USk Workshop: GOOD BONES | Seattle

Didn't make it to Porto? Well, come to a workshop here in Seattle!! Join experienced sketcher and Urban Sketchers instructor, Stephanie Bower, for a celebration of summer sketching at home!

There are two spots left for local sketchers in the USk Good Bones | Seattle, August 16-19 at the beautiful campus of Seattle Center. We'll work indoors, outdoors, we'll cover perspective and an intro to watercolor...and we'll join Seattle Urban Sketchers for a sketchcrawl the last day!

More info is HERE.  Hope to see you!

Shady Gilman Village

We again went a little further afield to Gilman Village in Issaquah. I'd suggested it as I've enjoyed sketching there. All the shops and restaurants are houses, buildings and other structures preserved from Issaquah's historic past.  Fortunately there were lots of trees and shady spots as we needed it. 

Brittany attended for the first time here in Seattle and brought her 5 month old baby. We've had some young children come with sketchers but this is the first time I've seen a sketcher with babe in arms (so to speak).  How delightful is this?  



Today's group of sketchers, including 2 more young ones:



As I waited for sketchers to arrive, I sat in the shade and on the rear hatch of my car to sketch the meeting spot, Issaquah Coffee Company.  I tried using more hatching.  



It was getting increasingly warm early and was nearly 90 degrees by the time we finished. So this view of some pink tutus was not exactly what I would have preferred but it was from a shady spot.  The man sat down for about 5 minutes and ended up in my sketch.  Don't sit still or I'll draw you...and you don't even really have to sit still!

Cooking up a Surprise in Hip and Historical Columbia City

In a show of solidarity with our fellow sketchers in Porto, Portugal, Usk Seattle met in the Columbia City neighborhood today. We knew that the participants at the Porto Symposium were attending workshops and sketching on the street in Portugal at this very same moment.

The hip and historic Columbia City Neighborhood at Rainier Ave and Ferdinand

A sketchers' party on the street. Kate on pastry security duty.

Kate made badges and signs for our "Porto Pity Party" and Michele and Kate cooked up a surprise for those who met at "Geraldines" corner this morning. There were fresh baked Portuguese style pasteis de nata and our own Starbucks coffee to start the day. Patrick, USkSeattle friend and baker, came through with the tasty egg custard tarts. Thank you, Patrick! In true urban style, we spread a Portuguese print tablecloth over the Seattle Times newspaper box (Hi, Gabi!) and everyone helped themselves.

The Myers Music Street Clock leaned over in curiosity to get a closer look, much as the Clerigos Tower in Porto curiously peered at what was going on around it. (A nod to Isa Silva for a witty symposium logo)

The clock across the street was once located on 1st Ave

As we walked down Rainier Ave toward the Columbia Branch Library, Kate and I talked about the dramatic changes in the neighborhood since it was built. The branch's landmark 1915 building is the smallest of the libraries built for Seattle with gifts from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919).  The branch itself dates to 1909, two years after Columbia City was annexed into Seattle.

Sketching the Carnegie Library front door and patron

Carnegie would be astounded at how the library is used today.

Not only can you pick up a great book for your summer reading, you can play a game of chess, catch up on your email, research anything online or even engage in a popular art activity.

You can download and print a coloring sheet for your branch. Coloring sheets are available for all 27 Library locations. What a great way to start your urban sketching skills!

Download the coloring sheet

We are also celebrating the 9th Anniversary of the founding of Seattle Urban Sketchers. Kate had signs made up for that, too, which we proudly displayed at our sketchbook throwdown. See Kate's blog post with more photos.

Then we had lunch at Pagliacci.

Two Celebrations

The Urban Sketchers 9th International Symposium is happening right now in Porto, Portugal. Several of the sketchers from USk Seattle are there. For those of us who aren't, Michele and I threw a "Porto Pity Party" at our sketch outing today in Columbia City. It was complete with pasteis de nata, the Portuguese pastry specialty that everyone there is raving about. Chef Patrick of Patrick's Cafe and Bakery took the challenge of making them for us. Everyone agreed they were delicious.




 We met again to share sketches. Our second celebration was the 9th Anniversary of the first Urban Sketchers outing in Seattle which was 19 July 2009.





While I had another location in mind, I walked down to the Columbia City branch of the Seattle Public Library. It's a lovely old Carnegie building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It opened in 1915.   I added some ephemera from the day with the detail sketch of the pasteis de nata.  

emphasis zone

In a beautiful city like Seattle, I've surprised myself by being so attracted sketching the highway of all things, but here we are. Mercer Corridor along I-5 is an area designated as one of Seattle's "emphasis zones" – which are "places where an encampment has become a consistent problem". It's also very close to where I live. These paintings contrast the traffic, chaos, and sale of the freeway with the people who live their lives around the structures. It might be hard to see at the small scale here but there are tiny people in the landscapes if you look for them. 

I sketched all three of these from life while standing above I-5, drawing as fast as I could so as to minimize the amount of fumes I breathe.

These + a few more paintings will be on display for one night only - Thursday 7/19/18, 7pm-2am - at Lovecitylove in Capitol Hill!

from Pine St.

under Lakeview Blvd

from Plymouth Pillars Park

Detailing Air Force One

No, not that one. Ours. That would be the first jet Air Force One at the Museum of Flight. It's the arrival of the 15th Annual Air Force One Detailing Team organized by master detailer Renny Doyle. http://detailersofairforceone.com/ (the video is several years old now). This elite crew is donating their time and skills to keep the aircraft looking good!

How elite are they? The crew came from all over the country. They are all volunteers, some using their vacation time for this service. From 900 applications only 65 were chosen. That's why it says ""Selected Team Member" on the back of their shirts.  The group has been doing this for 15 years!




I sketched a couple crews working on the B-29. They're wearing respirators




Jimmy is slacking off. This statue is usually up close seeming to work on the aircraft.



Final sketch was of three workers doing what another referred to as "the dance". They move in unison to polish Air Force One. The dark strip is some material applied and then polished off. It's so shiny their reflections can be seen above them.

Sketching in the Shade

We met at the Bellevue Botanical Garden on Sunday. It was a fortuitous choice as the thermometer got to at least 90 degrees. It was a good thing to be able to sketch in the cool shade of large trees.

This being on the East side, further from Seattle than usual, we attacted a few sketchers who hadn't joined us in a while. Many of our regulars are already in Portugal for the USk International Symposium to start this week in Porto.





The Sharp Cabin is over 100 years old. It was build by James Sharp and originally situated on NE 8th Street. It sat on a 180 acre homestead. From 1926-1951, the Davajian family, Armenian refugees who fled genocide, lived and farmed there. They sold produce at Pike Place Market.



With a half hour left, I managed the sketch of this shaded scene. The stone lantern sits behind the Tateuchi Viewing Pavilion.

Woodland Summer

Exploring new places, getting to know people who love to sketch, and sharing space with others involved in their own pursuits are highlights of urban sketching.  Today, Urban Sketchers met at Bellevue Botanical Garden, a place I have never been.  There was no shortage of enthusiastic sketchers, a very hearty group considering the temperature. Covering 36 acres, Bellevue Botanical Garden has gardens, trails and picturesque buildings.  Because of the heat, I quickly chose a shady spot in the cool woodlands. While I sketched, families strolled by enjoying the greenery.  A wedding party entered my space for a photo shoot. A high- spirited bridesmaid in platform heels pranced through the woodland mulch and posed agreeably for the photographer.  

Leaf throne

Surprisingly she didn’t sit on the leaf throne.  I thought it was pretty special.

Across the trail from the leaf throne is a waterfall feature.  A comfortable garden bench held me and my backpack as I color penciled the light and shadow along the forest canopy.  

Friendly people walking past made positive comments, “that’s so good”, “wow, that’s great”,  always nice to hear! 

Waterfall feature at Bellevue Botanical Garden

Refuge from the Heat Wave at Bellevue Botanical Garden

As our heat wave continued, USk Seattle found refuge at Bellevue Botanical Garden for their monthly outing today. It was cool and comfortable in the shade of the forested garden. The outside temperature climbed from 78°F to 91°F from the time we met at 10 am. until many left the parking lot after lunch at around 2:00 pm.

I was amazed at the transformation from the old familiar gardens that I last visited at least a decade ago. New buildings, teaching centers, pathways and further development of emerging sections of the garden were everywhere in evidence. I went looking for something familiar. First, I found the "Hobbit Door" as I walked along the path beyond the Tea House. Although I was on my way to the Yao Garden, I just had to capture this enchanting little feature.

I was entranced as always by the serenity of the Yao Japanese Garden. I found a cool shady spot at the south end of the pond and spent the rest of my sketching time there. I sketched the summer sky reflected in the pond and the rocks and plantings bordering it all around. Somehow I was subliminally influenced to go to the gift shop and buy two rocks with images on one side and sayings on the other. They make good paper weights!

I dumped out my sketch bag on the studio table and used the garden map for a bit of ephemera on my journal page.

With the air conditioning on full blast, I made the 1 hour commute back home where the gauge on the deck said it was 92°F in Marysville! Isn't this supposed to be the weather in Porto during the symposium? I think we've switched climates!

Fourth year on the tour

Yesterday (Sunday, 8 July) we met to sketch the Georgetown Garden Tour for the 4th year in a row. We finished with a "throwdown" in Oxbow Park. It's the home of the famous Hat n' Boots  which was the subject of many of the sketches.





I arrived early, again. It gave me just enough time to draw this odd, triangle shaped, building that I've wanted to sketch for a long time. 


I'd prepared with sunscreen and a big hat.  But even at 10:30 am I got rather over heated, sitting in the sun for my second sketch of the Oxbow P-Patch.



There is Rose Campion in the foreground. The artichokes in the background were taller than me!  

Post Alley

On a hot day, I made a detour after errands to swing through Pike Place Market and got totally sucked into the very charming Post Alley.



I sat across from one of the entrances by the market to do a quick sketch capturing the strong summer shadows. I liked the intersection of the produce vendor stalls with the multi-level cafe seating.




Then I walked up through the alley and found a spot in a public seating area with a nice view of the sign! The colors in this sketch were inspired by the outfit of a lady I saw walking through nearby - the combo of cerulean/purple/yellow was quite striking.

Stringing Fiber

7/5/18 Maple Leaf neighborhood

Comcast is back in the ‘hood. I got excited yesterday when I saw a truck pull up towing this large spool of cable. No sooner did I start to draw it (you can see a few ghost lines at right) when workers unhitched the spool, and the truck drove away. It’s OK, though . . . an urban sketcher is always prepared to stop.

When I went back today, I caught the team in action. It took two men and a lot of grunting to push that heavy spool. 

7/6/18

7/6/18

A couple of hours later, I heard some commotion outside, and the Comcast team was at the pole right outside our bedroom window! I started to draw the guy in the cherry picker (you can see his ghost at the top of the page), but he was too fast for me. I ran out onto the deck as the truck moved down the street, and I was barely able to capture this much before it was out of sight. They’re busy stringing lots of fiber in the Maple Leaf neighborhood.

Cloudy but Warm Welcome from Bainbridge

6/30/18 Awkward Grace at Bainbridge Farmers Market

6/30/18 Sue and Natalie on the ferry

Going to Bainbridge Island always feels like a little vacation, even if it’s only a 30-minute ferry ride from Seattle across Puget Sound. Although I might have chosen a sunnier day for such a vacation, the welcome from Bainbridge Island USk was warm for our first joint sketch outing since BI USk formed its own chapter.

The last time we sketched on Bainbridge was nearly a year ago for our Mega Pity Party – three consecutive days of sketching (during the weekend that would have been the West Coast Sketchcrawl, had it not been cancelled). Saturday’s celebration was a bit cloudier, though I daresay we still got a strong turnout from both groups.

As it did last year, hunger drove me to my first sketch of the morning – the Bainbridge Farmers Market just a few blocks from the ferry terminal. I found a delicious chocolate croissant to munch while sketching the folk group Awkward Grace entertaining the crowd.

6/30/18 Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

Fully fortified with carbs, I went out looking for Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, which Paula Ensign (co-admin for BI USk) had told me about. The fully overcast sky made it hard to see which direction the sun was trying to shine from, but I did my best squinting to find a few shadows.

6/30/18 downtown Winslow

For my last sketch before the throwdown, I warmed up with a cup of coffee as I captured a couple of girls having lunch.

That wasn’t my last sketch of the day, though. Waiting for our ride, I did a quick one of a ferry moored near the terminal. Then on the ride home, I made a tiny panorama of one of my favorite views of downtown Seattle – the one that can be seen only from a boat.

6/30/18 Moored ferry at the Bainbridge terminal

6/30/18 downtown Seattle from Puget Sound