10th Anniversary Gathering - Gas Works Park

Gathering of the Seattle Urban Sketchers on their 10th anniversary! At Gas Works Park on a gorgeous day and great to see many who have made that group so much fun participate with and learn from.

Ink and watercolor.

10 Years of Sketching Together

6/30/19 Gas Works Park

Although Urban Sketchers Seattle has sketched at Gas Works Park many times, today’s outing was a little special: We celebrated our 10^th anniversary of sketching together! In July 2009, Gabi Campanario launched the USk Seattle group a couple of years after officially starting the global Urban Sketchers organization. His very first post on the USk Seattle blog in May 2009 explains the impetus:

"Since launching Urban Sketchers last year I've been thinking that something important was missing from the original idea. Then I realized what it was. The main blog brings people from far away places together, but it doesn't necessarily connect the ones who are actually closer to each other, living in the same city. That's the reason behind starting this blog and perhaps others like it for other cities. With USk Seattle I'm looking forward to continue the friendship started back in March of 2008 with fellow local sketchers and to meet new ones in the future."

After that first post, several early USk members began posting on the blog, and then in July 2009, the first formal USk sketch outing was organized at Fishermen’s Terminal. The rest, as they say, is history. Our Facebook group now has 536 members, our Google group has 310 members, and our Flickr group has 274 members. Our blog has 59 correspondents.

Gail, Dave, Gabi and Mark (Frank got away before this photo
was taken) participated in the inaugural sketch outing. Gabi holds a photo
of the original group.

A couple dozen people, including one new member, sketched the park and then picnicked after the throwdown to celebrate. Five participants in that inaugural Fishermen’s Terminal outing were present today, too: Gabi, Frank Ching, Gail Wong, Dave Morris and Mark Ryan.

Sketching the park entrance and shelter from halfway up Kite Hill, the sound of a girl’s colorful kite snapped in the wind high over my head. The temperature was 70 degrees, and the sky was nearly cloudless. As I sketched, I thought about how much fun I’ve had and all the new friends I’ve made since I joined Urban Sketchers. I’m grateful to be part of such a rich community of people to share this passion with. Here’s to many more years of sketching together!

A colorful throwdown!

Gabi tells the group how it all started.

What a disaster this cake was! The cake itself was OK – a typical Costco half sheet – but I had ordered an image of the USk Seattle logo as a “customized cake topper” made of “edible ink.” It looked great when it arrived in the mail, but when I tried to peel off the backing, the sugar film started tearing badly. I left the backing on just for the photo, then tossed the topper. It’s just as well, because the edible ink tastes terrible! 

In case you missed it on my sketch, here's the official USk Seattle stamp, which was unveiled today!
Our logo was designed by David Hingtgen.

Church without its doors

There has been some drama in Renton. It all happened while I was on my epic driving trip across the country. **  

Renton is a suburb of a little over a 100,00 and is in the top 25 most diverse cities in the USA. 

The United Christian Church is just a few blocks away from where I live. I read about what happened while I was  gone.  From the article: "The church put up six doors reading 'God’s doors are open to all,' in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride month, a symbol that is part of a greater city-wide message of visibility this year." The doors were in the colors of the Pride flag.

And the doors were vandalized. Twice. The FBI is now involved as the second attempt involved possible arson and an explosion.   The good news is the citizens of Renton banded together to replace the doors. A local social media group to which I belong put out a call for replacement doors and several were offered.  The display was refurbished after the first attack. 



Once back from my long trip, I went over this morning to sketch the doors. They were all gone but in their place was a single door, giving thanks to the community. Dee, a member of the church, stopped by to talk to me while I was sketching. She explained that the church members who put up the doors were away when the second vandalism happened so the doors were not replaced.

While these are discouraging events, there is the silver lining of a larger, supportive community.  Love Wins.



Happy Pride, indeed. 

UCC of Renton website.  I encourage you to look at the graphic on the home page!
Seattle Times article on the vandalism.


** I'm still working on my post(s) about the trip.

healing waters

I was invited to an artist retreat in Soap Lake, Washington a few weeks ago. It was kind of a test run for some tourism initiatives happening in the area. It was a super interesting trip and I had the pleasure to meet a group of very creative and invigorating fellow artists! Very excited to share the video & photo documentation soon, which were expertly and artistically handled by Alex Tsway.

It was my first trip through the Cascades and out the other side. I knew it would be Different but it was still so jarring to be in such a hot, dry area compared to the lush areas in the Puget Sound.



This old house caught my eye on a walk through the tiny center of town. A child (who rode up on their bike and was fascinated by what I was doing) told me that no one lives there anymore. My goal for myself that weekend was to use a lot of mixed media, and this painting was a truly disaster until I brought out my trusty fat white paint marker, then it kind of resolved itself in the muted areas.

We were so out & about all the time I didn't actually get to sketch that much! Exploring is great but every place I go just makes me feel like I've seen so little. I could spend a month exploring and sketching on, like, Vashon Island and not get tired of it, and that's just a little island. If we had just one mountain range, that would be more than enough for me, but instead we have TWO! Or if we had just one kind of climate and landscape, great. But there's such a big state out there. It's TOO MUCH.

Ban Roll-on Building Redux

6/21/19 Safeco Center

Officially named Safeco Center, one of my favorite downtown buildings is better known as the Ban Roll-on building or the R2-D2 building (and formerly named the Second & Seneca Building). I wish I knew someone who worked there so I could go up to the glassy dome on top. The last time I sketched it was nearly five years ago from an angle that didn’t show its roll-on ball much, so I’ve always wanted to try again. In the area yesterday with USk Seattle, I sat next to a spitting fountain to make this sketch.

Thoroughly chilled after that, I retreated to the inside of the building I had just sketched because I knew it had a Starbucks that faced the street. Luckily for me, a lot of work was going on across the street involving cherry pickers in blue and orange. 

6/21/19 Goings-on at Second and Seneca

Although it’s officially summer now, I still wore the hood on my Polartec jacket all morning. As is often the case, the sun finally came out in time for the throwdown. (I suppose if we were smart, we would meet in the afternoon!)

Sketchers finally warming up!

Fremont Bridge and the Rocket

6/15/19 Fremont Bridge

As many times as I’ve sketched in the Fremont neighborhood, I’ve done the historic Fremont Bridge only once, and it was years ago. With USk Seattle’s sketch outing centered on the Lake Washington Ship Canal area, it was high time to sketch it again. This time I climbed partway up the stairway, which gave me a good view of the bright blue and orange towers. According to Wikipedia, “due to its low vessel clearance of 30 feet, the Fremont Bridge opens an average of 35 times a day, which makes it the most frequently opened drawbridge in the United States and one of the busiest bascule bridges in the world.” No wonder Fremont is the Center of the Universe. Even as I sketched this, the drawbridge opened twice. One of these days I need to sketch it open, though I’d have to be quick – it stays open for only a few minutes at a time.

Another Fremont icon that I’ve sketched only once before is the Rocket. Last time, I stood right in its shadow with the benefit of strong sunlight. On this overcast morning, I didn’t feel like sketching a light gray rocket against a light gray sky, so my vermilion/Prussian Blue editing pencil came to the rescue. (To those unfamiliar with the Center of the Universe, it probably looks like a church steeple.) Just as I was lamenting the empty spot near the center of the composition, a huge truck came by to unload a delivery to a nearby merchant. It stayed just long enough for me to fill the boring space with its girth.

Despite the chilly morning, it was great to see the strong turnout in Fremont with several new faces!

The sun finally came out for the throwdown!

Ninth & Hennepin Donuts

6/4/19 Regrade Farmers Market

The Seattle Sketcher’s recent column about pop-up farmers markets downtown reminded me that I had wanted to check them out last summer but never got around to it. On Tuesday, I hopped on the bus to the Regrade area, where a market had popped up right next to the Amazon Spheres. Before exploring the market, I sketched a few tents in the shadow of the Spheres from across the street.

Yukon Potato Cake Donut with chocolate ganache glaze!

As Amazonites on their lunch break poured out of nearby buildings, I started strolling around the vendors to check out their wares. Suddenly, my nose led me to the tent of 9^th & Hennepin Donuts, where two guys were making donuts to order! On the menu that day were Yukon Potato Cake Donut with chocolate ganache glaze, Applesauce-Hazelnut Cake Donut with cinnamon sugar, Filled Brioche Thumbprint with strawberry custard and vanilla bean glaze, and d’Anjou Pear Fritter with a local honey glaze. It took me a while to decide, but that chocolate ganache called to me. I considered sketching it . . . but the thought was fleeting, and I scarfed it down while it was hot.

After sketching the donut shop with the warm sun at my back (it was 65 degrees with a soft breeze), I brought home the first local strawberries of the season. I wait nine months in the year for a day like that, and it’s worth it.

Incidentally, I asked the owner if Hennepin was the one in Minneapolis (Twin Cities native Greg has taken me there), and indeed, it was. He said the shop is named for the Tom Waits song in which donuts are referenced. (Urban sketching teaches me so many things!)

And not so incidentally: Happy National Donut Day!

picnic on Whidbey

I had a really sweet opportunity to go to Whidbey Island recently (my first time out here!). I was hired by a Seattleite who wanted someone to document her classy bachelorette party at this amazing house on open prairie land near Coupeville. I jumped on my 180cc scooter at 7 am and rode up to the Mulkiteo ferry through the rain. Luckily the weather was much clearer on Whidbey. This was by far the longest distance I've gone by myself on the scooter so far.

First thing I had to do was to document the picnic. All 12 of the ladies had dressed up in 1920s-esque clothing and even rented period hats from a costumer. People were coming and going, so I had to improvise this one. I started by drawing the table and placing a few people near the bottom of the page (the front) and working towards the back of the page more or less. Somehow I fit everyone in!

After this, I had to sketch all 12 of the women on their own in 10 minute poses. Since it's not technically urban sketch I won't post them here. But it was fun to chat with everyone one on one! 

I would love if more people hired me to do live gigs like this one. There's so much potential for wedding sketching documentation - as we know, drawing can capture so much that cameras can't. 

At this point it was kind of late and I was thinking about the long distance I had to go home. But the host invited me to stay the night and I had gotten really good vibes from everyone, so I decided to take her up on it and crash on the couch. This allowed me to go out to Ebey's Landing with the party, a place I've wanted to see for a while. 

A simple watercolor sketch of the ridge trail above the recognizable 45˙ slope. I chose to paint instead of hike...was it the right choice? idk.

I was feeling socially exhausted so I went back to the house while the party went out to dinner in town. I sketched another view from the house at sunset and painted it in with a limited palette of sap green/orange/quin rose.

I left early the next morning to catch an early ferry to Port Townsend, another place I've heard great things about but hadn't made it out to see (owning that scooter has really opened up my world). Well it did not disappoint! So much great architecture. Alas I had to be back in the city by the afternoon so I couldn't explore as much as I wanted to, but I managed one ~1 hr sketch of the main street by the water. A busker was playing nearby, it was a beautiful morning. 

Playing Catch-Up

Hi, Sketcher Friends!
Here are a few Seattle-specific sketches since last posting:

My nearest coffee shop, Grateful Bread on 35th in Wedgwood.

Drawn with my Gage students on the third floor of King St. Station.

The ugliest building I could find in my neighborhood, 65th and 25th in Bryant.

Waiting for students to arrive for my drawing class at Gage.

With students at Suzzallo Library, UW.

Exterior of the same Grateful Bread as above, and the Safeway entry across the street.

Again, inside Grateful Bread.

Drawn while chatting with Tom Ettel at the Whole Foods on 15th, south of Interbay.