The decision weighed heavily on my mind. For more than a
week, the other USk Seattle admins and I have been discussing whether we should
go ahead with outings or cancel. Every day, updates from the health
department grow increasingly alarming, and authorities urge anyone in
higher-risk groups (including those of us over 60) to stay home if possible. With
growing concern about COVID-19, was it reckless to gather? Even on my way to
Bellevue Square, where I had initiated an ad hoc outing for the annual #OneWeek100People
challenge, I was trepidatious.
Upon arrival, however, I was happy that we didn’t cancel. After
feeling gloomy all week, it felt good to see friends and sketch together. The
mall was emptier than I had ever seen, and we laughed sardonically that we’d be
hard pressed to find a hundred people!
Bellevue Square is an ideal people-sketching mall. Wide-open
multiple levels enable easy views looking up, down or across. In addition,
stairways are an interesting challenge. I chose to stand, but other
sketchers enjoyed using the many tables and convenient seating throughout the
mall.
I had done 25 sketches yesterday. Hitting my groove almost
immediately at the mall, I decided to finish my remaining 75 in the 2½ hours of
the outing. One hundred done!
As in previous years, my goal was to avoid portraits or
details and focus strictly on making simple gestures that capture individuals,
not generic stick figures. It was also an excellent opportunity to study the movement
of walking, especially people coming toward or going away from me. I tried to draw
the subtle differences in their legs to show that they are walking, not
standing.
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