We haven't sketched at the Seattle Chinese Garden in a while so we decided it was time to return. This was my fourth time there.
Throwdown and group photo in the Knowing the Spring Courtyard.
Despite Summer having officially begun yesterday, today was cloudy and chilly. There was quite a breeze as I sat atop a small hill to sketch the view of the north side.
The Dragon Seeker is my favorite thing in the garden. I've sketched it twice before so I sought a new view today. I don't know what the characters carved into the standing stone mean, but I hope I copied them correctly.
According to traditional Chinese tale, a carp that could leap the high falls of the Yellow River at Dragon Gate (near Longmen, Zhejiang) would be transformed into a dragon. This Dragon Seeker was made in Thailand over 100 years ago. More recently, a Seattle couple had it in their garden in Kuala Lumpur. When they returned to Seattle, they donated him to the Chinese Garden.
A few of us went to lunch at Patrick's Cafe and Bakery just a few blocks south of the garden. Over about 3 years, we had sketch outings to the Stonehouse Bakery. Patrick was the owner and baker there but has now moved and has a full service cafe which he opened earlier this year. He was always so glad to host us when we sketched at the Stonehouse that we wanted to sketch at his new place. He was equally gracious, giving us coffee and bringing a plate of banana bread to our table.
Tina called this part of our outing "munch and sketch". After a delicious sandwich, I sketched the corner of his new building from my table.
(banner is a bit of paper collage)
Throwdown and group photo in the Knowing the Spring Courtyard.
Despite Summer having officially begun yesterday, today was cloudy and chilly. There was quite a breeze as I sat atop a small hill to sketch the view of the north side.
The Dragon Seeker is my favorite thing in the garden. I've sketched it twice before so I sought a new view today. I don't know what the characters carved into the standing stone mean, but I hope I copied them correctly.
According to traditional Chinese tale, a carp that could leap the high falls of the Yellow River at Dragon Gate (near Longmen, Zhejiang) would be transformed into a dragon. This Dragon Seeker was made in Thailand over 100 years ago. More recently, a Seattle couple had it in their garden in Kuala Lumpur. When they returned to Seattle, they donated him to the Chinese Garden.
A few of us went to lunch at Patrick's Cafe and Bakery just a few blocks south of the garden. Over about 3 years, we had sketch outings to the Stonehouse Bakery. Patrick was the owner and baker there but has now moved and has a full service cafe which he opened earlier this year. He was always so glad to host us when we sketched at the Stonehouse that we wanted to sketch at his new place. He was equally gracious, giving us coffee and bringing a plate of banana bread to our table.
Tina called this part of our outing "munch and sketch". After a delicious sandwich, I sketched the corner of his new building from my table.
(banner is a bit of paper collage)
No comments:
Post a Comment