Lunar NY Festival

Happy Year of the Pig! Urban Sketchers met at Hing Hay park in the International District to document the belated Lunar New Year celebration after it was postponed due to snowpocalypse. I'm so glad I went to this, it was a great time, and I ate so much. But first, I sketched this view of three landmarks you can see from the park: the archway, the gate, and King Street Station. This was pretty ambitious and I could have planned the composition better but it was fun! My favorite area is honestly the simple little spire from the train station. It was convenient to keep an eye on the time by looking at its clock.

I was also pretty psyched with this found work surface, which allowed me a great view and relative comfort while working on this fairly long sketch. The ubiquitous No Parking sign stands at hip-height for me and has a gap at the top just wide enough to balance a drawing board (actually it's a 12x15" shipping envelope with a piece of cardboard inside, works great!) on top of, and just narrow enough to keep my watercolor set stable. And the top of the triangle is a perfect hook for keeping my backpack off the ground! What more could you ask for?

After finishing the top sketch, which took about 1 hour 15 minutes, I rushed away to try to get another drawing in quickly before throwdown time. That arch is striking from any angle! The shape is very clean and clear, the color pops, and you can add as much/as little detail as you want and it still is recognizable. I used another of my new fountain pens, not realizing the ink was not totally waterproof. Blue and brown is always a good combo in watercolor...but overall this one kind of got away from me!


The organizers had put together a $3 special food menu with dozens of restaurants in the ID participating. You got a stamp for each dish you purchased, and if you got 5 stamps you could enter into a raffle for free tickets to Hong Kong. My bf and I both filled one out and stuffed the slip into a very full box before we left. 🤞🤞 I love that they made it so easy to sample all the great local restaurants, and I wish more neighborhoods had such accessible and fun festivals.