor setting if the weather in inclement.

I chose to do a two page spread of several vignettes.  Tulips, the Adirondack chairs at the entrance, glass sculpture and plants in the warm cafe and a display of garden sculptures and plants.  There are 2 green men and a sun in splendor.



We shared sketches and had our group photo.  Suzanne reported she spoke to a visiting sketcher from China who came to sketch but left before we met back up.   A few stayed for lunch in the charming on-site cafe.

University of Washington: Suzzallo and the Quad

Another rainy March day in Seattle, not easy to sketch outside even though the temperatures have been warmer, almost pleasant for plein air sketching.  We have had our share this year of rain and so a trip to the UW campus found us inside the graduate library this Sunday.  I had never attempted sketching all the Gothic-revival reading-room before.  Earlier drawings had been limited to pieces of the room, but this time I wanted to get a sense of the full volume.  The changing light kept messing with how I should represent the colors of the walls and ceiling as I painted the drawing.

After coming out after our sketch meet-up, I discovered that the clouds had parted and it was dry, but I was to discover it wouldn't last long.  I headed to the Quad to sketch the cherry trees which were just beyond their peak of brilliance, but still magnificent!

I sat in a doorway that offered little protection if it was going to rain again.  I managed to get the line work down and some colors on before the clouds began to condense and drop their moisture again.  I had to run to the parking garage with my pad upside-down to protect it from the rain-fall because it was still had wet paint that would get spotted.  I finished the colors at home later.

I am re-posting some of my sketches from our outing in 2013 when I captured the exterior of the reading room (large Gothic windows) and Red Square in the foreground.  This was one of my favorite places to sit on a warm sunny afternoon when I was a student in the early 80's.

We had many that painted the grand staircase this time  and so here is my version from the ground floor foyer from  January 2013.

Marker Sketches at Suzzallo Library

I am not much of a pure architecture sketcher. So, when USk Seattle met at the University's Library, I decided I would sketch the students. There were not many (I think the sketchers outnumbered the students for a while), but midterms are approaching and by noon the library started to come to life...

Young Blossoms

3/17/16

The tiny cherry tree at left was in full blossom when I sketched it a few days ago. Although it doesn’t look like much – braces keep its spindly trunk from toppling over in the windstorms we’ve been having lately – I’ve sketched it three times in the past month. Replacing a much larger, old tree that had to be taken out a year ago in front of the Seattle Public Library’s Green Lake branch, this little tree seems precious.

I first sketched it about a month ago when I could barely see the buds. Two weeks ago I spotted some pink. Shown at bottom is the old tree that had to be removed for some sewer work (and the excavator digging the hole where it used to stand). I miss that old tree – sketched in February last year, it had always been an early bloomer – but the young one will be fun to sketch, year after year, as it grows. 

2/20/16

3/5/16

2/17/15

3/9/15

Suzzallo Chicaroscuro

It's been awhile since I've posted and I thought I might try something different -- starting with a neutral tone and applying lights and darks with a combination of colored pencil (white) and pastel and charcoal. Fortunately the stonework in Suzzallo was conducive to the approach!

Sakura, Sakura

When I lived in Japan many seasons ago, we used to sing a song in honor of the sakura, cherry blossoms. So when I stepped outside of Suzallo last Sunday and glanced up at the Quad, it was a magnetic attraction. Despite the pouring rain and cool temperatures, there were so many people milling among the trees. They defied the Seattle norm with their colorful umbrellas and bright yellow and red rain jackets. I wedged myself under an arched entryway with a spot of dry ground. It was an odd angle. I would have preferred to get a nice perspective of the angling paths of the quad, my fingers got stiff from the cold, and wished I had brought my water-color paper and ink and twig. 

By the time I was done Suzallo's interior seemed much more welcoming. And then...a brief spell of sunshine. 

That building in the background by the way is, I believe, the UW Art Department, my old haunt back in the day. 

Suzzallo Library

Following up on Gail's post below, here is a similar view of the Grand Staircase, drawn in ink but no color. I also want to share a couple of views of the Graduate Reading Room, one done a few years ago and the other done this past Sunday.

Sketching with Fear

When I am not confident of a perspective or know it is going to be a difficult view, I will at times use a pencil to sketch with.  That way if I have mistakes I can correct.  This particular view of Suzzallo Library, I knew would be a challenge so I didn't do it in ink.  But as I recall we use to have our Architecture 210 students do a series of perspective sketches going through Suzzallo and many of them chose this view.  They did it in ink and were timed as well! 

Quite time in Suzzallo Reading Room

It was great to join the other Seattle Sketchers who braved the gray, rain AND the time change yesterday. 

Of course, I was drawn to sketch the view in the reading room, looking UP (getting into the mindset to teach "Soaring Spaces" in Manchester this summer.) What a beautiful space and probably the closest thing we have to England in Seattle.  

This sketch took about 1 hour 15 minutes, was done with a .5 mechanical pencil on an 8" x 16" Fluid watercolor block with Winsor & Newton watercolors.  I'll post the entire process on my blog later today. If you click on this image, you should be able to see the detail.

And I have to add that I'm the proud mom of two current UW students!  Go Dawgs!!

Suzzallo Library, Cherry Blossoms, and Rain

A water tower on the horizon, threatening storm clouds, rain, cherry blossoms and classical architecture as seen from the third floor windows of the Allen Library.

Seattle Urban Sketchers met at the Suzzallo Library on the campus of the University of Washington this morning.  Taking advantage of early opening for students studying for finals, many decided to shelter from the rain and chose subjects inside the building. My vantage point was from the third floor of the Allen Library, looking back at a wing of Suzzallo and adjacent buildings.

After sharing our sketches, the sun broke through and a few of us walked over to view the cherry blossoms in the quad. My commute northward towards home on I-5 was wild and wet, scattered with fallen tree boughs as I navigated through several squalls.

At this moment, we are experiencing extrememely high winds. So high that our star magnolia split and half of it is layng across the pond.

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms were reported to be at their height on the campus of the University of Washington.  I very much hoped yesterday's nice weather would hold over to our sketch outing there today.  It was not to be.  I've never seen the UW cherry trees in bloom and it was unlikely I'd get back to see them under better conditions before they were gone.  I was determined to sketch them, despite the drenching rain.

While nearly everyone else sheltered and sketched in the magnificently Gothic Suzzallo Library, I found some good cover in a stair case adjoining the quad.   It took the watercolor a long time to dry in such chilly, wet weather!



Once the sketch was done, I hurried back to the Suzzallo Library to get warm.  I found a simple staircase view to sketch in the remaining 20 minutes.  I've always like the squirrel in stained glass over the door.





As usual, we gathered to share sketches and take a group photo.





All the photos are here.

Cherries in the Nick of Time

3/13/16 University of Washington Quad

Knowing that Urban Sketchers Seattle was planning to meet at Suzzallo Library on the UW campus today, I’d been hoping all week that we’d get enough of a reprieve from the rain to sketch the cherry trees on the Quad. On Tuesday The Times had reported that the blossoms were “still a week away from full bloom,” so I knew they would be close to peak by now.

3/13/16 Rainy campus from Allen Library

The morning started out as wet and gloomy as ever, so I spent the sketchout inside Suzzallo and the connecting Allen libraries, staying warm and dry. From one of Allen’s large windows, I captured a rainy scene, and from Suzzallo’s upper level, I caught Dan sketching the stairway.

After the sketchbook sharing, a few of us were chatting, when suddenly we all saw it, coming through Suzzallo’s high stained glass windows: Sunshine! I knew it was now or never. Kate, Michele and I dashed out to the Quad, where hundreds of people milled around, delighting in the nearly white blossoms. Stomping through puddles, posing for portraits with cameras on the ends of selfie sticks, this was our version of hanami, the Japanese tradition of celebrating the onset of spring.

As I put the last swipes on my sketch, a few drops of rain hit the page, and a minute later the deluge and high winds were back. Caught those cherries in the nick of time.

3/13/16 Dan sketching on one of Suzzallo's majestic stairways.

3/13/16 Suzzallo Library's stacks